Not only has Maximilian Büsser invented the concept of the watchmaking collective with his ‘friends’, but he has now also invented – or rather popularised – that of horological philanthropy.
The scene is Edinburgh, in 2011. Maximilian Büsser is attending a gala event. Seated next to him is a well-known financier at the head of a major bank. The two connoisseurs of fine objects inevitably end up discussing watchmaking. While Maximilian Büsser is already a key player in the field, he is taken aback by one particular exchange with his neighbour that evening.
When the founder of MB&F asks him to name his latest watchmaking crush, the banker’s pithy response is “Reuge”. The music-box manufacturer? Isn’t that a surprising investment for a savvy financial wizard? The reply is equally emphatic: “With Reuge, I’m not looking for a return on investment. This House is so exceptional that it must thrive and develop.” Maximilian ponders this thought for a few days, a few months… and ends up picking up his sketchpad.
A new type of machine
“I created MB&F to develop unique, beautiful and unprecedented projects. The creations by Reuge were sitting there right under my nose and there was an evident kinship with our mindset, yet I had never dreamed of a joint endeavour”, admits Maximilian Büsser.
For 150 years, Reuge has been synonymous with musical movements. Its first musical pocket-watches date back to 1865, a time when many of today’s manufacturers were not yet born. Established by the Reuge family in whose hands it remained for over a century, the firm has constantly kept pace with its times, transitioning smoothly from musical automata to the most modern sound devices such as the mp3 player.
Bearing in mind this inestimably precious heritage, the founder of MB&F pondered the fundamental question: “what on earth could I personally do to pay tribute to Reuge?” The answer became self-evident, sparked by the history of MB&F: create a new ‘Machine’ that would not be tagged ‘Horological’ this time but simply ‘Music’, thereby offering the best of the two brand worlds.
A bold gamble
Creating this object was nonetheless a daring exercise: MB&F channels a 1960s and 70s vibe brimming with super heroes and comic strip culture, whereas Reuge crafts wood and plays sonatas and concertos.
Maximilian Büsser was nonetheless determined to follow through on the project and to adopt an uncompromising stance. There would be no ‘middle ground’ between the worlds of Reuge and MB&F: has anyone ever since a spaceship playing a Bach prelude when you open its cockpit? Instead of satisfying devotees of the two brands, the result of any such crossover move would only have disappointed all of them.
Maximilian Büsser thus decided to stake it all and came up with a fully completed plan! “I went straight to the point by submitting the project to Reuge exactly as I wanted it and reqeusting ‘can you make this for me?’ They made no promises but asked for just one thing: a 12-month lead time. By the time the 12 months were up, I had my MusicMachine on my desk, an exact replica of the plans I had given them. The brilliance of the Reuge artisans is quite simply boundless”.
Reuge has indeed patiently forged this technical mastery over the last century and a half. It is currently the only company capable of reproducing any melody covering up to six or seven octaves into a mechanical piano with 36, 72 or 144 notes. The exercise suggested by Max Büsser was thus entirely in tune with the firm’s creative approach.
Master stroke
The MusicMachine was presented at Baselworld 2013, its only flaw being that it was issued in a 66-piece limited series. Maximilian Büsser confesses: “I had ordered 33 black and 33 white versions, thinking that selling half of them would already be a good thing.” MB&F in fact received 85 firm orders, which meant that some stores that had requested up to 20 units had to lower their sights. And speaking of authentic philanthropy and a will to preserve the heritage of artistic crafts, it is important to specify that MB&F made no profit from this operation, since the orders were directly taken, fulfilled and delivered by Reuge itself.
In keeping with its motto, MB&F will never remake this MusicMachine. The last of them are currently in production and should be delivered this year. End of story? Rather its beginning, since Maximilian Büsser freely admits that this unexpected success has encouraged him to work on other projects with Reuge. Baselworld 2014 will probably thus dance to the tune of the new MB&F ‘friend”. It is for example a well-known fact that Reuge is capable of developing and producing a complete range of singing birds and musical watches with or without automata… exactly the kind of feats liable to nurture MB&F’s fertile imagination!
When the founder of MB&F asks him to name his latest watchmaking crush, the banker’s pithy response is “Reuge”. The music-box manufacturer? Isn’t that a surprising investment for a savvy financial wizard? The reply is equally emphatic: “With Reuge, I’m not looking for a return on investment. This House is so exceptional that it must thrive and develop.” Maximilian ponders this thought for a few days, a few months… and ends up picking up his sketchpad.
A new type of machine
“I created MB&F to develop unique, beautiful and unprecedented projects. The creations by Reuge were sitting there right under my nose and there was an evident kinship with our mindset, yet I had never dreamed of a joint endeavour”, admits Maximilian Büsser.
Qu’est ce que je pouvais bien faire pour rendre hommage à Reuge ?
Bearing in mind this inestimably precious heritage, the founder of MB&F pondered the fundamental question: “what on earth could I personally do to pay tribute to Reuge?” The answer became self-evident, sparked by the history of MB&F: create a new ‘Machine’ that would not be tagged ‘Horological’ this time but simply ‘Music’, thereby offering the best of the two brand worlds.
A bold gamble
Creating this object was nonetheless a daring exercise: MB&F channels a 1960s and 70s vibe brimming with super heroes and comic strip culture, whereas Reuge crafts wood and plays sonatas and concertos.
Maximilian Büsser was nonetheless determined to follow through on the project and to adopt an uncompromising stance. There would be no ‘middle ground’ between the worlds of Reuge and MB&F: has anyone ever since a spaceship playing a Bach prelude when you open its cockpit? Instead of satisfying devotees of the two brands, the result of any such crossover move would only have disappointed all of them.
Le génie des artisans Reuge est sans limite.
Reuge has indeed patiently forged this technical mastery over the last century and a half. It is currently the only company capable of reproducing any melody covering up to six or seven octaves into a mechanical piano with 36, 72 or 144 notes. The exercise suggested by Max Büsser was thus entirely in tune with the firm’s creative approach.
Master stroke
The MusicMachine was presented at Baselworld 2013, its only flaw being that it was issued in a 66-piece limited series. Maximilian Büsser confesses: “I had ordered 33 black and 33 white versions, thinking that selling half of them would already be a good thing.” MB&F in fact received 85 firm orders, which meant that some stores that had requested up to 20 units had to lower their sights. And speaking of authentic philanthropy and a will to preserve the heritage of artistic crafts, it is important to specify that MB&F made no profit from this operation, since the orders were directly taken, fulfilled and delivered by Reuge itself.
In keeping with its motto, MB&F will never remake this MusicMachine. The last of them are currently in production and should be delivered this year. End of story? Rather its beginning, since Maximilian Büsser freely admits that this unexpected success has encouraged him to work on other projects with Reuge. Baselworld 2014 will probably thus dance to the tune of the new MB&F ‘friend”. It is for example a well-known fact that Reuge is capable of developing and producing a complete range of singing birds and musical watches with or without automata… exactly the kind of feats liable to nurture MB&F’s fertile imagination!
Listen to the Melodies
Star Wars - 1977 (J. Williams)
Imperial March - 1980 (J. Williams)
Star Trek - 1979 (J. Goldsmith)
The Wall - 1979 (Pink Floyd)
Smoke On The Water - 1973 (Deep Purple)
Imagine - 1971 (John Lennon)
Featured brands
