“The Seddiqi family do not consider independent watchmaking as a business ”
MB&F founder Maximilian Büsser on his evolving relationship with the Seddiqi family:
Twenty years ago, even though he barely knew me, Abdulmagied Seddiqi was one of the few retail partners who believed in my trying to revive Harry Winston timepieces. I had just arrived at the helm of that company and even though their stores were barely selling two-three pieces a year, he gave me one of my biggest orders ever to help me out. I will never ever forget that particular moment in Abdulmagied’s office in Bur Dubai. Harry Winston timepieces went on to become a great success, but it would not have been possible without a few people like Abdulmagied helping me.
In 2005, Abdulmagied, Mohammed (his son) and I were having tea in their Capricorn tower office. I had left Harry Winston to follow my dream, MB&F, where I injected my life’s savings that are by far not enough. I desperately needed to find retail partners who would not only order my first crazy creation, Horological Machine No1, but who were insane enough to pay me 30 per cent in advance at least two years before I deliver – based on a drawing! Guess who was one of the only six retailers around the world who answered “Ok you’re nuts, but let’s do this…”
Fast forward, 10 years later, Mohammed suggests to me one day to open a M.A.D. Gallery in Dubai. I remember telling him cautiously “I hope you are not expecting to make any money out of it, because you won’t…”. He laughed out loud and just said “Of course not! Dubai needs a M.A.D. Gallery and our whole family loves it.” The rest is history.
Any retailer who carries powerhouse brands like Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Richard Mille, really does not need any other brand. The Seddiqi family do not consider independent watchmaking as a business and clearly it isn’t one. I have the feeling they champion it because it makes them proud and embodies everything real watchmaking lovers like them enjoy: artisanship, humanity, art, innovation. The whole family spends a proportionally inordinate amount of time and energy on helping independent watchmakers to follow their creative dreams. They act much more as patrons than business partners.