Boy’s Toys

When Maximilian Büsser’s imagination runs wild, one knows not what to expect: a music machine that belts out the Star Wars tune, a clock that takes the form of a spider, or a robot clock inspired by a World War II tanker… Karishma Tulsidas discovers the latest in MB&F’S repertoire

ver since he established MB&F 11 years ago, Maximilian Büsser has unleashed his chimerical fantasies with timepieces that resemble spacecrafts, dashboards, automobiles and more. But where timepieces offer limited real estate on the wrist, MB&F has expanded the size of its canvas with table clocks and music machines that are, once again, far-fetched interpretations of these traditional devices. As is its modus operandi, MB&F has worked with specialists in the industry on the mechanics of the music boxes and table clocks. For the former, the brand leveraged on the expertise of Reuge, and the latter, L’epée 1839. Both brands were founded in the 1800s. While the world has moved from music boxes to cassettes to MP3S, Reuge has never wavered from the way it makes music mechanically. Similarly, L’epée, established in 1839, is the only manufacture in Switzerland to make specialised high-end clocks. MB&F’S postmodernist approach might seem at odds with these traditional companies, but Büsser’s strength lies in packaging conventional micro-engineering within other-worldly, and oftentimes futuristic, contraptions. The collaboration with Reuge started in 2013, and the resulting Musicmachines have been explosive. Last year, in commemoration of the independent watchmaker’s 10th anniversary, Reuge and MB&F released the third and final Musicmachine. The device, nicknamed TIE Fighter, is significantly less lethal than its namesake, the fighter vehicle of the Imperial Empire in Star Wars. The sound of its engine might strike fear in the empire’s enemies’ hearts, but the music machine is a lot friendlier: its tunes, including the James Bond, Star Wars and Mission Impossible themes, are more likely