“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” In our little watch world, few people have embodied George Bernard Shaw’s idea more than Max Büsser and his most recent collaborator, Vincent Calabrese, working together to create the new M.A.D.Editions M.A.D.3. Gone are the days of traditional time-telling, and Calabrese is largely to thank. Watches have become symbols of defiance and canvasses of creativity as a result of the self-admitted “troublemaker of watchmaking”, pushing the boundaries of what time-telling looked and felt like.
Born in Naples in 1944, Calabrese discovered watchmaking as a youth, and moved to Switzerland shortly thereafter to pursue his interests. A case study in failing forward, Calabrese credits his innovations to not knowing what he “was supposed” to do when designing a watch mechanism. The father of independent watchmaking in many ways, Calabrese co-founded the famous AHCI (Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants) in 1985 to encourage and enable creativity in the space. Throughout his career, over 40 patents have been awarded to him.
An established visionary, his Mona Lisa is the Baladin movement – a svelte take on the jump hour. As reports go, Signor Calabrese deemed the traditional and sudden jump of such a mechanism too abrupt and displeasing to the eye. Never one to identify a problem without conceiving of a solution, the Baladin was developed to capture the natural progression of each hour, graduating smoothly to the next instead of jumping on the 60th minute. Speaking of natural, a Büsser and Calabrese collaboration is just that. Two pioneering spirits who value approachability just the same, the M.A.D.3 combines these kindred spirits in a fantastic way.
What is it?
The idea spawned from a lunch – I dare suspect these two didn’t order burgers and fries that day. A simple reproduction of the original Baladin was not the goal, but rather to preserve its spirit while seamlessly integrating the concept into the M.A.D. lineup. The piece is distinctly M.A.D. in the best way. Whimsical and alluring with the right amount of dare, the third M.A.D. installment combines newly worked components with a La Joux-Perret G111, tuned to enhance the power reserve and reliability while championing the hypnotic time display.
Complete with floating lugs, a stacked case-dial-movement architecture, and domed sapphire crystals on both the front and back, the M.A.D.3 is available in two colours – a deep pink and vibrant blue – each chosen for their connection to the elegant and expressive nature of Calabrese, M.A.D. tells us. Compared to previous M.A.D.Editions, it’s certainly the most subtle and wearable, measuring in at 40mm across and 12.7mm tall.
First impressions
When assessing a new thing – be it a song, watch, dish, whatever – I’ve learned to lean into the challenge. Having observed my own reactions to new ideas for years now, I’ve learned that a product I like straight away is rarely a product I love in the long term. In this way, I want to be challenged. I want to not know precisely how I feel after the first interaction. Actually, I want to not quite get the thing straight away. I’m delighted to report, then, that my first impression of the M.A.D.3 is that it’s not quite for me, which means very soon it will be, and will remain such.
I want one, that’s for sure. I want to get hands-on with it, leave it beside my bed for a few days, stare at it while sipping coffee and conceive of how I could integrate it into my personal style. It strikes me as a piece that one might strap onto their wrist before assembling the rest of their outfit or designing the flow of their day. By virtue of having a thing that could very well be a medical device designed by Pablo Picasso had he been born in 2030, the wearer might be inspired to reach for a neglected jacket, a tinted pair of sunglasses, and make a scheduling decision their normal self would consider rash. This is the watch that would make me say yes to plans I normally wouldn’t. The M.A.D.3 seems to me to be that one friend, then. Not for every day, not for everyone, and often a bad influence, but good to keep around for one or two nights a month. They keep our lives fun.
M.A.D.Editions M.A.D.3 Vincent Calabrese pricing and full specifications
The M.A.D.Editions M.A.D.3 Vincent Calabrese is now available through a raffle, which you can access on the MB&F website, closing on September 7th 2026 at 15:00 CET. Price: CHF 2,900 (exc. VAT, ~A$5,000)
