MB&F HM10 Panda for Only Watch

This year marks the ninth edition of Only Watch, a biennial charity auction of one-of-a-kind timepieces where 99 per cent of proceeds go to fund research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a genetic disorder characterised by progressive muscle degeneration primarily affecting young boys. This is the sixth time MB&F has contributed one of its Machines to Only Watch, once again going above and beyond in the creation of a truly unique timepiece.

“I first met Luc Pettavino (founder and organiser of Only Watch) and his late son Paul in 2005,” shares MB&F Founder Max Büsser. “For me, Only Watch is not a marketing stunt or a feel-good operation; we are intimately linked to the story of Luc, Paul, and all the other kids who suffer from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy."

For this edition, MB&F has transformed its Horological Machine No10 – aka HM10 Bulldog – into a panda bear, one of the rarest and cutest of the world’s mammals, much-loved by children and adults alike – including Max, whose first cuddly toy was a panda.

Because pandas are so associated with children, this is unsurprisingly not the first time the panda bear has mad e an appearance with MB&F and Only Watch. For the fourth edition in 2011, MB&F presented an HM4 in collaboration with Chinese artist Huang Hankang, which featured a miniature panda bear flying atop an HM4 jet.

The base of this new unique piece for Only Watch is Horological Machine N°10 with its rounded, compact body that lends itself perfectly to the shape of the cuddly panda. The top section of the case is coated in black and white lacquer to mimic the animal’s colouring. To accommodate the lacquer, the top section of the standard HM10 titanium case had to be specially crafted for this Pièce Unique in stainless steel. Other unique features include two black titanium panda ears, added atop the sapphire crystal dome, and a rather cute ceramic tail crafted from machined Grade 5 silicon nitride.

Much like the panda’s unmistakable eyes, two black aluminium time-display domes dominate the face of the watch – a nod to the other use of the word ‘panda’ in the watchmaking world, where white watch dials with black counters are fondly called panda dials. Other panda bear features include stout yet flexible “legs” that wrap firmly around your wrist and those important panda teeth that are constantly munching on bamboo shoots.

The teeth are not only fun but also act as the power reserve indicator. A fully closed mouth tells you that the Panda is wound down and ready for a nap, but if you can clearly see the rows of shining teeth lining the jaws, then it is charged up with 45 hours of mainspring. This three-dimensional power-reserve indication has been carefully designed and calibrated to consume the least energy possible, allowing the timepiece to direct its considerable mainspring torque solely towards its suspended balance and its revolving hour and minute domes.

Despite its rotund morphology — measuring 45mm across, 54mm from nose to tail, and with a maximum height of 24mm — the HM10 Panda is surprisingly wearable. Its sprung strap attachment “legs” allow the body to fit closely around the wrist, with a strap that is black on one side and white on the other. This unique piece is powered by the manual-winding engine of the HM10 that was designed and developed in-house, and is one of the rare timepieces where you can see both the heart beating and the brain ticking, making it the perfect calibre to bring the panda to life.

The HM10 Panda is being offered together with unique works of art by multidisciplinary designer Lee Yuen-Rapati – wellknown in the watchmaking world as @OneHourWatch on Instagram – who has graciously created a series of illustrations inspired by the HM10 Panda specially for the auction.

About the accompanying works of art

MB&F has been following Lee Yuen-Rapati’s horologically-inspired work for quite some time. Lee recently did a live draw - ing of an HM10 Bulldog poking its tongue out during a Zoom session with RedBar, which gave the MB&F team the idea to do a special collaboration for Only Watch.

Lee is best known for his playful, narrative-based illustrations and works with a combination of alcohol-based marker pens and specialty pens on textured paper. He studied interdisciplinary design at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University and then did a master’s in typeface design at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. He is behind the @onehourwatch Instagram series of daily original watch drawings and provides illustration and typographic design work for various watchmakers and brands.

Lee has created several artworks to perfectly illustrate the HM10 Panda concept. “I have a panda resting on someone’s wrist, a panda lovingly cupped in a child’s hands, a panda lounging in a bamboo forest munching on a bamboo stick… I also created a short, four-panel narrative where the watch is a robotic panda that has been sent to explore another planet...this was one of those dream projects,” he says with a smile.

The 2021 edition of Only Watch will take place in Geneva on Saturday 6th November. Conditions permitting, the collection will depart for its world tour of around ten locations, beginning in Monaco from 22nd to 25th September at the Monaco Yacht Show, and ending with the auction when the watches will go under the hammer at Christie’s.

Technical specifications: 

MB&F HM10 Panda

Unique piece for Only Watch 2021. It is accompanied by a series of illustrations created by multidisciplinary designer Lee Yuen-Rupati (@OneHourWatch).

Case

Materials

• Top section: stainless steel, with 5 pockets of black lacquer and 2 pockets of white lacquer (each with 3 layers of colour and 7 layers of varnish).
• Bottom section: Grade 5 titanium, with Preci-Coat matt black PVD. Specially engraved with Only Watch signature: “Only Watch - create beauty to do good”.
• Lugs: Grade 5 titanium with Preci-Coat matt black PVD.
• Ears: Grade 5 titanium, fused to the sapphire crystal dome with Asulab bonding.
• Tail: Ceramic (Grade 5 silicon nitride sphere)
• Dimensions: 54mm x 45mm x 24
• Glass: Both sapphire crystals treated with anti-reflective coating on both faces.
• Water-resistant to 30 meters

Dial

• Hours and minutes indicated on two revolving domes

Movement

• Manual-winding in-house movement
• Frequency: 18,000 vph (2.5 Hz)
• Bespoke flying 14mm balance wheel with four traditional regulating screws floating above the domed dials
• Super-LumiNova on the hour and minute domes and markers
• Single barrel with 45 hours of power reserve
• Number of parts: 301 components
• Number of jewels: 34
• Left crown at 11 o’clock for winding; right crown at 1 o’clock for setting the time

Strap and buckle

• Hand-stitched black and white strap with one side in black and the other in white.

MSRP: Up for auction

Estimate: CHF 100'000-150'000

For more information, please visit onlywatch.com