FRANK Magazine Issue 2 | Denison Yachting

“We spoke a lot about regrets and one day I broke down and realized I had sold out. The young, creative artist I’d been as a kid had become a marketeer – I was creating timepieces because I thought they’d sell, not because I liked them.”

Ignited by a fresh sense of ambition, Büsser left Harry Winston and founded MB&F with two guiding principles.

The first, to create without being influenced by what the market wants. “We only create what we love, and we don’t give a flying f**k if people actually like it.” The second, to only work with likeminded people. It’s a belief that inspired the company name, an acronym for ‘Maximilian Büsser and Friends’. “Everyone told me it’s the worst name ever, but I didn’t know how to create a name from ‘Max Büsser and people who share the same values!” he jokes.

Büsser put his savings into the “leap of faith” business, which he ran from his flat. After two “insanely complicated” years, he delivered his first two watches. Fast forward 16 years and Büsser and his team of 30 have created 19 unique movements. These include the new 2021 release of three colorful updated editions of the LM101: the illuminating sapphire-clad HM9 SV; the FlyingT in malachite; and the 10th anniversary edition LMX, featuring a new movement reinterpreting the original LM1 in 3D. In an industry where the meaning of ‘luxury’ has been lost, Büsser believes having creative freedom is a luxury in itself. “The industry has become polarized. On one side, you have miniature, artisanal companies like ours. On the other, you have highly-industrialized companies creating uber-marketed products. The big boys have taken over a large part of the market, which has increasingly become about status. It’s attracted hundreds of thousands of new clients who are not interested in watchmaking. And that’s dangerous because if this new breed of client isn’t interested, it’s difficult for them to understand or recognize quality. If you can’t taste luxury, you’re at risk of being fed all sorts of different foods.”

That said, he hopes the pandemic may inspire a shift in attitude. The last two years were MB&F’s most successful to date: “I think Covid has, in some cases, allowed people to refocus on what’s fundamentally important to them.

Showing off becomes less appealing when in lockdown. It’s also when the real, emotional link to what’s important in your life resurfaces.”