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MBF

Maximilian Busser's creative lab - roughly 300 watches a year, every one of them an argument that a watch can be a sculpture. Knockoff Watches Wholesale covers the Horological Machines, the Legacy Machines and the L'Epee clocks.
118Stories published
2005Maison founded
4Current collections
MBF Legacy Machine Sequential Flyback in white gold

MBF - Maximilian Busser Friends - is an independent Swiss watchmaker founded in Geneva in 2005 by Maximilian Busser, the former managing director of Harry Winston Rare Timepieces. It produces roughly 300 watches a year across two families: the Horological Machines, which abandon conventional watch form entirely, and the Legacy Machines, which reinterpret nineteenth-century watchmaking in round cases. MBF has no in-house factory in the traditional sense - it credits the independent watchmakers, designers and suppliers who build each calibre by name, and also produces mechanical clocks in co-creation with L'Epee 1839.

MBFFounded 2005GenevaIndependentMaximilian BusserHorological MachineLegacy MachineL'Epee 1839

The Collection

Horological Machines
Sculptural · HM1-HM11
Bespoke calibres
Legacy Machines
Round · 40-44mm
LM calibres, suspended balance
LM Perpetual
Perpetual calendar · 42mm
Mechanical processor, S. McDonnell
Performance Art / Co-creations
Clocks and collaborations
With L'Epee 1839 and others

Latest MBF Coverage

All 118 Stories ›
All 118 MBF Stories

Milestones

2005
Maximilian Busser leaves Harry Winston and founds MBF in Geneva.
2007
Horological Machine No.1 launches - a watch that does not look like a watch.
2011
Legacy Machine No.1 introduces the suspended flying balance over the dial.
2015
LM Perpetual, engineered by Stephen McDonnell, rebuilds the perpetual calendar around a mechanical processor.

Timely FAQs

What does MBF stand for?
Maximilian Busser Friends. The name is the business model - Busser conceives each machine and credits the independent watchmakers, designers and specialists who realise it, rather than presenting the work as anonymous in-house output.
What is the difference between a Horological Machine and a Legacy Machine?
Horological Machines are three-dimensional sculptural objects with no reference to traditional watch shape. Legacy Machines are round and classical in outline, imagining what Busser would have built as a nineteenth-century watchmaker - the LM1 suspended flying balance is the signature.
How many watches does MBF make?
Roughly 300 a year. That scarcity is structural, not marketing - each machine is a limited series built with outside specialists, which is why secondary-market demand consistently exceeds supply.
Where can I read MBF reviews from a watch publication?
Knockoff Watches Wholesale has published around 60 MBF stories, covering Horological and Legacy Machine launches, L'Epee clock co-creations and interviews with Maximilian Busser.
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