MB&F is again participating in the Only Watch auction. The ninth edition of this biennial charity auction is auctioning a unique watch model to fund research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a genetic disorder characterized by progressive muscle degeneration that mainly affects boys.

This is MB&F's sixth entry and presents a special edition timepiece that transcends truly unique manufacture.

"I first met Luc Pettavino (founder and organizer of Only Watch) and his late son Paul in 2005," said MB&F Founder Max Büsser.

"To me, Only Watch is not a fun marketing or operating stunt; we are closely related to the story of Luc, Paul, and all the other children suffering from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy."

MB&F then turned Horological Machine No10 – aka HM10 Bulldog – into a panda bear, one of the rarest and cutest mammals in the world, loved by children and adults alike – including Max, whose first toy was a toy panda.

 

 

 

 

 

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This isn't the first time pandas have appeared on the MB&F Watch and on the Only Watch. In the fourth edition in 2011, MB&F presented HM4 collaborating with Chinese artist Huang Hankang, which displayed a miniature panda bear flying on an HM4 jet.

The basis of this unique new piece for the Only Watch is the N°10 Horological Machine with its round, compact body that fits the cuddly panda shape. The top of the case is coated in black and white lacquer to mimic animal colouring.

The standard HM10 titanium case top had to be custom made for this unique piece of stainless steel to accommodate the varnish. Other notable features include two black titanium panda ears, added atop a sapphire crystal dome, and a cute ceramic tail crafted from Grade 5 silicon nitride.

Much like the Panda's eye, two black aluminium time-display domes dominate the Watch's face – a nod to another use of the word 'panda' in the watchmaking world, where a white watch dial with a black counter is referred to as a panda dial. Other Panda bear traits include sturdy, but flexible "legs" tightly wrap around your wrists and important panda teeth that constantly chew on bamboo shoots.

Gears are not only fun but also serve as an indicator of power reserve. A fully closed mouth tells you that Panda is resting and ready to take a nap, but if you can clearly see the row of shiny teeth lining its jaws, then it's filled with 45 hours of prime spring. This three-dimensional power reserve indication has been carefully designed and calibrated to consume as little energy as possible, allowing the Watch to direct the considerable torque of the mainspring only to its suspended balance and its rotating hour and minute domes.

Despite its round morphology — measuring 45mm, 54mm from nose to tail, and with a maximum height of 24mm — the Panda HM10 is surprisingly wearable. The spring-loaded "legs" allow the body to fit snugly around the wrist, with the straps being black on one side and white on the other. This unique piece is powered by the in-house designed and developed HM10 manual winding. It is one of the rare timepieces where you can see your heart rate and brain rate, making it the perfect calibre to carry.

The HM10 Panda is offered along with unique artwork by multidisciplinary designer Lee Yuen-Rapati – renowned in the watchmaking world as @OneHourWatch on Instagram – who gracefully created a series of HM10 Panda-inspired illustrations exclusively for the auction.

MB&F has been following Lee Yuen-Rapati's horology-inspired work for some time. Lee has created several artworks to perfectly depict the HM10 Panda concept.

"I have a panda resting on someone's wrist, a panda lovingly cupped in a child's hand, a panda sitting in a bamboo forest chewing on a bamboo stick… I also made a short four-panel narrative in which the Watch is a robot pandas that have been sent to explore other planets, this is one of those dream projects."

 

 

 

 

 

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Lee is best known for his humorous, narrative-based illustrations and working with a combination of alcohol-based markers and special pens on textured paper. He studied interdisciplinary design at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University and later took a master's in typographic design at the University of Reading in the UK.

The mechanics driving the HM10 Panda are precisely the same as the Horological Machine No10, first introduced in 2020. Designed and developed entirely in-house, the HM10 engine is a technical confluence of various areas of movement expertise at MB&F, honed over years of experience.

Founded in 2005 and organized by the Association Monégasque contre les Myopathies under the patronage of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, Only Watch is a biennial auction specializing in unique timepieces. Ninety-nine per cent of the funds raised is used for research in treating and curing neuromuscular diseases, particularly Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. To date, the auction has raised more than EUR 70 million over eight editions.

Only Watch 2021 edition will take place in Geneva on Saturday 6 November. If conditions allow, the collection will set off for its world tour in approximately ten locations, starting in Monaco from September 22 to 25 at the Monaco Yacht Show and ending with an auction when the Watch will be auctioned off at Christie's.