MB&F
- Founded
- 2005
- Based in
- Geneva, Switzerland
- In our catalog
- 2 watches from $110,000 to $190,000
MB&F (Maximilian Büsser & Friends) doesn't make watches so much as kinetic sculptures that tell the time. Its Horological Machines look like spaceships, jet engines, frogs and bulldogs. Its Legacy Machines take a more classical approach, with a big balance wheel floating above the dial. Both are built in collaboration with independent watchmakers, and the brand credits all of them by name.
History
Maximilian Büsser ran Harry Winston's watch division, where he started the Opus series of collaborations with independent watchmakers. In 2005 he left to found MB&F in Geneva. The first watch, HM1, came out in 2007, followed by a series of increasingly unusual machines.
In 2011 MB&F launched the Legacy Machines, a "what if" exercise: what would Büsser have made if he had been born a hundred years earlier? The brand also runs M.A.D.Gallery, which sells mechanical art and objects by other creators.
Signature models
- HM10 Bulldog: A watch shaped like a bulldog's head, with a jaw that opens and closes to show the power reserve.
- Legacy Machine Perpetual: A perpetual calendar with a floating balance, developed with watchmaker Stephen McDonnell.
What it's known for
MB&F makes only a few hundred watches a year, and each one is a talking point. It's a favorite of collectors who already have the classics.
Price and positioning
MB&F watches cost from about $60,000 to several hundred thousand dollars. Richard Mille and Greubel Forsey are the other big names in this price range, but MB&F is the most playful.
MB&F watches in our library
- MB&F HM10 Bulldog ($110,000 to $120,000)
- MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual ($170,000 to $190,000)