Maximilian Maertens is the creative heir to MB&F
Maximilian Maertens once considered becoming a surgeon—not for the prestige, but for the same reason he was drawn to watchmaking. “I liked working with my hands, and I liked the idea of my hands directly resulting in precision,” he says from his design studio in Berlin.
Now tipped to eventually take over the creative reins from Maximilian Büsser at MB&F, Maertens is one to watch—not just for being selected by the industry’s original enfant terrible, but also for his multidisciplinary approach to design. “The sign of success, for me, is if someone were to see my creations and instantly recognise them as mine—even if they didn’t know why,” he says thoughtfully.
Read more: Maximilian Büsser responds to Chanel’s 25 per cent stake in his company, MB&F
The MB&F Orb table clock, which Maertens designed in collaboration with L’Epée 1839
A keen fan of architecture, Maertens was drawn early to the beauty of mechanics and the poetry of precision. He studied product and industrial design across Germany, Italy and Switzerland, culminating in a master’s degree from ECAL in Lausanne—one of Europe’s foremost design institutions. It was there that he secured an internship at MB&F, quickly making his mark with now-iconic creations like the T-Rex, Tripod and Orb.
In 2019, he relocated to Berlin and founded his own studio, branching into furniture and lighting design. This broader industrial design experience added depth to his creative language—one that prizes form, function and the unexpected.
“In Germany, I developed independence; in Italy, I learnt the strength of storytelling. And in Switzerland, I found MB&F,” he laughs. “I left to start my own studio after that because I wanted to be sure about what I wanted to do with my life. Lighting and furniture were wonderful to work with, but quite simply, they weren’t complex enough for me.”
See also: Meet Rémy Cools, the brilliant Gen-Z watchmaker driven by a passion for traditional craftsmanship
The MB&F T-Rex was inspired by the movie, ‘Jurassic Park’
In 2022, Maertens refocused entirely on watchmaking, reconnecting with MB&F with renewed clarity, inspired by Büsser’s commitment to experimentation and outlandish ideas. “Widening the horizon is getting increasingly difficult,” he notes. “So continuing to push boundaries is interesting to me.”
With a keen eye for structure and an instinct for design that challenges perception, Maertens is being groomed as Büsser’s eventual successor—although Maertens makes a point of emphasising that Büsser is far from retiring.
If, at first, being the chosen one felt slightly surreal, it now feels entirely natural. “I could never understand why Max chose me. I know he goes by instinct a lot,” he says. “But the more I work with him, the more I understand his thinking process— and I’m so grateful. He’s chosen me for who I am and the values I stand for. And to be chosen for that, by someone like Max, is a great honour.”
Architectural in his thinking and intuitive in execution, Maertens represents a new guard of designers who are not only product-driven, but also deeply invested in storytelling and authorship. His rise feels less like a disruption and more like an evolution—the next chapter of MB&F, already beginning to take shape.
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