A revolution in affordable Haute Horlogerie with the latest M.A.D.1S.
What We Love:
- Affordable haute horology timepiece
- The three-blade rotor design is well thought out, with it becoming even more fun with lume activated!
- Despite its thickness, the timepiece sits very well on the wrist thanks to the flat case back.
What We Don’t:
- The hour time barrel is read right to left as it spins counter-clockwise when it should be read left to right
- The racing-inspired textile leather strap lacks adjustment for slim wrists.
- Lack of secondary strap choices from M.A.D Editions!
Overall Rating: 8.75/10
- Value for Money: 9/10
- Wearability: 8/10
- Design: 9/10
- Build Quality: 9/10
The M.A.D.1S. is one of the best, if not the best, horological “fun” pieces that are available on the market right now. There are not too many other watches in the luxury world of horology that offer such an amusing timepiece that gets everyone talking, even non-watchgoers!
The M.A.D 1 has a relatively short-lived history, as it was first released in June 2021; however, since then, it has been met with an overwhelming reception, giving more and more incentive for the M.A.D. Editions brand to keep creating more innovative, affordable entertainment timepieces!
The brand new 2024 M.A.D.1S. models
To understand how M.A.D.1 first came about, we need to look at how the brand M.A.D Edition started and how its big sister brand, MB&F, played a major role in its inception. If you are new to the world of horology and haven’t heard of MB&F before, it stands for Maximillian Büsser & Friends), which was founded in 2005 by Maximillian Büsser. The simplest way to sum up Maximillian Büsser would be to say that he is a visionary in the world of horology. He gained a very deep understanding into the world of horology and how the market worked during his key positions at Jaeger-LeCoultre and Harry Winston. With this knowledge, he then pursued creating his brand, MB&F, thinking well and truly outside of the box of horology to create timepieces that are not only radical but also mechanical masterpieces.
Maximillian Büsser’s concept for MB&F was to treat the timepieces as a form of kinetic art, which resulted in the timepieces looking like sculptures rather than watches that tell the time. Through Maximillian Büsser’s creations, It changed the very concept of haute horology. MB&F quickly rose to fame for its futuristic designs and groundbreaking innovations, such as the brand’s core collections: Horological Machines and Legacy Machines. The only downside to the masterpieces was that they came at a premium price, which meant that many watch collectors or enthusiasts could only admire them from afar. For Maximillian Büsser, the MB&F creations don’t come from a place of large price tags or exclusivity but rather exceptional designs that create a sense of community.
To combat this problem, Maximillian Büsser extended his vision in 2021 with the creation of MB&F’s sister brand, M.A.D Editions, which marked a brand new chapter in the accessible avant-garde horology sector. Maximillian Büsser’s idea behind creating M.A.D Editions was to offer an affordable solution to the world of MB&F’s creative spirit while maintaining the brand’s distinctive design language and innovation. Creating the M.A.D Editions brand allowed Maximillian Büsser also to showcase his gratitude and reward his friends and family, fans and collectors who supported the growth of MB&F over the years.
The first timepiece that Maximillian Büsser released under that M.A.D Editions brand was the M.A.D 1. This was a limited edition timepiece launched in 2021. When the M.A.D 1 was first released, it featured a radical design for a fraction of the MB&F price, quickly winning over fans. However, the timepiece was mainly created as a gift for MB&F’s Friends (close collaborators and supporters. The M.A.D 1 represented the essence of MB&F. It showcased the brand’s creative universe that will now appeal to a much broader audience without the hefty price tag associated with MB&F creations.
With the overwhelming reception of the first release of the M.A.D 1, which featured a blue dial, Maximillian Büsser decided to release two M.A.D 1 timepeices in red, in which the general public can purchase it too, but not in the standard way in which you might typically buy a watch. M.A.D Editions created a “raffle” system in which there was a set time period to go and put forth your interest on the M.A.D 1 piece by “purchasing” it online. When the raffle was drawn, those that won would have their payments for the timepeices would go through, confirming that you are the winner, while those that didn’t win, payment would be cancelled.
