The accessibly priced, MB&F-adjacent wristwatch returns as the M.A.D.1S ‘Grow Your Dreams’, a collaboration with Yinka Ilori, a British designer known for applying bright colors to furniture, architecture, and interiors. With three kaleidoscopic colourways – Sun, Nature, and Water – the new M.A.D.1S leans into the maximalist trends of the day, which suits the M.A.D.Editions sub-brand, and MB&F in general, like a glove.

Initial Thoughts

I’m reminded of the H. Moser & Cie. Elements of Time we covered just last week. Like with those, the M.A.D.1S ‘Grow Your Dreams’ is a series of thematic, limited edition collaborations sold via online raffle. And of the flavours on offer here, my favourite is again the Water variant.

Collaborations like this can often feel like a one-way street, but that doesn’t feel like the case here. It’s good to know Yinka Ilori was an active participant in the watch’s design, personally designing the stylised numerals on the hour cylinder. I’ll also point out Mr Ilori is the model in all of these wrist shots. As for my thoughts on his work, I own some tableware he designed a few years back – which sits in my cupboard, seldom used but often admired.

“Water”

The M.A.D.1 series in general are dubious as a value proposition; though they are very affordable for an MB&F-ish watch, they are pricey for the segment. But that misses the point – few are cross shopping these with similarly priced offerings from Tudor or Longines, or even other micro brands, thanks to the strength of the MB&F name.

I imagine most buyers of the M.A.D.1S already have a sizable accumulation of “better” watches – and probably a bona fide MB&F – and in that case the M.A.D.1S  is one of the best executed novelty watches on the market right now, at least from Switzerland.

“Water”

Water, Sun, Nature

This tree bore three fruit: Water in cobalt, sky blue and green, Sun with yellow, lilac and dark purple, and red-yellow-green for Nature.

All cased in a combination of stainless steel, sapphire and tempered glass, and none of the palettes would be out of place in Yinka Ilori’s other projects. Each model is delivered with two straps, one white, and the other bicolour, and one stainless steel butterfly clap.

From left to right: Water, Nature, Sun.

While there are many aftermarket options for intentionally mismatched straps – and you can always buy two different straps – it remains rare from the factory, and the two-tone look suits these watches well.

The straps must be cut to size, like Patek Philippe’s Aquanaut strap, which improves the wearing experience and is easy to size down with a pair of scissors. But once cut the strap cannot be extended, making it somewhat wasteful.

Case and Calibre

While the case and calibre remain mostly unchanged from the last M.A.D. 1S, the team redesigned the rotor for this iteration, which is now slimmer and more stylised. The rotor is titanium, and anodised in vibrant colors which differ between the three flavours, the anodisation was likely done by Positive Coating, one of MB&F’s “friends”. Each spoke of the axe-shaped rotor includes a tree motif and carried the phrase “grow your dreams”.

You will spot another novelty on the bezel, a coloured band is a groove filled with HyCeram, a ceramic-polymer composite from an Austrian vendor that is processed as a liquid and cured to form a solid block. The last pop of colour comes from an anodised aluminium ring surrounding the movement, stamped with a ripple texture.

“Nature”

Under the hood is the La Joux-Perret G101, a drop-in ETA 2824 replacement derived from Citizen’s Miyota 9000 series but Swiss made. A different Citizen calibre, the Miyota cal. 812A, powered early M.A.D.1 models that were thicker and less sophisticated – and not Swiss made.

Like the original, this movement only winds in one direction, and spins free and wild in the other. The G101 is slimmer, has a longer power reserve of almost three days, higher beat rate, and is more presentable than the cal. 812A.

“Sun”

The movements sits upside down in the case, and is set and wound as normal from the crown at 12 0’clock.

Reading the time is less typical, as a large 12-hour cylinder replaces the hour hand, and the minutes is omitted. The hours cylinder  is marked to the quarter hours and read through the tempered glass case band, it’s also fully lumped for low light legibility.

Key Facts and Price

MB&F M.A.D.1S Grow Your Dreams 

Diameter: 42 mm
Height: 15 mm
Material: Stainless steel
Crystal: Sapphire on the front and mineral glass on the flanks
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: La Joux-Perret G101
Functions: Hours and minutes on single cylinder
Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz)
Winding: Automatic
Power reserve: 68 hours

Strap: White and mis-matched rubber straps with folding clasp

Limited edition: 400 pieces each 
Availability: Only from M.A.D. Editions raffle open from September 2-8, 2025
Price: CHF3,200 excluding taxes

For more, visit the M.A.D. 1 raffle page.