Haute Time Presents: Maximilian Büsser Of MB&F At Basel World
During Basel World I got the chance to sit down with a very powerful man in the watch industry, Maximilian Büsser.
Maximilian Büsser is the creator of Maximilian Büsser & Friends, also known as the MB&F watch brand. His company is very unique and all his watches, priced at $100,000 and up, are designed “outside the box.”
He introduced me first to the Legacy Machines, based on an idea of what they would have created if they lived 100 years ago. The watch was created with two different time zones, with one balance wheel and at the 6:00 point is the first and only vertical power reserve on a watch. The new movement designed for the LM1 comes from Jean-François Mojon while the finishing on the LM1’s caliber was designed and completed by Kari Voutilainen. The Legacy Machines are priced at $93,000 Swiss Francs, with only 30 red gold and 30 white gold pieces crafted per year.
Maximilian and I then moved on to discussing one of the coolest watches on the market, the horological machine known as the “Thunderbolt.” The watches have a really cool WW2 pinup feature that is actually micro drilled into the watch, giving it complete character. The movement, made of over 311 parts, took more than three years and a couple million dollars to develop. The watch has one crown that winds the engine up and another crown that changes the time. Watching the timepiece in real time, I was amazed at the technology. The back of the watch has one block of sapphire showing the inside of the watch which took over 185 hours, (nearly one month) just to connect the piece.
Maximilian also showed me the “Double Trouble” watch which, just like the name of a jet, featured two pin-ups. Priced at $220,000 US dollars, this work of art is definitely a collectors item with only eight pieces in the whole world.
The last piece we discussed was the MB&F Frog, a little demented version of their #3, inspired by Tim Burton and the countryside frogs Maximilian remembers growing up. They craft about 10-12 pieces a year, out of titanium and sapphire. The movement has over 380 components and is truly a piece of art. Maximilian also showed me how the rotor of the watch was self winding when worn. Made out of 22k gold, with blue PV coating, the Frog is only $93,000, a great deal for this piece.
Maximilian has created his own niche in the industry. His watches are machines and because they are all limited editions, they can be collectors pieces. I am a huge fan of his brand and I was honored I got to sit down and meet with him.
Check out the video above to get an inside look of my meeting with Maximilian Büsser and a glimpse at the amazing timpieces he showed me
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