The two M.A.D 1 timepieces that were raffled off had 40,000 entries for only 3,000 models (1500 of each watch)! Personally, I think this is a fair way to distribute a limited edition release. It means that everyone has a chance to buy it, and you don’t also get flippers buying up stock within the first few minutes of its release, giving everyone who entered somewhat of an equal chance.
The design of the M.A.D 1 editions created overwhelming interest. This timepiece, which no one expected, featured the automatic movement rotor on the dial side, designed in a sharp three-armed blade-like manner, skeletonised to show the dial and movement underneath. The rotor will spin freely as it normally would in an automatic movement upon shaking the watch, giving quite the “entertaining watch” to the viewer!
What you’ll also immediately notice with these M.A.D 1 editions is that time is absent from the dial. There are no hands, no hour indices, no seconds counters. Instead, time is read through rotating barrels, seen through the side of the watch. The M.A.D 1 came with two separate barrels, with the top barrel in black representing hours, and the bottom barrel in red showing the minutes. The minutes were done in 5-minute increments, without markings in between, so it was an approximate time reading. But who are we kidding? The allure of these watches rests in the mesmerising display on the dial.
In early 2024, the team at M.A.D Editions released a colourful take on the M.A.D 1. The fourth iteration of the M.A.D 1 model was created in conjunction with French artist and designer Jean Charles de Castelbajac (JCDC), who had free artistic reign over the watch’s aesthetic appearance. This time, instead of the three-armed blades of the rotor being hollow, it featured three different colours, which all stood out beautifully. This edition was also part of the raffle system. It was a limited release of 999 models, with half dedicated to the MB&F Tribe (registered collectors of MB&F pieces) and Friends (suppliers) on a first come, first served basis.
Initial Impressions Of The M.A.D.1S.:
This leads us to M.A.D Editions and Maximillian Büsser’s latest version of the M.A.D 1: the M.A.D.1S. Firstly, the model is offered in two different colour ways. This was done to have a dedicated watch to the MB&F Tribe members, and a dedicated timepiece for public release. Once again, the Tribe M.A.D.1S. is allocated on a first come first serve basis, while the public-release M.A.D.1S. is through the raffle system. The public M.A.D.1S. model was limited to a release of 1500 pieces.
You’ll notice immediately, even from pictures, that the M.A.D.1S. is thinner in design compared to the previous versions. This comes from a design change in which the team at M.A.D Editions removed the minute barrel to only show the hour barrel on the watch. The original M.A.D 1, with its two barrels, measured 18.8mm thick. The M.A.D.1S., with the reduction of the single barrel, now measures only 15mm, making it, for me personally, a much more wearable piece.
I also like the two different colour choices on offer this time. The purple has a mystic feel to it, while the sky blue/ice blue dial is one of my favourite colours on a timepiece. I was fortunate enough to be able to bag the ice-blue version, and I must say, after owning it for a couple of weeks now, the initial appeal still hasn’t worn off!
M.A.D.1S. Case Design:
While the overall case design for the M.A.D.1S. remains the same as that of the original M.A.D. 1, the watch is now slightly over 20% thinner. While I personally didn’t get a chance to do a hands-on with the M.A.D. 1, I can’t imagine an 18.8mm thick case sitting too comfortably on my wrist. Even when I initially saw the M.A.D.1S. the timepiece, the thoughts running across my mind was that it’s still too large, and I would have a hard time wearing this around.
For reference, I’ve owned a Breitling Superocean Heritage B01 Chronograph 44 in the past, which measures almost identical in thickness at 15.5mm (M.A.D.1S. is 15mm), and even though initially it seemed like a good fit, after wearing it everyday, I found that i was starting to notice more and more how bulky it felt on my wrist. Even though the M.A.D.1S. measures identical in thickness to the Breitling, the lug-to-lug is smaller at 50.5mm, compared to Superocean’s 54.5mm. I’ll tell you now, this makes a world of difference in terms of wearability.
