MB&F sets 255 diamonds into a new white gold SP One Pavée, priced at $104,000

MB&F has introduced the SP One Pavée, a fully diamond-set version of its first-ever dress watch, in a new 38mm white gold case. The model carries 255 diamonds across its case, flange, crown and buckle. It is priced at CHF 78,000, or EUR 85,000 excluding taxes, and $104,000 in the United States.

Where the diamonds are set

MB&F built the setting around the case rather than a bezel, since the SP One has none. Fifty-five brilliant-cut diamonds line the internal flange the brand calls an amphitheatre, framing the movement's floating architecture with what the maker describes as a gentle sparkle rather than overt bling.

A double row of 165 pavé-set diamonds runs along the case flanks, emphasizing its rounded, pebble-like shape. Fourteen more stones highlight the crown at 10 o'clock, and the white gold pin buckle on the light seafoam-colored strap adds a further double row of 21 diamonds.

The dial itself takes on a dark blue, circularly brushed finish beneath an ultra-domed sapphire crystal that accounts for the watch's 12mm thickness. Applied, polished indices and openworked hands are against that background, tilted at 6 o'clock and connected to the movement by conical gearing.

The movement behind the floating display

Powering the watch is the same manual-winding, in-house caliber used in the original SP One references. It runs at 18,000 vibrations per hour, or 2.5Hz, and stores 72 hours of power reserve in a single mainspring barrel visible at 10 o'clock.

That barrel, the balance wheel at 2 o'clock and the tilted sub-dial at 6 o'clock share the same circumference by design, an arrangement MB&F calls Three Circles after Max Büsser's original 2018 sketch. Hiding most components beneath the three elements creates the illusion that the mechanism is levitating.

Turned over, the movement shows a Y-shaped bridge layout with a complex gear train and conical gearing responsible for the dial-side display. The bridges carry a rhodium finish over hand-angled wheels, bevelled and polished edges, prominent gold chatons and micro-blasted surfaces.

Where the SP One came from

The SP One traces to Büsser's 2018 sketch, one of many dormant ideas the founder and his team revisited during pandemic downtime alongside sketches for skateboards and razors. Büsser developed the concept with longtime collaborator Eric Giroud into the brand's first-ever dress watch, released last year in rose gold and platinum.

That launch marked a departure for MB&F, an independent Geneva maker built around what it calls Horological Machines and Legacy Machines, sculptural, often three-dimensional pieces rather than compact, classical cases. Our guide to the luxury watch brands we rank has repeatedly noted MB&F's reputation for treating watchmaking as kinetic art rather than convention.

The original references sold well enough that the platinum SP One now carries a roughly three-year waitlist, with the rose gold version's queue only slightly shorter. MB&F is not new to gem-setting: its Legacy Machine FlyingT has carried some of the brand's most heavily jeweled designs to date.

How the diamond version compares to the originals

White gold is new to the SP One line, joining the existing rose gold and platinum references, but MB&F treats the metal choice as secondary to the gem-setting itself. The core case dimensions, 38mm across and 12mm thick, and the 30-meter water resistance carry over unchanged from the earlier models.

We have tracked other independent makers pushing gem-setting into unusual territory this year, including Jacob & Co.'s diamond-set balance wheel tourbillon priced at $693,000 and Louis Moinet's meteorite-cased, 12-piece Moon Meteor. The SP One Pavée belongs to that same conversation about how far high jewelry can be pushed onto a working mechanical watch.

Whether the SP One Pavée draws its own waitlist remains to be seen, but MB&F is already working through a lengthy queue for the standard SP One references. The brand has not disclosed a production number or a delivery timeline for the diamond-set version.

For now, the SP One Pavée is available to order through MB&F retailers and directly through the brand. It joins the wider field we cover in our coverage of watches and jewelry, for buyers weighing an independent maker's dress watch against a more conventional alternative.