Independents

Their restored 100+ year old building (MAD House) has to be one of the coolest spaces I've been to. The fact that there is an ultra high end watch manufacture fit into a 100+ yr old mansion makes it all the 'madder'.  All of their production occurs there, except for the large CNC machines and other heavy equipment to mill metals. The watch makers, engineers, designers etc... are all on site, working together to carefully craft simply stunning, crazy and wonderful pieces.  Meeting 20 or so people during our visit, we really got a sense of the wonderful living being "MB&F" that Max Busser and his team created.

During our tour, we learned that one watchmaker assembles a watch from start to finish. There is no assembly line mentality or 'not my job' mentality. If you own one of their watches, you can potentially meet who put it together from start to finish, who worked on the engineering, etc... What struck me most was the positive and collaborative energy of the 50+ people working there, pride in their work, pride and excitement in their company's designs and unique products.  Their extent of quality assurance protocols, and attention to minute details are so comprehensive, it can't possibly make business sense at any price.

At the end of our several hour tour, much to our surprise, we got to meet Max Busser, who was not supposed to be in town that day. What a wonderful surprise. My wife screamed when he came out of his office to meet us. He is as warm and charming and inspiring in person as he is in his interviews. It's genuine.

It's a wonderful place that is a must visit for any watch fan. No iphone photos I took will do it justice. You can find several well known youtube watch channels showcasing their visits there.

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