Firstly, the “space-age” design for the lugs and case back makes it sit comfortably on the wrist. The caseback is flat, and the lugs are slightly curved, so it fits the wrist’s contours very well. The case measures 42mm in size, but even for my tiny wrists, I did not find this an issue. For reference, I wear a Tissot PRX Ice Blue, which measures 40mm, and I personally love the fit of the M.A.D.1S. better, all thanks to the flat case back design.
It would be an injustice to this timepiece if we didn’t examine the lug design in more depth. The lugs’ design perfectly reflects its futuristic aesthetic. Compared to the original M.A.D 1, the lugs now have a slimmer profile and a balanced look, which adds to the watch’s comfortable wearability. When you look at the case side-on, you’ll notice immediately that the lugs don’t continue all the way around. This is to make way for a better reading of the “time” barrel, which in the case of the M.A.D.1S. is only the hour barrel.
At the 6 o’clock position on the case, there is a triangle pointer filled with Super-LumiNova that acts as an “hour hand”. As the hour barrel sweeps around, time is read through the pointer. At the 12 o’clock position is the crown, with an engraving of a turtle with a body shape in the same design as the rotor blades. I found the large crown surprisingly easy to operate. I think this is all down to removing the side profile of the case, which allows you to grip the crown better. I noticed that the crown can be pulled out and adjusted very easily even while wearing the watch, something I certainly struggled with in higher-end luxury watches.
The finishing of the case adds to the luxury appeal of the timepiece. While the M.A.D.1S. is marketed to be a more sporty and playful timepiece, the polished finishing that is seen throughout the case, lugs, and bezel of the watch gives it a luxury aesthetic, which adds to its versatility.
Dial Design:
The M.A.D.1S. comes with a “driver” dial design, in which the time is read from the case sides. A traditional dial wouldn’t work for this timepiece, as it is designed to showcase the winding rotor in action. The dial remains relatively simple, with the main work being done by the rotor to garner the attention of the wearer and passersby.
The skeletonised three-blade rotor, to me, resembles that of a Shuriken Ninja Blade, with the edges having a sharp and refined design. The rotor also comes fully polished, which gives it a nice shine and also matches the polished finishing of the case. Speaking of dial finishing, the movement also showcases different finishing techniques. Not much of the movement, however, can be seen besides the balance wheel in action and the singular gear that turns as the rotor winds. The movement is decorated with Geneva stripes, while the outer circular “ring” that holds the movement in place on the dial comes with a brushed finish.
The movement sits atop a base plate, which is coloured in ice blue, a colour that looks stunning in sunlight. With the movement sitting above this plate, it also gives the dial visual depth and a three-dimensional appearance. When you look at the dial from a side view, you’ll notice that the three-blade winding rotor isn’t flat. In fact, it has a protrusion on the edge of the blades, fitting inside the inner wall of the bezel and the sides of the movement. It makes the ice-blue dial portion of the M.A.D.1S. like a track in which three-blade of the rotor move around in.
As mentioned previously, the time is read through a singular hour barrel that sits underneath the dial and is viewed from the side. This is what’s referred to as a “driver” dial design. The reasoning behind the terminology is that when your hand is on the steering wheel or gear stick, you can quickly glance at your wrist to view the time, without needing to turn the wrist or adjust your hand position to view the dial. This certainly takes getting used to, as I found myself constantly looking at the dial to view the time, only to be delighted by the rotor spinning wildly!
One issue that I did have with this hour barrel is its arrangement. The barrel turns counter-clockwise, which can be a little frustrating as we usually read left to right; however, you have to read right to left on the hour barrel. Besides this, reading the “tape” of the barrel is pretty straightforward. We are giving large Arabic numbers for each hour, and then we get a small vertical line for each half-hour in between. There are also two dots on either side of the half-hour markers to indicate fifteen-minute increments. As you can already guess, this timepiece isn’t going to give you the most accurate time reading, but that’s okay, as that isn’t its intended design purpose.
