Getting my hands on the MAD 1
Alright, let’s talk about this MAD 1 watch from MB&F. It wasn’t exactly straightforward, you know? Heard about it, saw the pictures, that crazy spinning rotor right on top. Totally different from anything else they usually make, which costs an arm and a leg.
First impressions? It’s definitely a conversation starter. That big rotor, shaped like their battle-axe logo, just whirls around with your movement. Pretty cool to look at. Then you realize, wait, where’s the time? Oh, it’s on the side. Two spinning rings, one for hours, one for minutes. Takes a second to get used to, not gonna lie.
Getting one… well, that was a whole thing. It wasn’t like walking into a shop. They did this lottery system first. Put my name in, fingers crossed, nothing. Happened to a lot of folks. Then they had this thing for “Friends” and suppliers. I wasn’t exactly on their speed dial, you know?
- Entered the first lottery draw.
- Didn’t get picked.
- Heard about the ‘Friends’ allocation.
- Still didn’t seem likely.
It reminded me of trying to get concert tickets back in the day for a band everyone suddenly liked. Pure luck, mostly. I actually got mine through a bit of a roundabout way, knew a guy who knew a guy situation. Almost gave up on it. It felt like one of those things that just wasn’t meant to be, like that time I tried switching careers entirely after getting fed up with my old job. Spent months prepping, interviewing, felt like I was hitting a wall everywhere. Thought maybe I was aiming too high or just wasn’t cut out for it. Landed something eventually, totally different from what I planned, but hey, it worked out.
Wearing the thing is interesting. It’s light, which is nice. But reading the time isn’t a quick glance. You gotta turn your wrist just right. Not exactly practical if you’re in a hurry. It’s more about the fun of it, the mechanical show on your wrist. The strap is okay, nothing fancy, gets the job done.
It uses a basic Miyota movement, nothing super high-end, but they flipped it upside down and put that wild rotor system on top. That’s where the magic is, I guess. It’s less about telling time perfectly and more about celebrating the mechanics, the spinning bits. For the price, compared to their usual stuff, it felt like a chance to get a piece of that MB&F weirdness without selling a kidney.
So yeah, it’s on my wrist sometimes. More for fun, not for everyday grind. It’s a cool gadget, a neat piece of design. Was it worth the hassle? Yeah, probably. It’s different, and sometimes different is good.
