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MB&F does not make watches. MB&F makes machines. That distinction is not marketing language. It is a philosophical position that has guided every product the brand has created since Maximilian Büsser founded it in Geneva in 2005. The “Horological Machines” look like spaceships, jet engines, robots, and deep-sea creatures. The “Legacy Machines” look like what MB&F might have made a century ago, if it had existed then, reimagining nineteenth-century watchmaking through a lens of three-dimensional architecture. The Co-Creations include table clocks shaped like octopuses and music boxes that look like spacecraft. Nothing in the MB&F catalog looks like anything from any other brand. That is the point.
MB&F stands for Maximilian Büsser and Friends, and the “Friends” part is essential. Büsser does not employ a stable of in-house watchmakers in the traditional sense. Instead, he collaborates with independent movement constructors, case designers, dial makers, and finishing specialists, crediting each contributor by name. The result is a brand that operates more like a design studio or a film production company than a conventional manufacturer, assembling the best talent for each project and producing watches in very limited quantities.
Origins
Maximilian Büsser studied microtechnology engineering before entering the watch industry. He spent seven years at Jaeger-LeCoultre, then moved to Harry Winston, where he served as managing director and created the Opus series, an annual collaboration between Harry Winston and a different independent watchmaker each year. The Opus project established Büsser’s reputation as someone who could bridge the worlds of haute horlogerie and radical design, and it planted the seed for what would become MB&F.
In 2005, Büsser left Harry Winston to found MB&F in Geneva. He funded the venture by pre-selling watches based on drawings, traveling the world to convince retailers to support a brand that did not yet have a single product to show. The first watch, Horological Machine No. 1 (HM1), debuted in 2007. It was a timepiece with dual dials and a case shaped like a futuristic spacecraft. Nothing like it had ever been produced by a Swiss watchmaker. The watch world noticed, and MB&F has not stopped pushing boundaries since.
Horological Machines
The Horological Machines are MB&F at its most uninhibited. Each HM is designed around a theme drawn from Büsser’s childhood interests: 1960s science fiction, aviation, supercars, deep-sea creatures, and toy robots. The cases are sculpted in three dimensions, with time displays that are often positioned on the top or sides of the case rather than on a traditional flat dial.
The HM4 Thunderbolt was inspired by jet aircraft. The HM6 Space Pirate features a biomorphic case with a retractable shield over its flying tourbillon. The HM9 Flow channels the streamlined aesthetics of 1950s jet-age automotive design. The HM10 Bulldog uses its power reserve indicator as the opening and closing jaws of a bulldog’s mouth. Each Horological Machine requires a completely new movement, designed specifically for that watch’s architecture.
These are not watches for people who want to tell the time discreetly. They are three-dimensional kinetic sculptures that happen to display hours and minutes. Prices for Horological Machines typically range from approximately $80,000 to $200,000 and above, depending on materials and complication, with rare or limited editions commanding significant premiums on the secondary market.
Legacy Machines
In 2011, Büsser surprised the watch world by introducing Legacy Machine No. 1 (LM1), a round-cased watch with a white dial that, at first glance, looked almost conventional. Almost. The LM1 features a massive 14mm flying balance wheel suspended above the dial on a pair of arched steel bridges, visible through a dramatically domed sapphire crystal. Two independent time displays sit at 10 and 2 o’clock. It was MB&F’s interpretation of what the brand might have created in the nineteenth century, filtered through Büsser’s three-dimensional design philosophy.
The Legacy Machines have since grown into a full collection. The LM Perpetual features a revolutionary perpetual calendar mechanism (designed by independent watchmaker Stephen McDonnell) that uses a “mechanical processor” and a 28-day default month. The LM Sequential EVO is a split-seconds chronograph. The LM FlyingT, MB&F’s first women’s watch, features a central flying tourbillon with a 100-hour power reserve and a time display tilted at 50 degrees. The LM FlyingT won the GPHG Best Ladies’ Complication award in 2019, and the LM Sequential EVO won the Aiguille d’Or (the top prize) at the GPHG in 2022.
Legacy Machines retail from approximately $52,000 to $130,000 and above. The EVO variants, designed for more active lifestyles with enhanced water resistance and sportier aesthetics, have broadened the collection’s appeal beyond the traditional collector audience.
M.A.D. Editions
In 2021, MB&F launched M.A.D. Editions (Mechanical Art Devices), a parallel label that brings the brand’s creative spirit to a more accessible price point. The M.A.D. 1, priced at approximately $1,500 to $2,000, features a distinctive exposed movement with lateral time display. M.A.D. Editions watches are produced in limited quantities and sold through raffles and dedicated events, creating an engaged community around the brand. The M.A.D. 2, launched in 2025, expanded the range. Büsser has described M.A.D. Editions as a way to welcome a broader audience into the MB&F universe without diluting the main brand’s exclusivity.
Buying MB&F Today
MB&F watches are available at the brand’s M.A.D. Galleries (in Geneva, Dubai, Hong Kong, Taipei, and other locations), through MB&F Labs, and at a select network of authorized retailers. Production is extremely limited. MB&F produces its watches in small series, often fewer than 100 pieces per reference, and many editions sell out before or shortly after launch. Waitlists are common for popular references, and allocation is managed through direct relationships with the brand and its retail partners.
On the secondary market, MB&F watches hold value exceptionally well, and many references trade above their original retail prices. The brand’s combination of limited production, critical acclaim (five GPHG awards including the top prize), and a design language that has no substitute creates strong and consistent demand among collectors who have discovered what Büsser and his friends are building.
MB&F is not for everyone. It requires a willingness to wear something that will generate questions, that will not be recognized by most people, and that prioritizes creative expression over conventional luxury signaling. For the collector who values originality above all else, there is nothing else like it in watchmaking.
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This article is for informational purposes only. Prices, secondary market values, and specifications are approximate and based on market conditions as of early 2026. MB&F is a registered trademark of MB&F SA. Tempo is not affiliated with or endorsed by MB&F.