If the M.A.D.1 broke the rules, the M.A.D.2 spins a different story. Born from the mind of Eric Giroud – designer, rebel, and longtime MB&F Friend – this timepiece is a love letter to the wild, electrifying spirit of 1990s club culture; it’s the second act in a saga that started with an unexpected hit.
Think pulsing basslines, vinyl grooves, and nights that blurred into mornings at Lausanne’s legendary Dolce Vita and MAD clubs. Smooth like an almond, bold like a second album, unapologetically M.A.D…
…but before you spin the platter and drop the needle, let’s track the wild lineage of this machine.
M.A.D.Editions – the beginning
Rewind to 2014. Max had a new idea brewing—not for collectors or connoisseurs, but for his family and friends. The people he loved couldn’t afford an MB&F watch, and it gnawed at him. How could they experience the magic of wearing one of his creations if the price tag kept them out?
The goal was clear: create something accessible. But turning that vision into reality? A different story. Four years of relentless engineering, trial and error led the MB&F team to an unsettling conclusion—this might actually be impossible. For the first time, MB&F faced a project they just couldn’t crack.
In 2018, after countless late nights and dead ends, they pulled the plug. Ironically, the very project meant to bring family and friends closer had consumed so much time, there was none left for them. As Max put it, “Some of us were sad to see it go. Others? They breathed a sigh of relief.” What began as a small snowball quickly met the heat, and it started to melt…
The calm before the storm
Fast forward to 2020. The world grinds to a halt, and so does watchmaking. COVID hit hard, and MB&F wasn’t spared. The countdown began—14 months. That was the time before the unthinkable: bankruptcy. No safety nets. Just the looming threat of sending everyone home for good.
It started during a crisis meeting. Someone threw out a wild idea: “What if we launch that more ‘affordable’ project?” Seriously? In the middle of a global meltdown, announce a new brand and product? It sounded insane. But what if it wasn’t a brand in the traditional sense? What if it was an Edition—a one-off drop? A batch of just 500 pieces. A brand has to live on, but an edition? It can start and stop whenever we want.
Fast forward a few months and something unexpected happened. Watch demand didn’t just recover; it exploded. Orders came pouring in. MB&F was suddenly facing an influx of requests. The storm began to gather, slowly turning the trickle into a relentless surge.
What to do with the M.A.D.1 project?
Simple: reserve it for the Friends – MB&F suppliers – and the clients who had supported the brand for the last 15 years, a tight-knit group of a few hundred loyal individuals nicknamed “The Tribe”. In June 2021, an email landed in the inboxes of these 500 people. No flashy campaign. No social media posts. Just a message thanking them for their trust and loyalty. And as a token of appreciation? The opportunity to purchase the watch. No fanfare. No hype. Just an email.
The snowball effect
Three days later, the inevitable happened: pictures leaked on Instagram. And the watch community? They went ballistic. “How can I get one?” – “Well… you can’t. We’re sorry.” Cue outrage: “Are you serious? Finally, a watch from you that I can afford, and it’s not available? You’re reserving it for existing clients only? X&%!…”
Four weeks later, a short film drops. Max explains the concept: “It’s not a brand. It’s a one-time thing. But we’ve heard you. Give us some time, we’ll have something for you.”
Fast-forward to February 2022. The first M.A.D 1 for the public is announced, and the frenzy begins. But instead of making people queue up outside a boutique like it’s some exclusive nightclub, MB&F launches a raffle system.
Chaos Unleashed
The result? Absolute MADness. 18,000 people registered for the first raffle—for just 450 available pieces. For the second raffle, a few months later? 22,000. After the initial M.A.D.1 Blue version for Friends and The Tribe, four iterations followed: Red, Green, the ‘Time to Love’ collaboration with Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, and finally the M.A.D.1S—slimmer, sleeker, powered by a Swiss-made caliber. Suddenly, the team had a revelation. This wasn’t supposed to happen. It wasn’t planned. But whether they liked it or not, M.A.D. was slowly evolving into… a brand.
The Future of M.A.D.Editions
So, what’s the next M.A.D.Edition? Logic says if there’s a 1, there should be a 2. But here’s the twist: if you flip over a M.A.D.1, you see the name Maximilian Büsser engraved on the caseback. It was born from his vision. M.A.D.2? That will be someone else’s creation. A new chapter. A different story – a new EDITION.
Enter: Eric Giroud – The architect of M.A.D.2
Legendary designer Eric Giroud: 20 years of designing MB&F pieces. 20 years of creative partnership with Max. For the 20th anniversary of MB&F, it’s only fitting—this one’s his. His baby. His vision. But following up a hit? That’s a challenge. It’s like the second album of a band that nailed their debut.
Eric and Max both hail from Lausanne; Giroud’s journey is anything but traditional Swiss design. While others might have been lurking around cold offices, Eric was tearing it up on dancefloors, living the 1990s club scene. Nights at the legendary MAD (Moulin à Danses) and Dolce Vita clubs in Lausanne, surrounded by creatives, musicians, actors and artists, shaped his aesthetic.
