MB&F
3models
4collections
11reviews
MB&F
High-endAvant-garde "horological machines"
Geneva, Switzerland · est. 2005
part of Independent
$50,000–$400,000+
My tier · 1
Maximilian Büsser ran Harry Winston's Opus program before founding MB&F, Maximilian Büsser and Friends, in Geneva in 2005. The concept inverted industry norms: instead of hiding suppliers, MB&F celebrates its collaborators by name, creating horological machines as collective art. The company calls itself a creative laboratory rather than a watch brand.
More about MB&F
History
The Horological Machines, from the HM1 onward, are sculptures: the spaceship HM4 Thunderbolt with aviation pod displays, the automotive HM8, the aquatic HM7 Aquapod. The Legacy Machines of 2011 imagined what Büsser would have built a century earlier, with suspended giant balance wheels over classical dials; the LM Perpetual with Stephen McDonnell's reinvented perpetual calendar mechanism won major GPHG recognition, and the brand has collected many GPHG prizes including the 2022 Aiguille d'Or for the LM Sequential EVO. M.A.D. Editions brought the creativity to around 3,000 dollars with the M.A.D.1's lateral time display.
The Creative Laboratory
MB&F produces only a few hundred pieces yearly across machines, co creations like MusicMachines, and the M.A.D. Gallery spaces exhibiting kinetic art. Engineering partners such as McDonnell and movement specialists are publicly credited, a transparency that reshaped independent watchmaking culture.
Prices run from about 3,000 dollars for M.A.D. Editions to over 500,000 for grand machines.
Model Lineup
| Collection | Identity | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Horological Machines | Sculptural avant garde | HM4, HM7 Aquapod, HM11 Architect |
| Legacy Machines | Neo classical machines | LM101, LM Perpetual, Sequential EVO |
| M.A.D. Editions | Accessible creative line | M.A.D.1, M.A.D.2 lottery drops |
| Co creations | Clocks and art objects | L'Épée MusicMachine, robot clocks |
Why It Stands Out
- Category creation. Horological machines made watches into kinetic sculpture, spawning a genre.
- Credited collaboration. Naming the friends dismantled the industry's supplier secrecy.
- Real innovation. The Sequential EVO chronograph and LM Perpetual are mechanical breakthroughs.
- Community genius. M.A.D. Editions built loyalty across price classes no independent matches.
Weaknesses
- Polarizing objects. Many machines barely function as everyday watches.
- Access lottery. Production scarcity and raffles frustrate genuine fans.
- Founder centricity. The vision is inseparable from Büsser himself.
- Speculative froth. M.A.D. flipping tests the community ethos.
Summary
MB&F turned independent watchmaking into collective science fiction art, and did it with real mechanical substance underneath. The Legacy Machines are the wearable masterpieces, the Horological Machines the museum pieces, and M.A.D. the people's ticket in. It is the most imaginative watch company of its generation.