MAD1 x Jean-Charles De Castelbajac

The idea behind the M.A.D.Editions was born out of a certain frustration that not everyone could afford an MB&F timepiece, not even Maximilian Büsser’s own family or friends – The treasured Fs in the name MB&F – who have all played major roles in the success of the brand. The timepiece would be as creative as everything else MB&F had developed, only at an affordable price. This meant, that it wouldn’t be possible to put the MB&F name on it. To keep the price accessible, the engineering, complexity and finishing would obviously not be in the same league as MB&F’s horological machines, so a new brand name had to be found.

The original M.A.D.1 launched in 2021 was recognisable thanks to its blue highlights; it was proposed exclusively to MB&F’s suppliers, “the Friends”, and to the members of “The Tribe”, the brand’s owners club. However, the general feedback to the M.A.D.1 was so overwhelmingly positive that Maximilian Büsser promised a follow-up version in 2022, available this time to a wider audience. The result was the M.A.D.1 RED. In 2023, the M.A.D.1 GREEN joined M.A.D.Editions’ colourful series.

In 2024, Legendary French artist and designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (JCC) turns his hand to watchmaking, becoming the first creator to collaborate on a M.A.D.1. Working with his three iconic colours – red for passion, blue for hope, and yellow for human warmth – he has adorned the M.A.D.1 rotor with his signature colourway that is produced in lacquer on a newly-engineered rotor, where one of the wings is slightly heavier than the other two to optimize spinning. A bright green is also present and featured on the piece’s hour disc – another colour close to Castelbajac’s heart and linked to childhood memories.