It is possible that the MB&F M.A.D.Editions M.A.D.1S watch is the final version (which will probably see a few color variations) of the popular M.A.D.1 (M.A.D.1) timepiece series by the Geneva brand. The M.A.D.1S is a thinner version of the M.A.D.1 and features a few other design and technical changes. The MB&F M.A.D. Editions M.A.D.1S originally debuted at Geneva Watch Days in August of 2024 and was released in purple and blue-accented models. Back in 2022, aBlogtoWatch featured a full review of the first version of the MB&F M.A.D.Editions M.A.D.1 watch here.

MB&F founder Max Busser carefully planned out how his high-end luxury watch brand would approach a more affordable product for a number of years prior to ever releasing something like the M.A.D.Editions. Even though the M.A.D.1 and M.A.D.1S watches cost a few thousand dollars each, they are vastly more affordable than MB&F Horological Machine and Legacy Machine wristwatches. What MB&F did to maintain demand and interest in the models was skillfully distribute them only to “members of the tribe” (friends of the brand who have done business with them before), as well as people who enter a raffle-style system on the MB&F website that apparently selects from interested consumers are random to make a purchase opportunity available to them. Not everyone likes the idea of not being able to simply purchase what they want, but the concept has worked well for MB&F. In addition, it’s maintained a healthy enthusiasm around a product that is very different from what MB&F has been delighting its elite wearers for a while now.

The entire concept of the MAD1 was to create a watch whose face is a view of the spinning automatic rotor, while the time is indicated not on the dial, but rather through the sides of the case using two spinning drums. The upside-down-mounted movement would provide lots of visual animation, while the entire concept of the design was supposed to be as novel and semi-futuristic as many of the more expensive MB&F watches out there. The same designers and passions that go into $100,000 plus MB&F watches are involved with the lower-priced M.A.D.Editions products. We already know that long-time friend of MB&F and popular watch designer Eric Giroud was again tapped for the upcoming MB&F M.A.D.Editions M.A.D.2 watch that should debut sometime in 2025 most likely. For now, there is the thinner M.A.D.1S for enthusiasts to focus on.

According to MB&F there are about 6,000 M.A.D.1 watches of various colors out in the wild. There probably won’t be as many M.A.D.1S watches produced in total, but I could be wrong. I think that Max Busser and his team probably know that overproduction (over too short a period) is an easy way to devastate interest and collectability in even these more affordable M.A.D. Editions products. Accordingly, it is easy to guess that between a few colors, only a few thousand M.A.D.1S timepieces will be produced. My guess is that once the M.A.D.2 gets released, the focus on the M.A.D.1 and M.A.D.1S models will wane until those products are no longer made with the brand focusing on future items.

At a glance, the MAD1S simply looks like a thinner version of the MAD1. Numerically speaking, the difference in thickness is close to 19mm thick for the MAD1 and 15mm thick for the MAD1S. Both watches are 42mm wide and the water resistance rating for the MAD1S is 30 meters. The case is produced from steel, and the crystals on and around the case are a combination of sapphire and mineral glass. My guess is that the AR-coated domed crystal over the top face of the watch is sapphire crystal, while the ring of transparent material around the side of the case is mineral glass. Having a sapphire component for the case side would have probably been too expensive for this price point.

To achieve a thinner profile for the M.A.D.1 concept, MB&F actually needed to remove a piece of functionality for the M.A.D.1S in the form of removing the minute ring. Instead of having both a minute and hour indicator ring/drum, the M.A.D. Editions M.A.D.1S only has an hour indicator. The current hour is read on the edge of the case between the two lugs at the bottom at the 6 o’clock position on the case.  A lume-painted arrow is there to show you where to read the time. Being able to easily read the time on a M.A.D.1S watch has never been the point nor the reason why people get a watch like this. So, having an indication of only the hours doesn’t really remove much of the reason why people like this product. People don’t seem to mind the lowered functionality in exchange for the more svelte-wearing profile. That said, people who have worn both the M.A.D.1 and the M.A.D.1S seem to suggest that actually trying to learn the time on the M.A.D.1S is a bit more of a chore (your smartphone will come to the rescue for sure when you need to know the precise hour and minute).

MB&F didn’t just keep the M.A.D.1 the same and remove the minute ring. The MAD1S features a slightly reworked case and contains a new movement. The changes to the case have two purposes. First was a rework of the lugs to make the watch wear a bit more elegantly on smaller wrists. Second was to offer a slightly better view of the movement inside of the watch while looking at it from the year through the “X” motif. Probably the most “controversial” (in terms of the pricing) part of the MB&F M.A.D.1 was the fact that it used a Japanese automatic movement. The MB&F M.A.D.1S uses a different movement, which is in essence a Japanese movement created in Switzerland. The M.A.D.1S watch contains the La Joux-Perret caliber G101 (the G100 without the date) that operates at 4Hz with 68 hours of power reserve. La Joux-Perret is owned by Japan’s Citizen Group, whose Miyota factory produced the movements for the M.A.D.1. The G100 is based on the Miyota 9000 series architecture but with some modifications and made in Switzerland. The nice news for MB&F and Citizen is that they both win here. MB&F gets to claim the MAD1S contains a Swiss movement, and Citizen still gets to sell movements to MB&F — a win/win in the watch industry if there ever was one. That also explains why La Joux-Perret and their G100 family of movements are currently doing so well in the timepiece market.

The comfortable fabric-textured leather strap on its metal deployant clasp remains a part of the MB&F MADEditions M.A.D.1S, as is the overall fun nature of wearing this “rotor first” wristwatch concept. Many people like seeing the three-sided lume-painted automatic rotor spinning over the upsidedown-mounted mechanical movement more so than they want to immediately know the time. The animated, playful nature of the M.A.D.1 and M.A.D.1S is what draws interest to both wearing them and appreciating them on the wrists of people who are wearing them. These are not very practical watches in the scheme of things, but very few MB&F watches (if any) could be characterized as practical. Rather, as Max Busser and his team also pledge, objects like this are wearable kinetic art for the wrist… that also happens to tell the time. Price (for those who are offered a chance to buy one) for the MB&F M.A.D.Editions M.A.D.1S watch is 2,900 Swiss Francs. Learn more at the MB&F website.