Forever Young

These days, while he may have a salt-and-pepper beard, Max Büsser hasn’t changed much. He may say that he still hasn’t slept enough or that the large watch shows are a heavy burden, but at 58 years old, this pseudo-extrovert still has all the charm of the 35-year-old. When we met with him in Geneva in early autumn, Max was a happy man, ready to celebrate his 20-year adventure with MB&F.

But getting to where he is today was a long and tortuous journey. In his thirties, when he was working at Harry Winston, he brilliantly revitalised watchmaking with a vintage watch concept: theOpus series. These ultra-limited-edition timepieces were launched each year by the luxury watch and clock maker, in collaboration with different independent watchmakers, and has since become a Genevan watch industry staple.

A Golden Opportunity
The fact that it all came together was almost a miracle. Opus series watches sell at premium prices and Harry Winston knew it. He offered Max a golden opportunity and a fabulous contract to grow the concept. And for once, Max read the contract in its entirety… and it’s a good thing he did, because the last few pages contained non-compete and exclusivity clauses that would have ended any future Max could have in the watch industry outside of Harry Winston. Max responded instinctively by tearing up Harry Winston’s offer and launching the project on his own to protect his creative freedom and future.

“People were saying I went to EPFL (the Swiss Federal Technology Institute of Lausanne), that I was a rising watch star and that I had full ideas in my head that just needed to be produced. But that wasn’t true. All I had was a drawing of a first watch, no movements and only 50% of the budget I needed to build my first prototype”, explained Max. To raise the remaining funds, he set up a series of meetings with retailers and embarked on what felt like a round-the-world adventure.

Armed with a plastic model of his first concept watch, the Horological Machine 1 (HM1), he traversed the continents meeting with commercial suppliers who potentially could fund his first creation and purchase his future creations — which he hadn’t even designed yet.

Max Büsser met with 15 different retailers, ten of whom politely sent him on his way with his fanciful ideas. The other five trusted him and financed his project, without even knowing if the project would ever come to light. But the best part is, of the five who took this brave leap of faith some 20 years ago, only one has since closed its doors, with the other four (Chronopassion, Seddiqi, The Hour Glass and Westime) still in business today. Why?

The risk of bankruptcy
Max Büsser says it best: “Friendship, loyalty and solidarity”… and lots of trust, too. Because MB&F’s trajectory has been anything but linear. The brand, which reinvested the entirety of its modest profits into the next watch, finally found its footing after several years. “For a long time, we had to wait until December 15th to know whether we were in the red or not”, said Max. On four occasions, MB&F flirted with near bankruptcy: “in 2007, 2009, 2012 and 2014”, Max added, as if those four difficult years were etched into his memory. Did he ever think of throwing in the towel? “No, because being an entrepreneur is like being a father. You have a baby, and you can’t let go. Not ever”.

As an older father of two daughters, which he had at age 46 and 50 respectively, Max knows what he’s talking about. He sees his own brand, MB&F, as a nearly indestructible collective. “Any client who wears an MB&F timepiece could come back to us today and meet the watchmaker who assembled their watch”, Max emphasized proudly… with the unspoken understanding that the inner circle of clients and “friends” is meant to be a small one. He personally knows several hundreds of his clients, one of whom owns 31 of his watches! But that is not what Max focuses on; in his eyes, the only thing that matters is the strength of the collective.

Supported growth
The same philosophy applies to his team members. Of the five people who were at his side in 2005, four are still on the team, including the indispensable Designer Eric Giroud. But what was once a small business has now grown into a full enterprise. “I always said we’d never have more than 15 employees… but soon we’ll be 70”, added Max. “We don’t necessarily produce all the watches, but we are bringing a growing number of jobs in-house, and all our pieces are finished by hand. We released 396 watches last year. Over 20 years, we’ve developed 23 calibres, which is huge, and we have at least another dozen in the works. I have a very clear vision of what’s in store for us from now until 2034”.

The times of waiting until December 15th to know if the company would survive another year are long gone for Max Büsser. Yet his success has left a mark on him, just as his fears have. “We will never spend money we do not have. We have no debt and no line of credit, just tons of dreams waiting to come true. There are no mercenaries here. We’re more like missionaries”, he said with a smile.

Chanel, deus ex machina
But what about his succession plan? Max Büsser is approaching 60. “You never know what could happen. It would be unforgivable for me to not think about what happens when I’m no longer here. I can’t risk losing everything we’ve built over the past 20 years”. True to his clan mentality, Max first consulted his family. But his wife is not interested in taking the helm at MB&F, and his two daughters are still too young. Next, he went to his “Friends”. But, although many of them have been with him since the start, they are all around the same age, so he had to find a different solution…

“We decided to approach Chanel because we already have a relationship, and because it’s a fantastic family brand that has always had a very long-term vision, like us. They have no plans to interfere with the current trajectory of MB&F and they assured us full creative control. So, we gave them a capital share and, most importantly, the first option to buy. This way, when I’m no longer here, if my family doesn’t want to take over the business, they will assure its continuity. I could not have imagined a better solution”.

But Max’s time to take a bow is not yet upon us. He is still teeming with ideas, many of which have nothing to do with watchmaking — things like smart speakers, coffee machines or even pepper grinders, to name just a few! All he needs is time and a few reliable partners. And, like 20 years ago, maybe some financing. Sometimes history really does repeat itself.

mbandf.com