DEEP PURPLE

Avant-garde horologist Maximilian Büsser of MB&F pays tribute to one of the legends of the watch world

- BRANDON FRIEDERICH

Maximilian Büsser, the man behind some of the most fantastical and avant-garde timepieces ever made, could have simply branded his Geneva-based watch company “MB” upon founding back in 2005. He instead went with MB&F, which stands for Maximilian Büsser & Friends, one of whom is celebrated in peak horological style with the $130,000 LMX Paris Edition.

The extremely limited-edition dual chronograph is a wearable tribute to Laurent Picciotto, another titan of the luxury watch industry. Picciotto is founder and President of the Chronopassion boutique on Paris’ historic Rue Saint-Honoré, where he curates a collection of fine watches chosen freely, without any discernible brand allegiance or influence from industry trends. As Fabienne Lupo-Magnaudet, then-president of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie, told the New York Times back in 2013, “Laurent is considered a trendsetter for the fine watchmaking world. He is one of the pioneers of new horology.”