Since its introduction in June 2021, the MB&F M.A.D 1 has been an astounding success. The series was released and only available to buy by invitation, and was known as “Friends and Tribe”. The demand has persuaded Max Busser to release a new series of the M.A.D. 1 Red.
Here is our hands-on review of the M.A.D. 1 Friends and Tribe.
M.A.D. 1 Red
The M.A.D Edition M.A.D 1 is priced at CHF 2,900 (approximately S$4,200).
The M.A.D. 1 is not an MB&F machine, but is designed to be a more accessible timepiece created under a different brand – M.A.D. 1 Editions. The series was a special, by invitation only collection, and was reserved for two categories: “The Friends” – suppliers who help create the MB&F machines, and to the members of “The Tribe”, the owners of MB&F machines – the patrons who have made the adventure possible. This idea is very interesting, as the brand is taking the effort to return a gesture of thanks to those who have supported them in the past. The idea is not new though, before M.A.D 1, Hajime Asoka had already released his Kurono series of accessible watches which were first offered to friends and supporters before releasing to general public.
MB&F tells us that they only made several hundreds of the M.A.D. 1, and the series was completely sold out almost immediately. What they were not quite prepared for was the response by the public to the release was mind blowing. In a matter of days, the MB&F team were submerged by thousands of comments and messages on social media, begging them to make the M.A.D. 1 available to the general public. The new M.A.D. 1 Red is their response.
The new M.A.D. 1 is built on the same platform as the original M.A.D.1, with the same case structure. It has the same lateral time display, with two rotating cylinders for the hours and minutes. The upside-down modified Miyota movement is powered by the triple-blade winding rotor in titanium and tungsten (that’s the star of the show – especially when the Super-LumiNova. But the M.A.D.1 RED is not the exact same watch as the original with just a colour change. It also comes with its own special features: the original blue is now in a bright cherry red, the bezel is just a bit slimmer, and the winding and time setting is now done with a more classic, round winding crown.
Priority will be given to fans who have written to them since the last year. This waitlist is now closed. After the priority orders are confirmed, the remaining M.A.D. 1 Red will be allocated to a lottery which is open to anyone. If you are interested in participating in the lottery, go the M.A.D. eShop and obtain a lottery ticked. Tickets are available over the next 2 weeks, so there is no need to rush to be first. After 2 weeks, a random draw will be done, and the winners can place their orders.
Deliveries of the M.A.D. 1 Reds will start in April 2022 and continue through the rest of the year. The first deliveries will be to priority group, and when the orders are served, delivery of the lottery winners will begin, likely September to December.