The Fuller Building hasn’t changed. Built in 1929 at the corner of 57th Street and Madison Avenue, this Art Deco building embodies something that Manhattan preserves better than anywhere else: architectural memory in the service of the present. It is on the 5th floor of this landmark that MB&F has chosen to establish its first New York space. Not a store, but a lounge. The distinction is key.
A space designed for slow watchmaking
For more than twenty years, the Geneva-based company founded by Maximilian Büssler has maintained a relationship of trust with the United States—Westime in Beverly Hills, Stephen Silver in Silicon Valley, and Provident Jewelry in Florida. These retail partners have brought the brand to places where it did not yet have a physical presence. This new Manhattan Lounge does not replace them. It complements them by establishing a direct presence in the capital of global commerce, where collectors gather and conversations are given the time they deserve.
Designed in collaboration with Voltige Design & Architecture, the space features an intimate lounge, display areas, and an office—open Monday through Friday, by appointment only. Scarcity is by design, and that is the very definition of contemporary luxury: the time allotted is not a constraint; it is the experience itself.
The LM101 EVO NYC: Twenty-five pieces to commemorate the moment
To celebrate this opening, MB&F unveils the LM101 EVO NYC: a limited edition of twenty-five pieces, featuring an 18-karat rose gold case and a black PVD-coated dial with a brushed finish. The visual contrast is immediately striking: warm gold against deep black, with the flying balance wheel suspended transparently above two sub-dials, as if floating in the darkness.
The LM101, first launched in 2014, is one of MB&F’s most minimalist Legacy Machines. It sticks to the essentials: the balance wheel, the power reserve, and the time display—all orchestrated within a three-dimensional movement that Kari Voutilainen helped design. Last year, to mark the brand’s 20th anniversary, MB&F unveiled the titanium EVO version—a sportier model, water-resistant to 80 meters, and featuring the patented FlexRing. The rose gold NYC is a more formal, more sculptural variation. Its retail price: CHF 77,000 before taxes. These twenty-five pieces will be available exclusively through the Manhattan Lounge.
MB&F is not simply a watch manufacturer. It is an ecosystem of creators—the “Friends”—an independent family-owned company that has steered clear of corporate conglomerates, and a vision of watchmaking as kinetic art. The opening of a Lounge in Manhattan isn’t a commercial move. It’s a statement of identity: MB&F rejects standard boutiques, with their rows of display cases and salespeople trained to handle objections. It wants to meet its collectors in a setting where the watch serves as a pretext for conversation.
In a watch market where growth is measured in distribution channels and square feet of retail space, MB&F continues to take a more measured approach. Perhaps that is the very definition of a company that thinks long-term.
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