Before travelling to Geneva and buying the Geneva Watchmaking Guide, I had already saved a few places to visit on Google Maps. One of them was the Patek Philippe Museum, and the other was the MB&F M.A.D. Gallery. For those unfamiliar with MB&F, it stands for Maximilian Büsser and Friends. If you have time to watch one video about Max, the founder and the creative visionary behind the brand, I would wholeheartedly recommend this one.
The readers of this blog hopefully know I like tinkering and building things. By tinkering, I mean disassembling and reassembling watches, or seeing how electronic devices work and capturing those inner workings with my camera. By building, I mean – currently – building Formula 1 cars with LEGO. Why put “currently” in hyphens? Because I’ve seen kits where enthusiasts can assemble their own wristwatches and desk clocks, and I am very keen on getting my hands on one. This passion originates from my childhood when I not only played with LEGO but also with metal construction sets, building my own creations, be they bespoke cars, robots, bikes, or other futuristic devices and vehicles.
The objects found at the MB&F M.A.D. Gallery remind me of that time when I tried to build something similar.
Kinetic Art
The objects found at the Gallery are beautiful pieces of kinetic art; some of them tell the time, some simply show the ingenuity of their creators. I love that. I passionately admire pieces where you can see how everything works; where you know every gear, every screw, every bridge has its purpose, without which the whole construction ceases to work. Every detail in three-dimensional kinetic art has its purpose.
See for yourself below in this gallery of all kinetic art pieces found at the MB&F M.A.D. Gallery.
I genuinely can’t recall when I was this excited to visit a specific place. When scrolling through the gallery, you may not understand a piece or two, but that is entirely understandable. I acknowledge that some of them require an explanation or, better yet, a demonstration. All the more reason to visit the MB&F M.A.D. Gallery for yourself.
MB&F Machines
Just as I didn’t expect to swim in Lake Geneva, I didn’t expect to try on some of the MB&F machines. On the day of our visit, there were five horological machines on display; four of them could be held, tried on, and simply admired.
Previously, I had only seen them on the Internet. None of my colleagues had one; none had ever worn them in the open in any city I’ve visited. Therefore, to be able to see these spectacular machines in person was special. At least for someone like me.
Legacy Machine Perpetual EVO
We started with the Legacy Machine Perpetual EVO. The watch that once adorned my phone’s background for a couple of months.
This is a watch with a completely redesigned perpetual calendar developed for MB&F by Stephen McDonnell. Why is this perpetual calendar watch so special? Mainly due to the way this watch can be set. Normally, even though I don’t have a watch with a perpetual calendar (yet), to adjust a perpetual calendar, you have to follow a series of instructions to configure each dial correctly, or, if you are not up to the challenge, you have to visit your retailer.
MB&F decided enough is enough; there has to be a simpler way. Mr Stephen McDonnell found it. With an innovative mechanical processor, you can easily set each display with a push of a button. The kind man at the MB&F M.A.D. Gallery showed us how it was done.
This specific watch had a 44mm titanium case, making it extremely light. I was surprised by how light it was both in my hand and on my wrist. Maybe the proportions didn’t quite suit my wrist, but the chance of finally seeing one of my dream watches up close was truly special.
You are probably wondering about the price of this watch, right? CHF 168 000 (excluding VAT).
Legacy Machine 101 EVO
What is so special about this next piece? Have you ever seen a flying balance wheel? Here is your answer. You already saw it in the gallery above. Here is the watch with the actual flying balance wheel. The finishing of the in-house caliber – all MB&F calibers are in-house – is done by none other than Mr Kari Voutilainen.
This was also a titanium case with a 40mm diameter.
I still have goosebumps remembering how I touched and tried on these watches!
The price is CHF 62 000 (excluding VAT).
Horological Machine No. 9
I don’t even know how to describe this watch.
We’ve all been in the situation where we are driving, and we need to see what time it is. We don’t want to look at our phone or at the panel on our dash, but we want to check our wrist. Normally, to do so, we need to take one of our hands off the wheel to properly see the dial. Not with this watch.
With the Horological Machine No. 9 on your wrist, you can tell the time without taking your hand off the wheel.
In this geometrically complex titanium case is a movement with twin balance wheels. According to the MB&F website, the fully independent twin balance wheels feed two sets of chronometric data to a central planetary differential for an averaged reading. They are independently impulsed and spatially separated to ensure that they beat at their own independent cadences.
It truly is a beautiful piece of horological engineering.
Surprisingly enough, this one felt the best on my wrist. I could easily see myself wearing this watch daily.
Price for this one? CHF 176 000 (excluding VAT).
Horological Machine No. 3 Frog
The last horological machine I tried was the Frog. I hope you can see where this machine got its nickname. The two dome-shaped dials housing the hours and minutes resemble eyes, whereas the “mouth” shows the signature MB&F battle axe rotor with a moonface.
This watch was also housed, like all the previous machines, in grade 5 titanium.
If I understand correctly, MB&F is no longer selling this horological machine.
M.A.D. 1
MB&F horological machines were not the only watches I got to see at the M.A.D. Gallery.
I finally got to see and try out the M.A.D. editions.
Briefly, the M.A.D. edition watches are affordable timepieces made by MB&F. What started as a thank-you gesture to all the friends of MB&F who had helped the brand turned into a chance for the average collector to own a timepiece made by MB&F. You already got an insight into how expensive MB&F creations can be; the M.A.D. editions, if you are lucky, cost a lot less.
How to get one? Whenever MB&F introduces a new M.A.D. edition, they organise a raffle where you submit your email and information, and if you are one of the lucky ones selected for an allocation, you can make the deposit and receive a piece of MB&F. So far, I haven’t been fortunate.
But at least I finally got to see the first M.A.D. edition in person. The battle axe rotor is impressive. You may wonder how you tell the time. You do it from the side. It is a reversed Miyota movement; normally, the rotor is on the underside, and the dial is up.
One of my first posts on this blog was about the first M.A.D. edition. I wrote “a letter” to Max. Neither he nor the company ever responded. No harm in trying, right?
M.A.D. 2
To be honest, the second M.A.D. edition is less impressive. Yes, it is still interesting, but not as captivating as the first one. Don’t get me wrong, if I had won the raffle, I would probably still pull the trigger. As I said before, you have to take the chance to have a piece of MB&F. Even more now, when you’ve seen these magnificent machines in person.
I seriously don’t understand why the MB&F M.A.D. Gallery is not featured in the Geneva Watchmaking Guide.
I hope this oversight will be corrected, because every enthusiast of horology should visit this shrine.
I entered this wonderful place full of excitement, and I left it more than satisfied. It lived up to all my expectations. You could only top this experience with a handshake from Mr Maximilian Büsser himself. Hopefully, next time or sometime in the not-so-distant future.
If you haven’t read my post on Geneva, please head here.
If you want to see the mountains at Chamonix, please head here.
If you want to get a glimpse into the Patek Philippe Museum, please head here.
I love Geneva.
Kindly,
Olaaf
