Latest Review
The M.A.D.1 has been a genuine phenomenon since it debuted three years ago. The M.A.D. brand, an offshoot of MB&F, exists almost by accident. The debut watch was made available to MB&F friends and family as an affordably priced “thank you” for years of partnership and support, and was eventually made available to the public. Turns out there are a lot of enthusiasts out there who are after a little taste of MB&F but don’t necessarily have the nearly six figures (or more) for the genuine article. The M.A.D.1, in all of the variants we’ve seen since it launched, has offered fans of independent watchmaking a simulacrum of a much higher end experience, simply by wearing and owning something that originated from the mind of brand founder Max Busser. But, if we’re being honest, there have always been aspects of the M.A.D.1 that could use a little refining to make it more appealing as a watch that you’d actually want to wear day in and day out. The new M.A.D.1S seeks to solve some of those problems.
First and foremost, it’s worth pointing out that isn’t the M.A.D.2, a watch that the brand says has been in the works for some time and will debut next year. Rather, this is an honest to goodness evolution of the original idea, and seems to address some of the common complaints from M.A.D.1 skeptics.
The “S” here stands for slimmer, surely the most notable change from the original, which came in at a sometimes comical 18.8mm tall. The new version is just 15mm tall. They’ve saved some space here by reducing the number of time telling cylinders from 2 to 1. So, without a minutes cylinder, what we have here is effectively a one handed watch. The folks at M.A.D. say that it’s still fairly intuitive to read the time given the spacing between each hour, even if it’s a bit less precise.
The other big change here is the movement. The M.A.D.1S is powered by a Swiss movement made by La Joux-Perret. Importantly, it maintains unidirectional winding capabilities found in the Miyota that was used previously, so the wildly spinning rotor, which is inverted and viewed from the top of the watch, is still here on version 2. The new caliber has 68 hours of power reserve.
One thing that has not changed (thankfully) is the price. The cost is still CHF 2,900. The raffle system, however, has been adjusted. You can still enter in the same way through the M.A.D. website, but now when you put your name down, a hold (not a charge) will be placed on your credit card. If you’re a winner, the charge goes through, and if you lose, the hold comes off. All in the name of reducing the number of flippers, according to the M.A.D. team.
The M.A.D.1S is a limited edition of 1,500 pieces. More information can be found here.