One of the best features of this timepiece is the lumen, which lights up the watch entirely. Usually, we are used to the lume being on the dial; however, like the previous M.A.D 1 editions, the M.A.D.1S. comes with a substantial amount of lume that is shown on each of the three blade edges, as well as the each of the Arabic hour markers and subsequent indications. This results in a beautiful display of luminosity in low-light conditions that is topped off by the rotor spinning with the light action. This is one aspect of the M.A.D.1S that you must see in person to fully appreciate it!
Leather Textile Strap Design:
The M.A.D.1S. comes standard with a leather strap with a textile pattern design on the front side. Depending on the colour model you have been lucky enough to acquire, the leather strap has dial-colour matching stitching. Like the original editions of the M.A.D. 1, the leather strap has a racing driver-inspired design, with three large holes that vary in size from top to bottom. Even though the M.A.D.1S. isn’t a racing-inspired timepiece, the strap design does suit the watch nicely. The M.A.D.1S. is a watch where a simple leather strap wouldn’t do the watch justice.
The watch also comes with a polished deployant clasp that is easy to take on and off. With how many people have asked to hold and try the watch on, it is easy to have a clasp design that I can release without hassle. The back of the clasp comes with an M.A.D engraving that sits on a brushed surface finish, which allows it to stand out from the surrounding polished surfaces.
La Joux-Perret G101 Movement:
Finding a movement for the M.A.D 1 isn’t as simple as getting any standard mechanical movement with a winding rotor, slapping it on the dial and inverting it to call it a day. Maximilian Büsser had to find a movement that would meet the requirements of the winding rotor that it would fit into, while also being within budget.
“No in-house movement would match the desired price. The search led the team far and wide to find a movement that would embody the spirit of the M.A.D.1: its crux, the rapid spinning of the rotor, provoked by the flick of the wrist. Despite finding many bidirectional movements, we couldn’t find a Swiss-made movement with unidirectional winding that fit our budget when we first designed the M.A.D.1. As a result, we decided to make our vision a reality by modifying a reliable Japanese Miyota 821A movement to enable the unidirectional winding required to achieve our goal.”
M.A.D Editions
The Miyota 821A movement is a workhorse widely used by independent and micro brands in their automatic watches. Maximilian Büsser and the M.A.D Editions team took this movement and gave it a heavy makeover, first removing the date feature, which comes as standard, and then inverting the rotor to the dial side.
However, this movement had one downside: It wasn’t produced in Switzerland. While there is certainly nothing wrong with this, Maximilian Büsser wanted to use a Swiss movement for his latest M.A.D.1S. creation, which led him to find the La Joux-Perret G101 movement.
The La Joux-Perret G101 is a Swiss-made automatic movement with a no-date feature. It beats at a frequency of 28,800 VpH and offers a decent 68 hours of power reserve. It also features a ball-bearing style rotor, which helps the rotor wind effortlessly, which is imperative to this timepiece! Like the M.A.D 1’s Miyota movement, it also features a clutch so that the rotor can keep winding without causing any issues after max power reserve is achieved.
How Does the M.A.D.1S. Wear?
As I mentioned earlier in the article, when I first saw the M.A.D.1S, I wasn’t sure how it would fit on my wrist due to the thickness of the case size. However, due to the flat caseback, the reshaped and slimmer lug design, it sits on the wrist very well. The watch certainly doesn’t feel like it’s 15mm thick, and it carries minimal weight, making it a comfortable daily timepiece.
