Four Showstopping New Pieces Real Watch Guys Are Lining Up For

Welcome to Watch Guy Watches, GQ’s monthly curation of high-end timepieces for the true watch nerds among us. This May, MB&F drops its first-ever dress watch, Vacheron Constantin adds a minute repeater to the Overseas collection, Bvlgari teams up with Gübelin on a special edition, and Zenith puts a lapis lazuli dial on its Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar.

When it comes to reimagining what a watch is and how it looks, no one thinks more radically than Max Büsser of MB&F. The brand is divided into distinct categories. MB&F’s Legacy Machines are a tribute to traditional horology, Horological Machines rethink watches as spaceships and bulldogs, while the M.A.D.Editions bring unrivaled creativity to the “affordable” timepieces sector. This month, MB&F set its sights on revolutionizing another category: dress watches.

Part of the brand’s 20th anniversary celebrations, the new SP One—the inaugural model in the brand’s “Special Projects” collection—is also MB&F’s most compact timepiece. Based on a sketch initially codenamed “Three Circles,” it takes the form of a 38-mm dress watch in platinum or 18K rose gold, within which a unique “floating” dial is suspended. The time subdial, balance, and barrel make up the display. Dual sapphire crystals front and back allow the wearer to examine the beautiful handwork and sophisticated design from any angle.

MB&F’s handiwork makes it appear as if the dial is floating in the center. Many of the elements that power this watch are hidden under the three visible elements while bridges hook into an outer rim to keep it all held up. These types of floating dials are still rare in the watch world but we’ve seen a couple of recent notable examples, like Louis Vuitton’s new Taiko Spin Time. I’m also reminded of the Cartier Masse Mystérieuse from 2022. Hopefully, watch brands can pick up the pace and start producing these very cool-looking watches more frequently.

All the beauty of the SP One isn’t reserved to the dial side either. Flip it over to find a hand-wound caliber that delivers 72 hours of power via 191 components. The movement showcases numerous traditional hand-finishing techniques—gold chatons, hand engraving and polishing, internal angles, satin and polished surfaces, etc.—as well as the delivery of signature modern aesthetics (micro-blasted surfaces, for example). The case itself, either in 18K rose gold with an anthracite flange or platinum with a sky-blue flange (the flange is the outer ring holding up all the parts), is a pebble-shaped thing of beauty.

With detached lugs that connect via the caseback, a 10 o’clock crown, and a height of 12 mm, this isn’t exactly a traditional compact dress watch. Nevertheless, it remains relatively svelte and elegant, especially for MB&F. And while the DLC-treated black time display dial is certainly handsome and legible, it’s almost an afterthought when considered within the context of the suspended design.