[VIDEO] The M.A.D.1S: First Impressions, and Scratching the MB&F Itch

As a watch enthusiast, you inevitably come to admire certain brands and watches that you know, deep down, you’ll just never be able to own. It doesn’t take long in this hobby to become acutely aware that it’s insanely expensive, and there’s a whole miniature industry of watches that exist in absolutely untouchable realms. If you’re really lucky, maybe every so often you get a chance to see a watch in this class at an industry or collector event, but we’re talking about watches produced in the hundreds per year, max. They are genuinely rare. The odds of getting a glimpse of one of these super watches is always against you. 

MB&F, for me, has always been this brand. They are perhaps the watches I love the most that I have the smallest chance of ever actually owning. Trust me when I tell you I’ve made peace with that many times over, as most enthusiasts have with whatever watches or brands are truly out of reach. This hobby would be truly miserable, after all, if we let the disappointment of never actually being able to own a six figure watch ruin our day.

So when the M.A.D.1 project surfaced a few years ago, I along with many other watch lovers got a shot of hope injected directly into their veins. Surely you know the story by now: Max Büsser, as a “thank you” gesture to his many partners and colleagues that have helped him create so many incredible but wildly expensive timepieces over the years, designed a watch that was made with the spirit of an MB&F, but not the high cost. We were told again and again that it is most certainly not an MB&F in any real sense, but design language and aesthetic are linked in ways that are obvious. The M.A.D.1 features a wildly spinning rotor where the dial should be, time is read on the side of the case, there’s a ton of playful lume, and the whole thing has been conceived with a sci-fi influence common to many of Max’s projects. 

Unfortunately, the M.A.D.1 proved to be tough to get right from the start. Even more unfortunately, as fun and whimsical as the watch is, it’s equally as tough to wear. I called it the ultimate watch meetup watch a few years ago because that’s about the only venue where you can get away with wearing one and not garner strange looks.

But the success of the M.A.D.1 was undeniable. When we met with the MB&F team in Geneva last year, we were told that sales of the M.A.D.1 make up a significant percentage of MB&F’s revenue, and they weren’t shy about telling us that they have plans for future editions. It is, effectively, an affordable microbrand built within the MB&F ecosystem, which in my view is orders of magnitude cooler than a one-off release for friends and family, which was the original intent of the project. 

The new M.A.D.1S is really the first example of the M.A.D. Editions brands spinning itself off. It’s the first version of the M.A.D.1 that is more than just a change in colorway – it’s a new design with new dimensions and a new movement (a La Joux-Perret Movement G101), to boot. And it turns a watch that was basically an expensive fidget spinner and not really wearable as a watch into a still expensive fidget spinner that you can actually wear, and that’s a pretty cool accomplishment. 

I thought I had missed out on my chance to own a M.A.D.1S – my name didn’t come up in the lottery for the initial batch, and I resigned myself to the idea that I’d have to try for the next one, or just wait for the inevitable M.A.D.2, whatever that might turn out to be. But, as luck would have it, I decided to open up the Boston RedBar group chat for the first time in months and saw that a member was selling his recently received and still unworn M.A.D.1S for a fair price. Messages were exchanged, a meeting took place, and I drove back to New Hampshire from just outside Boston in a too-treacherous snow storm, M.A.D.1S safely stowed in the back seat.

 

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I haven’t owned this watch for very long, but already I find it incredibly satisfying. Does it scratch the MB&F itch? Honestly, it kind of does, although that itch isn’t exactly pervasive or ever present. The M.A.D.1S is its own thing, and part of a long tradition of interesting and even avant-garde watches that do surprising things with stock movements and a clever reimagining of what a watch can be. 

The thing that most surprised and pleased me about the M.A.D.1S given my experience trying on the original M.A.D.1 more than a handful of times is just how easy it is to wear. It’s 42mm in diameter and 15mm tall, down about 3mm in height from the original. That makes an enormous difference. The M.A.D.1S wears like a big diver – if you can wear a Pelagos, you can wear this. 

Telling the time is straightforward if imprecise. The big innovation here is that the minutes wheel has been eliminated from the caseband, leaving only an indicator for the hours. That makes the M.A.D.1S a watch in communication with many great one-handers from brands like Meistersinger and others. This is an unusual time telling format, but not unheard of, and with marks at the quarter hours, you’ll always be close to knowing the correct time, if not exact. The imprecision makes the watch perfect for the weekend, or times when you’re not a slave to a Google calendar. 

But, come on, we all know the real reason this watch is so appealing, and that’s the inverted rotor positioned where we’d expect to see a dial, often spinning frantically at even the slightest flick of the wrist. Wearing that feels like it’s alive is an unusual and fun experience, and there’s an addictive quality to actuating the rotor, to seeing it and feeling it spin at a high rate. 

It’s worth pointing out that this, of course, serves no purpose at all. But neither does a watch in the shape of a bull dog, or a spaceship. That, though, is the MB&F of it all, and the quintessential thing about this watch that can’t be denied. It exists, simply, to be fun.

The retail price of the M.A.D.1S comes to about $3,200 at today’s exchange rate. Some would argue, and have a very good point, that this is a lot of money for a watch that is basically a horological toy. But that being said, I’m impressed with the quality of the components on the watch, and it doesn’t feel overpriced to me. When you consider the many custom fabricated components here, it’s actually kind of impressive they were able to keep the price under $4,000. The case (more like a frame) isn’t complex, per se, but it is unusual, as are the “tomahawk” blades on the rotor, sapphire and mineral crystal used throughout the provide a full view of the watch’s key features and components. 

Time will tell how much actual use the M.A.D.1S gets in my collection, but right now I’m really enjoying the experience of wearing it from time to time and seeing it alongside other affordable indies and microbrands in my watchbox. It’s yet another great example of how the most interesting and provocative watch designs are coming from outside the influence of the largest brands, and that you can spend far, far less than six figures and still enjoy something genuinely avant-garde. M.A.D. Editions