Friends called him “Erico.” He hung out with Sébastien and Stephan Kohler—DJs who hit international fame with their track At Night. Early house music boomed, Stephan Kohler (Mandrax) spun vinyl on the famous Technics SL-1200 Mark 2, and there was a palpable sense of freedom. 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—a watch born from the heartbeat of a bygone rave era.
Design that moves
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, and if you listen closely, it’s as if you can hear the rhythm of the past pulsing through it. 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-centered rotor which will make your head spin.
The M.A.D.2 stainless steel case is like a rounded pebble. Eric reminisces about his first watch design in the 1990s, one that never made it to reality. He called it Almond. And you can feel traces of that in the M.A.D.2—its smooth shape, how it feels in hand, the almond-like curves, and even the crown’s logo.
And there’s a horological surprise: the jumping hour complication. It’s 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 very center of the watch.
A smooth ride
At 42mm, the M.A.D.2 feels as smooth as it looks. It balances the playful, unexpected approach of M.A.D.Editions without going over the top—like a perfectly polished almond. 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.
Two models, two personalities: an Orange edition for the Tribe and Friends. Green for the raffle.
MANDRAX’s special touch
For this special moment, Mandrax – aka Stephan Kohler, the Lausanne-based DJ and friend of Eric Giroud – decided to throw in his own little almond to the story, a special music production for this watch, pulsating the launch video. A tribute to a time when the club scene, the beats, and the vibe of the 90s were inseparable from their creative souls. Today, that same energy drives the M.A.D.2.
In retrospect, the name says it all: M.A.D.2. The second chapter of a story that no one expected. Born from the mad spirit of the M.A.D.1 and the rebellious legacy of Lausanne’s MAD club golden era. Wild. Creative. Completely, unapologetically M.A.D.
M.A.D.2 by Eric Giroud Technical Specification
Two launch editions: Orange reserved for The Tribe and Friends, Green for the raffle.
Movement
- Base movement: Swiss made Manufacture La Joux-Perret calibre G101
- Bi-directional jumping hour and trailing minutes module developed by MB&F
- Case fitting diameter: 25.6mm / 11 ½’’
- Height: 4.45mm
- Balance/Frequency: 4Hz / 28’800
- Jewels: 24
- Power reserve: 64h
- Automatic winding
Case
- Stainless steel 316L
- Dimensions: diameter 42mm x height 12.3mm
- Water resistance: 30m / 3ATM / 90 feet
- Top sapphire crystal treated with anti-reflective coating on both faces
- Bottom sapphire crystal treated with anti-reflective coating on inside face
Strap & buckle
- Leather strap with stainless steel folding buckle
M.A.D EDITIONS – THE STORY UNTIL NOW
The story of the M.A.D.Editions began as a spontaneous one. In June 2021, MB&F founder Maximilian Büsser shared a watch with his community of suppliers and collectors on email, with the attachment detailing a handful of images of a watch. There was no launch, no announcement, no press rallying. But what followed saw an unprecedented momentum beyond the select email recipients to see this watch, the first edition of the M.A.D.1, be brought further to life to the public.
To this day, and in the spirit of fairness, accessibility to all M.A.D.Editions are sanctioned by audience: to the ‘Friends’ (suppliers) of the brand who have supported Maximilian Büsser’s endeavours since 2005, involved in the creation of timepieces, and the ‘Tribe,’ for those in ownership of MB&F’s Horological and Legacy Machines, granted permanent access to future M.A.D.Editions, acknowledging its adopters both old and new.
But the M.A.D.1 Blue, the “Friend and Tribe Edition” garnered traction beyond any expectation. Due to popular demand, less than a year later, in March 2022, the M.A.D.1 RED became the first M.A.D.1 available to the public, modified with unique features including a slimmer bezel and round winding crown. With a production of 1,500 pieces, the raffle strategy was inaugurated for supporters to enter, with the opportunity to win the rights to purchase a watch. With a staggering 19,000 entrants, winners were selected at random and watches were delivered that year, in keeping with Büsser’s goal to reduce wait times and the process from purchase, to wearing on the wrist. As the final distribution of M.A.D.1 REDs made their way to new owners, Büsser and the MB&F team were awarded the Challenge Prize at the esteemed Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), for the best watch under 3500 CHF that year.
With no sign of waning appetite, MB&F manufactured a second batch of 1,500 M.A.D.1 REDs in February 2023, via the same raffle process, which saw an increase in entrants up to 22,000. Putting a precedent on affordability and to support the desire amongst fans to own a M.A.D.1, the team later produced a further 1,500 models in September 2023, the M.A.D.1 GREEN, this time in another accented colourway.
The M.A.D.Editions continue to speak to Büsser’s watchmaking lens: playful, thought-provoking timepieces that question the boundless limits of horology as a form of art. Paying tribute to this, Büsser welcomed the first collaborator to the series in March 2024, with the inimitable French artist and designer, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, regarded for his playful fusions of colour, in a limited edition run of 999 pieces.
From the early ideation many years ago, to the first execution in 2021, through to the launch of the slimmer, reconfigured M.A.D.1S powered by the Swiss made LaJoux-Perret calibre, M.A.D Editions continues to welcome enthusiasts along a journey in celebrating the M.A.D.ness.