One issue I found, however, was in the leather strap. The strap doesn’t offer the best sizing option. The problem with racing-inspired strap designs is that they limit the number of holes that can be punctured for the buckle. Even after putting the clasp onto the last punctured hole on the strap, I still found the watch to be a little bit loose. I’m not a fan of watches that move around on the wrist, so this is one gripe I have about the timepiece. I am hoping that later on down the line, Maximilian Büsser offers separate strap options, as there are only third-party options at the moment, such as Delugs, with cut-to-size rubber straps being available. I have seen the M.A.D.1S. on a white rubber strap, and I must say it completely changes the look of the timepiece, in a better way!
Reading the time is simple, even though I still catch myself looking at the dial first every time. As touched on previously with the dial design and how time is read left to right, this wasn’t an overall big issue once you got past the initial stage and became more accustomed to the timepiece.
Getting the three-blade rotor to wind can be a little tricky at first. However, there is a certain technique to doing it effortlessly every time, especially as a neat party trick! When worn on the left wrist, simply moving the hand backwards and forwards won’t actually engage the rotor!
I found two ways to engage the rotor, and in a fast manner, too. The first is a “wrist roll,” where you have to have the dial face end away from you. The trick is to do it at a medium pace, as doing it too fast will not engage the mechanism. The second method is to move your hand at an angle downwards and away from you. Once again, if you do this at a medium pace, it will engage the winding rotor, and away she spins! I found the second method to have a higher hit rate when it comes to getting it to spin, but it does take some practice to do it consistently. When you have the lume going on in the timepiece, and you get it spinning, this watch becomes a boatload of fun!
Final Thoughts:
To say that the M.A.D.1S is a conversation starter is a massive understatement. I’ve had plenty of watch enthusiasts ask to see the watch and try it on, but more surprisingly, quite a few non-watch folk ask about it as well. When I get the rotor to engage and spin wildly, the happy look on their faces is great to see. And this is exactly what Maximilian Büsser set out to achieve with the concept of the M.A.D. 1 timepiece, isn’t it? It is a timepiece that pushes past the conventions of watchmaking to bring something more fun while still being a “watch” at the end of the day.
The M.A.D.1S is a gateway into the creative world of MB&F, where imagination runs wild and technical mastery converges. Maximilian Büsser’s commitment to keeping these timepieces affordable reflects his commitment to sharing his brand’s philosophy with a much wider audience and making this concept of high horology more accessible.
Some MB&F and M.A.D Editions fun with the Watch Advice team at the M.A.D House in Geneva, Switzerland!
Some may complain that time cannot be read accurately with this watch, and while that is an understandable statement, it is a watch designed to show its mechanical artistry first and time second. It is a watch that enhances your watch collection from the get-go. This probably wouldn’t be the timepiece if you’re running from meeting to meeting or trying to meet time-sensitive deadlines back to back, but everywhere else, you can enjoy the watch for what it has to offer while reading the time down to a rough estimation of minutes.
For those that missed out on the 1,500 models of the M.A.D.1S during the raffle, worry not, as M.A.D editions have already stated that a M.A.D 2 is on the way, possibly next year! One can only imagine what Maximilian Büsser and the team will conjure up next, but if these current M.A.D models are anything to go by, then we are certainly in for a pleasant surprise!
Reference: M.A.D.1S
Specifications
- Case Size: 42mm
- Case Lug-To-Lug: 50.5mm
- Case Thickness: 15mm
- Case Material: Stainless Steel 316L
- Dial: Inverted Swiss-made La Joux-Perret G101 automatic movement with winding rotor on top and lateral time display system. Revolving hour ring in aluminium alloy, engraved numbers with Super-LumiNova. Winding rotor in titanium and tungsten, Super-LumiNova highlights.
- Movement: La Joux-Perret G101 automatic movement
- Power Reserve: 68 hours
- Water Resistance: 30m (3 bar)
- Crystal: Sapphire crystal on top, main section in mineral glass treated with anti-reflective coating on both faces.
- Strap/Bracelet: Black calfskin leather with blue stitching.
Folding buckle in stainless steel.
