Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. M.A.D. Editions Releases the M.A.D. 1 ‘Time to Love’ by Designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac
Heartwarming messages and bold primary colours by famous designer Castelbajac animate the M.A.D. 1 'Time to Love’ limited edition.
MB&F, or Max Büsser & Friends, is an indie brand that thrives on the creative input of its friends. Pooling together different talents, Max Büsser has produced some extraordinary mechanical and artistic collaborations. While most watch fans get a kick out of MB&F’s creations and collaborations, very few of us can afford them. To remedy this situation, in 2021, Max Büsser introduced the M.A.D.1 model. Still an MB&F product but developed by a sister company – M.A.D. Editions – the M.A.D.1 was first designed as a thank-you piece at a fraction of the price for Tribe Members (officially registered collectors) and brand suppliers (Friends) but never announced on the website or social media channels.
When the word got out, fans bombarded MB&F with a deluge of messages clamouring for a second round at an affordable price, resulting in the second M.A.D.1 Red released in 2022 to a wider audience. Today, M.A.D.Editions produces a limited-edition M.A.D.1 ‘Time to Love’ model in collaboration with legendary French fashion designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac. Read on to find out when and how the raffle will take place for a rare chance to get your hands on the first M.A.D.1 collaboration piece.
Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (1949), the rebel son of an aristocratic French family, is a fashion designer with a career spanning half a century, including his stint as artistic director of United Colors of Benetton from 2018 to 2022. Having collaborated with pop icons like Mick Jagger and Madonna and artists Jean-Michel Basquiat, Robert Mapplethorpe, Cindy Sherman and Andy Warhol, his work is always provocative and unconventional. Who can forget the Kermit the Frog outfit he created for Lady Gaga or the rainbow ecclesiastical robes for Pope John Paul II and his entourage? Fascinated with the designer’s bathing suits with pandas as a young man, Max Büsser got in touch with Castelbajac to see whether he might be interested in co-designing a watch.
Using symbols from popular culture and a palette of bold primary colours, Castelbajac takes his signature style and translates it into the diminutive space of the M.A.D. watch. Following the M.A.D. 1 Red and M.A.D. 1 Green, the latest M.A.D. 1 ‘Time to Love’ flies in with a similar 42mm stainless steel case. It is also powered by the same upside-down modified Miyota 821A automatic movement with its triple-blade rotor in titanium and tungsten shaped like the battle-axe rotor featured inside several MB&F models.
Giving the watch the Castelbajac touch, the triple-blade rotor is now picked out in blue, yellow and red lacquer, and the blades are shaped like angel wings. One of the wings is slightly heavier than the others to optimise spinning on the newly engineered rotor. As you can appreciate in the photos, when the rotor starts whirling, the colours all but disappear. The crown at noon depicts a person talking to the Moon, a recurring theme in Castelbajac’s art.
The lateral time display remains unchanged with the two rotating aluminium cylinders for the hours (bright green) and minutes (black), with engraved numbers in Castelbajac’s own handwriting. Another Castelbajac signature is the quote that appears beneath the rotor in French: “Ce trésor rare et précieux, c’est ta vie. Le temps vole de ses ailes blanches. Tu es le gardien de ton temps.” Each timepiece comes with a black and a white strap embroidered with the words’ Time to Love’.
Availability & Price
The M.A.D.1 Time to Love Edition x Castelbajac is a limited edition of 999 pieces. Half of the production will be reserved for Tribe Members and brand suppliers on a first-come, first-served basis, while the other half will be available to the public via a raffle to ensure fair distribution. The raffle opens on 3 April at 14:00 CET and will remain open until 17 April 2024. Registration is free of charge on this page. The price of the M.A.D.1 Time to Love is CHF 3,200, EUR 3,300 or USD 3,600 – plus VAT. Deliveries will take place from April to September 2024.
2 responses
Tell me again, for $3,600 I’m getting… what? It comes across more as bling, with presumably prestige names involved, and support from watch enthusiasts, but with the design, layout and materials, and choice of movement involved, well, you can call me Magoo, but I just don’t see it, especially at this price point. It seems more a buy of a name rather than a watch.
Love the watch! Love the design!