Maximilian Büsser, founder and CEO of MB&F talks to us about the creative process behind his timepieces, the new HM11 Architect, and more
The HM11 Architect blurs the line between architecture and watchmaking. What challenges did you face in translating architectural concepts into a functional timepiece, and how did you overcome them?
The HM11 we just launched is arguably one of our most insane creations in 18 years. A 3D “house” where the foyer is a flying tourbillon. The four rooms, each on one side host the hours and minutes, the power reserve indicator, a mechanical thermometer and the sapphire crown. The whole case can pivot for the wearer to see the room of their choice AND that gyration actually winds the movement itself.
We luckily have accumulated over nearly two decades an incredible experience in 3D watchmaking sculptures. The HM11 was nevertheless a very big endeavour which necessitated over 5 years from idea to presentation. Amongst the many challenges: the 3D vertical flying tourbillon system, the conical gears that send information to the vertical dials, the shock absorbing springs created for the purpose, finding a company capable of recreating a hundred-year-old mechanical thermometer, the incredibly efficient winding case winding system (turning one dial to another gives already 2 ½ hours power reserve to the movement), the insane 3D case in titanium and sapphire, the 19 water resistant gaskets (a “normal” watch has 6). And all this is to be cased in a 42mm diameter!
M.A.D.1 is positioned as a more accessible machine. How do you balance making your creations accessible to a broader audience while maintaining the exclusivity that is often associated with luxury watches?
M.A.D. 1 was originally planned only as a “friends and family” project to say thank you to those who had helped us over the years. We were terrified of harming MB&F and had no intention of selling it to the wider public, but the demand on social media was so insane that in a second step, we decided to open up a few pieces to the public.
The M.A.D. Editions have to stay small and a side project so as not to endanger MB&F which is the heart and soul of our journey.
What was the motivation behind choosing a raffle format for M.A.D. Editions? How does the raffle system work?
We knew when we finally decided to go public with the M.A.D. 1 that demand would by far outnumber our purposely small production. What choices did we have to allocate? Drops are never at the right time wherever you are in the world, and incredibly frustrating for everyone. Having people queue for hours in front of a store so as not to get a piece? Humiliating. So we chose the raffle process which to my knowledge had never been done in watchmaking. It allows everyone two weeks to register whenever they want. The raffle winners are chosen by the software and verified by a notary in our offices during the draw.
It is the fairest and least invasive way we have found to allocate our pieces. The last raffle had a 20 to 1 chance for each winner – which unfortunately means 19 persons will not get a piece for each lucky winner.
How do you see community engagement evolving in the world of luxury watches, and how important is direct interaction with your audience to the success of your projects?
The whole team is incredibly community-oriented. We try to treat our clients as much as our fans with the simple mantra our parents taught us “Treat people the way you want to be treated”. I must admit that M.A.D. Editions have taken, through the sheer volume of people interacting with us, a large bandwidth from our team and we strive to do our best.
Am very grateful for the fantastic interactions with fans and clients over the years. Over all these years I thought my number one goal was to create extraordinary timepieces, but as I grow older, I realize that meaningful relationships and the journey as a whole are way more important.
Can you walk us through your creative process when conceptualising a new timepiece, whether for MB&F or M.A.D. Editions? How do you balance innovation with practicality?
I always start with a concept (it is never just a design) and whatever we create, it has to be something I would like to wear or own. Also, it needs to bring our whole team a surge of adrenaline, and start with the simple phrase “Wouldn’t it be cool if…”
Once I have finalized a design with Eric Giroud or Maximilian Maertens, it enters a very long and challenging R&D process that can take easily 2 to 3 years. During this time, the engineering team will come up with more interesting ideas to incorporate or not. Also, sometimes technical impossibilities force us to change the initial idea but all in all we never come out with a product if we are not totally happy with it.
Give us a glimpse into upcoming projects as well as directions you envision for MB&F and M.A.D. Editions. What can enthusiasts look forward to in the near future?
If I look at what is being worked on in our R&D department for the next decade, it seems I still have some “juice” in me!
For most companies, success rhymes with less creativity and less risk-taking. For us it is the exact contrary: we are leveraging this incredible demand to take it many steps further.