Mandetbrote’s Secret Orbital Time Brings Motion to the Minute Hand

After a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised more than $420,000 from over 1,300 backers, Mandetbrote has introduced the Secret Orbital Time (which also holds the distinction of being selected for the GPHG Mechanical Exception category). The automatic mechanical watch uses the brand’s patented orbital display system, replacing a conventional central minute hand with an articulated hand that expands and contracts as it follows a looping track around the dial.

At first glance, the Orbital may seem a bit complicated, but it’s still a simple hours-and-minutes watch at its core. The visual upgrades come from how Mandetbrote has interpreted these components into a more dynamic approach. The minutes move along a looping track marked by Super-LumiNova plots, five-minute numerals, and smaller dots, while the hour is read from a rotating disk at 6 o’clock with a triangular indicator.

It’s easy to see where Mandetbrote founder Marvin Xu found inspiration for the Orbital. According to Xu, the watch began with his interest in mechanical objects: subway flip clocks clicking over, pulleys and belts moving factory equipment, and pendulums swinging in clock towers. Those references eventually led to sketches of rotating discs, sliding mechanisms, and segmented blocks of color, all exploring how time could be shown through movement and structure instead of a standard set of hands. In 2023, after years working in engineering development, product design, and project operations, Xu rendered the first digital model of the Orbital, which became the basis for the looping minute track, rotating hour disk, visible gearing, and color-based dial layout we see in today’s design.

Housed inside the 316L stainless steel case is a custom module built on the Miyota 9015 automatic movement, promising approximately 42 hours of power reserve. This movement can be seen through the sapphire display caseback.

The Mandetbrote Secret Orbital Time is available now through the brand’s website in multiple colorways, including Green, Blue Kiss, Orange Crush, Blue Flow, Black Kiss, Midnight Black, Deep Blue, Red, Black, Gold-Smile, Bronze Crush, Navy Silver, Purple Crush, Aqua Blue, Silver, and Blue, with the starting pricetag of $479.