Maverick watch brand MB&F has unveiled the M.A.D.1 ‘Time to Love’ – the result of the marque’s artistic collaboration with legendary French artist and designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (JCDC), who turns his hand to watchmaking, becoming the first creator to collaborate on a M.A.D.1
As a young man in the 1980s, MB&F founder Maximilian Büsser adored the French artist and designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac for his avant-gardist pop designs in primary colours. Over the years, his respect for JCDC continued to grow as he observed the artist from afar. Fast forward 40 some years and the idea came to Max to try and contact JCDC to see – if by any chance – he would be interested in co-designing a watch, and thus an extraordinary collaboration was born.
The initial thought was to collaborate on an MB&F Horological Machine, but it quickly became evident that the M.A.D.1 – from the brand’s parallel more accessible label, M.A.D.Editions – would be the perfect canvas for JCDC. Working with his three iconic colours – red for passion, blue for hope, and yellow for human warmth – he has adorned the M.A.D.1 rotor with his signature colourway that is produced in lacquer on a newly engineered rotor, where one of the wings is slightly heavier than the other two to optimise spinning. A bright green is also present and featured on the piece’s hour disc – another colour close to Castelbajac’s heart and linked to childhood memories.
Other details include a quote from the artist in French on the dial’s base: “Ce trésor rare et précieux, c’est ta vie. Le temps vole de ses ailes blanches. Tu es le gardien de ton temps”. This translates into English as: “This rare and precious treasure is your life. Time flies with its white wings. You are the guardian of your time”. The numbers of the hour and minute rings are in his own handwriting, and the crown features an engraving of an angel talking to the moon, a recurring theme in his art creations. The strap is crafted in leather and is embroidered with the name of the watch, ‘Time to Love’, and each timepiece comes with two straps – one in black and the other in white.
The M.A.D.1 ‘Time to Love’ will be limited to 999 pieces, which is a first, as previous editions were not limited, just produced in batches that were made available via raffles. As numbers will be more restricted than before, half will be made available for the MB&F Tribe (registered collectors of MB&F pieces) and Friends (suppliers) on a first-come, first-served basis. The rest will be available to the general public using the same raffle system as before, to ensure fair distribution.
