Unlike M.A.D.1, which was born from the vision of Maximilian Büsser and has his name engraved on the caseback, the M.A.D.2 is Eric Giroud’s, with a different story
Legendary designer Eric Giroud has been in a creative partnership with Max for 20 years, designing MB&F creations. For the 20th anniversary of MB&F, it’s only fitting that his vision comes to life. Eric and Max both hail from Lausanne; Giroud’s journey is anything but traditional Swiss design. Eric, in his younger days, was tearing it up on dancefloors, living the 1990s club scene. The 90s were electric, a time when change was in the air, especially in music; this is the world that inspired the M.A.D.2.
The M.A.D.2’s raised central subdials – displaying the hours and minutes – look like the turntables from a DJ mixing console. The central dial over which they rotate is a love letter to vinyl textures, with grooves and satin finishes mimicking music tracks. Surrounding it is the platter, inspired by the stroboscopic band of the Technics SL-1200 – complete with Super-LumiNova stop pins. Every flick of the wrist sets the platter spinning. The stroboscopic platter is in fact the automatic winding rotor, visible from both the front and the back. Flip the watch over and you’ll discover the gyroscopic off-centred rotor, which will make your head spin.
The M.A.D.2 stainless steel case is like a rounded pebble. Eric called his first watch design in the 1990s, which never made it to reality, ‘Almond’. The M.A.D.2 – its smooth shape, how it feels in hand, the almond-like curves, and even the crown’s logo – all evoke the Almond. The jumping hour complication is a secret you only uncover after spending time with the watch. Nothing screams “bi-directional jumping hours” at first glance. The small metal markers – which look like guitar picks, almonds, or maybe even alien eyes – conveniently indicate the jumping hour and trailing minutes at the centre of the watch.
At 42mm, the M.A.D.2 feels as smooth as it looks. Despite being visually worlds apart from the M.A.D.1, they share a heartbeat: the same La Joux-Perret movement found in the M.A.D.1S, now enhanced with a bespoke jumping hour module developed by MB&F; Swiss-made, Swiss-assembled.
The timepiece comes in two models: an Orange edition for the Tribe and Friends; and Green for the raffle. For this special moment, Mandrax – aka Stephan Kohler, the Lausanne-based DJ and friend of Eric Giroud – has created a special music production for this watch, pulsating the launch video.
