Some watches simply tell the time; others make you want to understand how time itself can take shape. With the SP One, MB&F firmly belongs to the second category. Originally developed under the code name “Three Circles”, this singular creation rests on an idea as simple as it is bold: making the three fundamental elements of a mechanical watch, the barrel, the balance and the dial, levitate at the centre of the case.
On this page
- The SP One, an MB&F that didn’t want to look like an MB&F
- What if MB&F made a classic watch?
- Weightless mechanics
- A balance wheel like a flying saucer
- An amphitheatre for the mechanism
- Haute horlogerie at its most discreet
- A pebble on the wrist
- The SP One Pavée, a new light
- A deep blue dial
- A Special Project that sums up the MB&F spirit
- An MB&F that is anything but classic
- Key specifications
- Frequently asked questions
In 2026, this unconventional architecture takes on a new expression with the SP One Pavée. Housed in an 18-carat white gold case, it receives 255 diamonds that follow the curves of its case, its amphitheatre, its crown and its buckle. The inclined dial also trades the black of previous versions for a deep blue.
Yet the essentials remain unchanged: the mechanism seems to float in space, almost weightless, while the time is organised around an ingenious conical gear.
The SP One, an MB&F that didn’t want to look like an MB&F
To understand the SP One, you have to go back to its origins. And, paradoxically, this story begins in a period of great uncertainty.
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, MB&F, like many companies, found itself facing a future that was hard to predict. The team then decided to revisit a stock of ideas accumulated over the years: a genuine “wastebasket” of dormant projects.
Among them was the M.A.D.1, initially conceived as a project for the brand’s friends and family. Its success would ultimately exceed all expectations.
The experience strengthened a conviction held by Maximilian Büsser, owner and creative director of MB&F: innovation sometimes emerges precisely where no business plan foresaw it.
This collection of abandoned or simply shelved projects contained some rather unexpected concepts, including sketches of skateboards and razors.
Maximilian Büsser finally chose the one that best captured the spirit of this nonconformist approach: “Special Project One”, or SP One.
What if MB&F made a classic watch?
The starting idea had something almost provocative about it.
What if MB&F did what nobody expected of the brand: a classic, elegant watch?
The first sketches of the SP One date back to 2018. As is often the case at MB&F, the concept was born from a spontaneous, almost rudimentary drawing. Three circles appeared, suggesting a smiling face.
Behind this apparent simplicity, the entire architecture of the future timepiece was already taking shape.
These three circles represent the barrel, the balance and the dial. Three essential elements that would be suspended at the heart of a case itself designed to appear to float on the wrist.
The ambition was clearly defined: to create a sophisticated yet understated watch, elegant and almost classic, while preserving MB&F’s mechanical and creative DNA.
A real balancing act.
The project was then developed with designer Eric Giroud, a long-standing MB&F “Friend”. After numerous iterations, the concept could finally be handed over to the engineers.
Weightless mechanics
The SP One is built around a particularly original mechanical architecture.
The three central elements are not simply on display. They are designed to appear to float in space.
The sapphire crystals on either side of the watch heighten this sense of levitation. But the spectacular effect is not just a visual trick: it is the very architecture of the movement that creates this impression.
MB&F sought to make the bridges and structural elements as discreet as possible. Most of the components are cleverly concealed beneath the barrel, the balance and the dial.
A philosophy summed up by the principle “Less is more”.
Fewer visible bridges, fewer exposed screws, fewer elements that might disturb the reading of this mechanical trinity. The eye is thus drawn to the three protagonists.
A balance wheel like a flying saucer
Positioned at 2 o’clock, the balance immediately catches the eye.
It almost evokes a flying saucer hovering in space. This impression is reinforced by the overall construction of the watch, in which every element seems to have been stripped of any visible support.
The technical challenge was considerable. The three main elements share identical circumferences, while the movement had to remain robust and reliable enough to function properly.
The single barrel is also suspended in a way that accentuates the levitation effect.
The dial plays its part in this staging too. Tilted at a precisely calculated angle, it showcases MB&F’s expertise in conical gearing.
This feature, rare in watchmaking, adds an extra three-dimensional layer without ever making the whole look heavy.
An amphitheatre for the mechanism
Around the movement unfolds a structure that Maximilian Büsser has fittingly named the “amphitheatre”.
Its bevelled wall recalls the tiered seating of the great theatres of antiquity. It forms a setting designed to stage the movement, as though it were the lead performer in a mechanical show.
This image perfectly sums up the philosophy of the SP One.
The mechanism is not merely visible: it is staged.
The movement becomes a spectacle, yet never slips into gratuitous showmanship. Its architecture is complex, while its presentation remains deliberately simple.
It is precisely this contrast that makes the SP One so unique.
Haute horlogerie at its most discreet
Beneath this apparent simplicity lies a particularly thorough level of finishing.
MB&F is one of the contemporary watchmakers that still give pride of place to traditional hand finishing. On the SP One, the wheels fitted with prominent jewel settings are hand-bevelled.
