The SP One is the smallest, simplest MB&F yet – but loses none of its avant-garde appeal
Zach Blass- MB&F announces a new Special Projects collection for designs that do not fit into any one category within its catalogue, kicking things off with the SP One.
- The SP One is the slimmest and smallest MB&F watch ever made, measuring in at 38mm x 12mm x 41.9mm.
- It’s available in 18k rose gold (US$76,000) and 950 platinum (US$82,000).
Every watch brand has segmented catalogues. Submariner, Daytona, Datejust. Speedmaster, Seamaster, De Ville. Black Bay and, well… More Black Bay. You get the idea. MB&F is a brand whose artistry has no bounds, and caving into limitless creativity can be bad business by most conventional playbooks. MB&F funnels their craft into two segments: Horological Machines that take on sculptural, atypically shaped watches born from a theme; and Legacy Machines that package immaculately decorated and highly complex movements into circular cases.
According to MB&F, however, so many of its concepts over the years never made it into production because the idea did not really fit into either of the two aforementioned segments. The brand’s solution: create a third, with zero parameters. So, introducing the Special Projects collection is the new MB&F SP One.
Have you ever asked yourself what an MB&F dress watch would look like? The SP One is really the answer, though MB&F naturally cannot make anything that completely fits the norm. What they have managed to make is their slimmest and smallest timepiece yet, while still retaining key signatures of the brand’s aesthetic. That means that the large balance wheels, a tilted dial, and a calibre with real depth and layering are going nowhere. But these elements are packaged within a case that is just 38mm in diameter, 12mm thick (including its domed sapphire crystals), and only 41.9mm lug-to-lug.
Though it might initially look like a simple, polished case, you have a crown at the 10 o’clock position and “delicately detached” lugs with a small gap to the case. It creates this intriguing cradling effect – and MB&F is all about visual intrigue, even if it is being brought in a subtle way. Size-wise, it’s very much in line with modern dress watch dimensions, albeit a few millimetres thicker due to its retention of brand signatures. To put it in perspective, it’s 4mm smaller in diameter than the M.A.D.2, and 0.3mm thinner.
The SP One is available in two configurations: an 18k rose gold model with an anthracite flange, and a 950 platinum model with a sky-blue flange. Both have the hours and minutes displayed on an inclined black sub-dial at the 6 o’clock position, while the rest of the usual dial space gives a full view of the triangular calibre that seemingly floats within the case. On the front, aside from the hours and minutes, you are able to see MB&F’s signature balance wheel at work at the top right, and a skeletonised barrel that reveals the mainspring, which can deliver 72 hours of power reserve, at the top left.
The reverse side shows the gear train and the rest of the escapement, while the smattering of cocks and bridges displays all the hand-finished elements of the movement. Polished bevels, internal angles, large jewel chatons, and handmade engravings sit against a backdrop of satin, polished, and micro-blasted surfaces.
Having experienced it in the metal, I’ve only been able to resent my inability to spend a minimum US$76,000 (before taxes) on this “simple” two-hander more and more. But not letting that cloud my judgement, the MB&F SP One is a meticulous, complex design that approaches the conventional dress watch line, and then sprints away from it with all the flair that we’ve come to respect MB&F for. It is the brand’s Calatrava, Patrimony, and Altiplano, yet it looks nothing like them – still unapologetically MB&F in aesthetic and technical construction.
MB&F Special Projects SP One pricing and availability
The MB&F SP One is now available for purchase. Price (excl. VAT): US$76,000 (18k rose gold), US$82,000 (950 platinum)
| Brand | MB&F |
| Model | SP One |
| Case Dimensions | 38mm (D) x 12mm (T) x 41.9mm (LTL) |
| Case Material | 18k rose gold 950 platinum |
| Water Resistance | 30 metres |
| Crystal(s) | Sapphire front and back |
| Dial | Open with black inclined sub-dial |
| Strap | Calfskin leather strap, case-matching buckle |
| Movement | SP One, in-house, manual winding |
| Power Reserve | 72 hours |
| Functions | Hours and minutes |
| Availability | Now |
| Price (excl. VAT) | US$76,000 (18k rose gold) US$82,000 (950 platinum) |