The M.A.D. 1 RED, The Commercial Version of Last Year’s “Thank You Watch” by MB&F

When we first learned of the M.A.D.1 project last year, through the wonders of Social Media, we immediately reached out to Max Büsser and his team to learn more. And learn more we did, as that very special watch was presented as a literal thank you gesture to the people who helped build and develop MB&F into what it is today, a premier independent watchmaking company with an extremely creative mind. It was only presented to suppliers (The Friends) and MB&F owners (The Tribe). It sparked thousands and thousands of calls, text messages, DM’s and emails for Max and his team to manage, all pushing them to create a commercially available piece of this “MB&F on a budget”. And lo and behold, about a year later, here’s the M.A.D.Editions M.A.D. 1 RED, the (sort of) commercially available version of the “Thank You Watch”.

The M.A.D.Editions project was never intended to take over the MB&F watchmaking business, and it never will. Yet, as Max Büsser has explained before, it does allow him to open up the MB&F creativity to new customers, who might not have the budget for an MB&F. It will also never be a rival in terms of finishing or complexity, as MB&F’s are just in a completely different league. But, offering that same expressiveness in a sub-3k watch is refreshing, as it really looks like nothing else on the market.

The basic construction is the same and still measures 42mm in width, but small changes have been made from last year’s M.A.D.1. The bright blue has been changed to cherry red for the minute ring and movement container. It also has a slimmer bezel, and a more traditional winding and setting crown which is still nestled between the upper lugs. The pointer between the bottom lugs lets you read the time on the cylinders running along the perimeter of the container. The top cylinder is done in black, with the red minute cylinder on the bottom, both featuring luminous numerals for added drama.

That drama is further enhanced by the triple-bladed titanium and tungsten rotor driving the Miyota 812A automatic movement. As a result of mounting the movement upside down, the rotor is now fully visible on top of the watch, covered by a sapphire crystal. The blades all have a Super-LumiNova insert, and you can imagine what that does under low light. The Miyota 812A runs at a frequency of 21,600vph and offers 40h of power reserve.

The M.A.D.Editions M.A.D.1 RED comes on a perforated black leather strap with a black textile top, fitted to a folding buckle. It’s priced at CHF 2,900 before taxes, which is quite a lot given the selected movement, but understandable due to the unique construction and materials of the rest of the watch.

There’s a small kicker to all of this, though. The watch will be first offered, with no obligation, to those who took the time and effort to directly contact Max and his team to express their profound interest since last year’s launch. Those people will have the first chance to put in an order. Then, once that’s sorted, the remaining pieces will be raffled to the rest of the public who want one. Raffle ticket’s can be acquired through MB&F’s MAD-Gallery e-Shop for a two-week period, after which a random draw will select the lucky ones who can put in an order for their M.A.D.Editions M.A.D.1 Red. Sounds quite fair actually!

For more information, please visit Shop.MADGallery.ch.