The surfaces alternate between satin-brushing, polishing and micro-blasting, creating a subtle interplay of textures and reflections.
The complexity is therefore not only mechanical. It also lies in the way each component has been worked to maintain the desired visual balance.
The SP One does not ostentatiously display the full extent of its craftsmanship. It reveals just enough to let the eye guess what lies behind its clean lines.
A pebble on the wrist
The case is another surprise.
Measuring 38 mm in diameter, it takes on the shape of a pebble perfectly smoothed by water. This sense of softness is reinforced by the absence of a bezel and by the integration of the sapphire crystals into the structure.
The lugs, meanwhile, are deliberately detached from the upper part of the case. They seem to emerge from the base, creating a subtle gap between them and the upper structure.
The result is striking: the watch looks extremely elaborate yet feels almost natural to the touch.
MB&F describes the feeling as that of a small object from another world, halfway between a pebble and a spaceship.
The SP One is also MB&F’s thinnest watch. But slimness was never an end in itself.
The goal was rather to strike a balance between proportions, elegance and three-dimensional architecture.
The SP One Pavée, a new light
In 2026, MB&F keeps this architecture and gives it a new interpretation with the SP One Pavée.
The case is now crafted in 18-carat white gold and delicately covered with diamonds. In total, 255 stones accompany the lines of the watch.
The setting follows the curves of the amphitheatre, the case, the crown and the buckle. It does not alter the original construction: it highlights it.
The sparkle of the diamonds traces the sculptural contours of the SP One and visually frames the floating mechanism.
This approach is perfectly consistent with the watch’s original philosophy. Rather than transforming its architecture, MB&F chooses to reveal it in a different light.
A deep blue dial
The inclined dial is also one of the major changes in this new version.
Whereas previous SP One models featured a black finish, the SP One Pavée adopts a deep blue.
This colour brings new depth to the heart of the three-dimensional architecture. It also creates a contrast with the brilliance of the diamonds and the whiteness of the gold.
The overall effect remains deliberately restrained. Despite the 255 diamonds, the watch does not seek flamboyance.
The gem-setting follows the existing forms and reveals another facet of the SP One: more precious, but true to the understated elegance that is one of its hallmarks.
A Special Project that sums up the MB&F spirit
The SP One holds a special place in the MB&F universe.
It does not adopt the spectacular codes of the most radical Horological Machines, nor does it belong to the more classical world of the Legacy Machines.
It forms a category of its own: the Special Projects.
Its appeal lies precisely in this paradox. MB&F set out to create a classic, elegant watch, but built it around an architecture that is ultimately anything but classic.
The pebble case, the levitating movement, the inclined dial, the suspended balance, the conical gears and the mechanical amphitheatre all reflect this determination to do things differently.
The SP One is thus a watch that seeks less to impress than to surprise.
An MB&F that is anything but classic
With the SP One Pavée, MB&F does not reinvent its architecture: it reveals a new dimension of it.
The 18-carat white gold and the 255 diamonds add extra sophistication to a watch whose true richness still lies in its suspended mechanism.
The deep blue dial accompanies this evolution without disturbing the original balance.
And perhaps this is where the full conceptual achievement of the SP One lies. It manages to combine an extraordinarily complex mechanical architecture with an almost serene appearance.
A watch that defies gravity, conceals part of its construction to better showcase its essential elements, and turns the wrist into a true mechanical theatre.
A classic MB&F, perhaps.
But an MB&F that is, precisely, anything but classic.
Key specifications
| Brand | MB&F |
|---|---|
| Collection | Special Projects |
| Model | SP One Pavée |
| Year | 2026 |
| Case | 18-carat white gold |
| Diameter | 38 mm |
| Architecture | three-dimensional |
| Special feature | barrel, balance and dial that appear to float at the centre of the case |
| Dial | inclined, deep blue |
| Gem-setting | 255 diamonds |
| Set elements | amphitheatre, case, crown and buckle |
| Crystals | sapphire |
| Movement | architecture developed around the “Three Circles” concept |
| Balance | positioned at 2 o’clock |
| Display | inclined dial |
| Mechanical feature | conical gear |
| Finishing | hand-bevelling, satin-brushed, polished and micro-blasted surfaces |
| Strap | integrated into the watch’s architecture |
Frequently asked questions
A new version of the SP One, a watch from MB&F’s Special Projects collection developed under the code name “Three Circles”. Its principle: making the barrel, the balance and the dial levitate at the centre of the case. The Pavée version, unveiled in 2026, is fully gem-set and features a deep blue dial.
255 diamonds, spread across the case, the amphitheatre surrounding the mechanism, the crown and the buckle.
A 38 mm case in 18-carat white gold, with rounded pebble-like shapes, protected by sapphire crystals.
The time is shown on an inclined dial driven by a conical gear. The balance, positioned at 2 o’clock, seems to float like a flying saucer above the movement.
Hand-executed bevelling and alternating satin-brushed, polished and micro-blasted surfaces, with a strap integrated into the watch’s architecture.
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