Shereen Shabnam
For two decades, MB&F has redefined watchmaking through audacity, invention, and boundary-pushing design. Known for timepieces that feel more like kinetic sculptures than traditional watches, the independent brand has surprised collectors yet again with a creation that is both unexpected and refined. The new Special Project One (SP One) marks the launch of a dedicated collection, sitting somewhere between the radical Horological Machines and the classical Legacy Machines, but carving out its own unique space.
Encased in a smooth 38mm pebble-shaped case, SP One represents MB&F’s slimmest and smallest watch to date, yet it retains the house’s unmistakable three dimensional spirit. Its architecture revolves around a striking trinity of floating elements – the barrel, the balance wheel, and the dial, seemingly levitating within an amphitheatre-like space.
Invisible sapphire domes reveal the suspended display, where the balance wheel performs its hypnotic oscillations, the tilted dial demonstrates MB&F’s mastery of conical gearing, and the barrel holds its quiet power, all arranged in perfect symmetry.
The effect is as much theatre as horology, with the watch becoming a miniature stage for mechanical performance. Bridges are reduced to near invisibility, components tucked discreetly away, and screws hidden to amplify the sensation of weightlessness. Each of the three circles shares an identical circumference, creating both technical complexity and visual harmony.
This pursuit of equilibrium is at the heart of SP One. Early sketches dating back to 2018 reveal how MB&F sought to design a watch that whispered elegance rather than shouted spectacle. The concept was refined by watch designer Eric Giroud and engineered into reality with meticulous precision, preserving MB&F’s avant-garde DNA while embracing a more understated aesthetic.
Finishing remains rooted in traditional craftsmanship: wheels are hand-angled, chatons polished, and surfaces alternating between satin, polished, and micro-blasted treatments.
The amphitheatre-like flange frames the movement like a spotlight, while the reverse side reveals the same artisanal detailing. Even the case lugs follow MB&F’s signature pursuit of the unconventional, rising subtly from the lower case and creating a delicate separation that enhances the floating illusion.
Despite its slim profile, SP One is not about chasing the record for the world’s thinnest watch. Instead, it is about balance, proportion, and tactile beauty. The case, bezel-free and organic, feels like a perfectly smoothed river stone, an object as satisfying to touch as it is to observe.
By introducing the SP One, MB&F proves that elegance can be as daring as extravagance. It is a watch that defies category, simultaneously classical and radical, refined yet provocative. A new chapter begins for MB&F, one that celebrates equilibrium while continuing the brand’s fearless journey of creativity in mechanical art.
