Suiza · Fundación 2005
MB&F
The '& Friends' are real: MB&F names the outside watchmakers behind each machine.
Texto editorial en inglés.
MB&F (Maximilian Büsser & Friends) is a Geneva creative label founded in 2005 that builds small series of sculptural Horological Machines and rounder, more classical Legacy Machines with credited outside specialists. It makes a few hundred watches a year, and Chanel bought 25% in 2024. Watches start around €60,000.
Historia
Maximilian Büsser was born in Milan in 1967 to a Swiss father and an Indian mother and grew up in Lausanne. He graduated in microtechnology from EPFL in 1991 and spent seven years in management at Jaeger-LeCoultre. In 1998, aged 31, he became managing director of Harry Winston Rare Timepieces. Over seven years he built it into a serious haute horlogerie label, growing revenue from about $8 million to $80 million, and created the Opus series, which paired the jeweller with independent watchmakers.
Büsser left Harry Winston and founded MB&F in Geneva in July 2005, with Serge Kriknoff as partner. The model was a creative lab rather than a manufacture: each piece is developed with named independent specialists, the 'Friends'. The first Horological Machine, HM1, appeared in 2007. The HM4 Thunderbolt won the Best Concept and Design Watch prize at the 2010 GPHG. In 2011 MB&F presented Legacy Machine No.1, whose movement was designed and finished with Jean-François Mojon and Kari Voutilainen, and opened its first M.A.D.Gallery in Geneva.
The LM1, with its suspended 14 mm balance and two independent time zones, won Best Men's Watch and the Public Prize at the 2012 GPHG. The LM Perpetual of 2015, with a perpetual calendar developed by Stephen McDonnell, won the calendar prize in 2016, and the HM6 took a Red Dot 'Best of the Best' award in 2015. The LM FlyingT of 2019, the brand's first watch for women, won Best Ladies' Complication that year, and the HM10 Bulldog followed in 2020.
In 2022 the LM Sequential EVO, with two column-wheel chronographs developed by McDonnell, won the GPHG Aiguille d'Or. A year earlier Büsser had created the Miyota-powered M.A.D.1 as a thank-you to suppliers and clients, which grew into the lower-priced M.A.D.Editions line. On 22 August 2024 Chanel acquired 25% of MB&F; Büsser kept 60% and Kriknoff 15%. MB&F made about 350 watches in 2022 and reported sales of CHF 42 million the year before the Chanel deal.
Fundadores
- Maximilian Büsser
- Founder · 1967–
- Milan-born EPFL microtechnology engineer who worked at Jaeger-LeCoultre from 1991 and ran Harry Winston Rare Timepieces from 1998 to 2005, where he created the Opus series.
- Serge Kriknoff
- Partner, head of R&D and production
- Büsser's partner since MB&F's creation in 2005. He heads research, development and production and held 15% of the company after Chanel's 2024 investment.
Hitos
2005
MB&F founded in Geneva
Maximilian Büsser leaves Harry Winston and founds Maximilian Büsser & Friends in July 2005 with Serge Kriknoff as partner.
2007
HM1 launched
Horological Machine No.1 is the brand's first watch.
2010
HM4 Thunderbolt wins at the GPHG
The aircraft-inspired HM4 Thunderbolt wins the Best Concept and Design Watch prize.
2011
Legacy Machine No.1 and M.A.D.Gallery
The LM1, developed with Jean-François Mojon and Kari Voutilainen, starts the round-cased line; the first M.A.D.Gallery opens in Geneva.
2015
LM Perpetual
A perpetual calendar developed for MB&F by Stephen McDonnell, displayed on the dial side; it wins the GPHG calendar prize in 2016.
2019
LM FlyingT
MB&F's first watch designed for women, with a central flying tourbillon, wins Best Ladies' Complication at the GPHG.
2021
M.A.D.1
A Miyota-powered watch made as a thank-you for suppliers and owners, the start of the lower-priced M.A.D.Editions.
2022
Aiguille d'Or for LM Sequential EVO
The dual column-wheel chronograph wins the top prize at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève.
2024
Chanel takes 25%
Announced on 22 August 2024; Büsser retains 60% and Serge Kriknoff 15%.
Tres cosas que saben los coleccionistas
Opus was the prototype
At Harry Winston, Büsser's Opus series paired a jeweller with independent watchmakers and credited them. MB&F applied the same idea to a whole brand, naming the 'Friends' behind every movement and case.
A gallery instead of a showroom
The first M.A.D.Gallery, for Mechanical Art Devices, opened in Geneva in 2011 and shows MB&F machines beside kinetic art by other creators. Further galleries opened in Dubai and Taipei, plus MB&F Labs in Singapore and Paris.
Chronograph for chess players
The LM Sequential EVO has two column-wheel chronographs and a 'Twinverter' pusher, allowing independent timing, split-seconds, lap timing and cumulative 'chess match' timing.
Modelos emblemáticos
- HM12007
The first Horological Machine and MB&F's first watch.
- HM4 Thunderbolt2010
Twin-pod case inspired by aircraft engines; Best Concept and Design Watch at the 2010 GPHG.
- Legacy Machine No.12011
Suspended 14 mm balance, two independent time zones and a vertical power reserve; movement by Mojon and Voutilainen.
- LM Perpetual2015
Dial-side perpetual calendar developed by Stephen McDonnell; GPHG calendar prize in 2016.
- LM Sequential EVO2022
MB&F's first chronograph, with two column-wheel chronographs; winner of the 2022 Aiguille d'Or.
Preguntas
- Who owns MB&F?
- Founder Maximilian Büsser holds 60%. Chanel acquired a 25% minority stake in August 2024, and partner Serge Kriknoff owns the remaining 15%.
- What does MB&F stand for?
- Maximilian Büsser & Friends. The 'Friends' are the independent watchmakers, engineers and craftspeople credited for developing each Horological Machine and Legacy Machine.
- How many watches does MB&F make per year?
- Very few. MB&F produced about 350 pieces in 2022, with 48 employees in 2023, which is why most models are made in small series or limited editions.
- What is M.A.D.Editions?
- A lower-priced offshoot. The M.A.D.1, created in 2021 for suppliers and MB&F owners, led to a commercial version priced at CHF 2,900 with a Miyota 821A automatic, sold partly through a public raffle.