HM10 Panda Only Watch
Overview
The HM10 Panda for Only Watch will not only bring a smile to collectors’ faces, but also capture their hearts with its important cause.
For this ninth edition of Only Watch, 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.
Only Watch is 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.
About the piece
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.
PIÈCE UNIQUE
Only Watch is a biennial charity auction of unique timepieces under the High Patronage of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco. All proceeds go to medical research on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).
JAWS POWER RESERVE
The HM10 Panda jaws indicate the level of remaining power reserve by the opening and closing of the panda’s teeth (end of power reserve = closed jaws).
DRAWINGS
The HM10 Panda Only Watch is accompanied by a series of illustrations created by multidisciplinary designer Lee Yuen-Rupati (@OneHourWatch).
Machine in action
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.
THE MACHINE
Bringing a smile
The mechanics driving the HM10 Panda are exactly the same as the Horological Machine No10 first introduced in 2020. Completely designed and developed in-house, the HM10 engine is the technical confluence of the various areas of movement expertise at MB&F, honed over years of experience.
The HM10 Panda is being offered together with unique works of art by multidisciplinary designer Lee Yuen-Rapati – well-known 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.
- Top section materials: 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 materials: 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: 54 x 45 x 24 mm
- Manual-winding in-house movement
- Bespoke flying 14mm balance wheel with four traditional regulating screws floating above the domed dials
- 301 components / 34 jewels / 45h power reserve
- Hours on left dome (aluminium dome rotating in 12 hours)
- Minutes on right dome (aluminium dome rotating in 60 minutes)
- Power reserve indicated by opening and closing of the jaws (end of power reserve = closed jaws).
- This Pièce Unique HM10 Panda in stainless steel and titanium case features two black titanium panda ears and a rather cute ceramic tail.
Inspiration
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.
Powerful and startling, the revolving time-telling domes of HM10 Panda originated in the conical hour- and minute-modules of the first Horological Machine N°3, the creation that cemented MB&F’s reputation as a disruptive horological force. Subsequently, the cones took on rounded forms in the HM3 ‘Frog’, but the one factor that remained constant was the urgent need to make them as light as possible, so that they placed minimal stress on the rest of the engine. Conventional milling processes were reworked and tolerances were sliced micro-fine in order to produce paper-thin aluminium components in three dimensions. These components later appeared again in Horological Machine N°6, this time paired with conical gearing to enable the highly precise display of time.
