British-Nigerian multidisciplinary artist and designer Yinka Ilori MBE has long celebrated life through colour, culture, and storytelling. Now, he turns his imaginative vision to watchmaking, collaborating with M.A.D.Editions of MB&F, a renowned Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer. The story of M.A.D.Editions began unexpectedly. In June 2021, MB&F founder Maximilian Büsser casually shared images of a watch with his close community of suppliers and collectors. No launch, no announcement, no press buzz. Yet, this simple gesture sparked unprecedented momentum, propelling the first edition of the M.A.D.1 from a quiet reveal to a highly sought-after timepiece embraced by the public. Since then, M.A.D. Editions has explored several remarkable collaborations, but this one with Yinka Ilori truly stands out. He reimagines their iconic M.A.D.1S in a bold, three-piece series. Aptly named 'Grow Your Dreams', this collection is as much a philosophical statement as it is a design triumph.
Three Watches, One Philosophy
For Ilori, the world is a canvas of optimism. Guided by his mantra of nurturing potential, he saw no reason to limit this debut to a single timepiece. Instead, he created three distinct watches — Sun, Nature, and Water. The three editions — Sun with a yellow rotor and yellow-green strap, Nature with a green rotor and purple-red strap, and Water with a blue rotor and dark and light blue strap are limited to 400 pieces each. The series is a poetic journey across themes of growth, identity, and possibility, reflecting Ilori’s ethos that dreams, like seeds, require patience, care, and imagination to flourish.
Engineering Meets Imagination
While the case and movement remain anchored in the Swiss-made LaJoux-Perret calibre that debuted in the original M.A.D.1S, this edition pushes technical boundaries with the rotor. It is slimmer and intricately redesigned, and features a meticulously milled tree motif, symbolising hope and growth. Made from titanium and anodised, the rotor comes in three vivid colours: yellow, green, and blue, while Super-LumiNova highlights its contours and illuminates Ilori’s motto etched into its surface: “Grow Your Dreams.” Even the time display numbers are Ilori’s own design.
A first for M.A.D.Editions, the bezel introduces colour inside the groove, filled with HyCeram, a high-tech liquid ceramic hardened with heat and polished by hand. The aluminium base plate completes the visual poetry with textural 3D waves, rippling beneath the movement for an immersive effect.
Straps that Speak
The watches are paired with mismatched rubber straps that echo Ilori’s dreamscape. Each strap features stamped leaf patterns, reinforcing the motif of growth. Each watch also includes a second interchangeable white strap, perfect for moments when the bold, mismatched colours feel a little too vibrant.
The watch is priced at CHF 3,200 + VAT (approximately Rs. 3,48,000).
More than a celebration of colour, identity, or engineering, Grow Your Dreams is an invitation to nurture our ambitions, believe in their potential, and allow them to bloom. Through this collaboration, Ilori transforms the wrist into a canvas, reminding us that every moment can be a seed for joy, creativity, and hope.
