Story Highlight
– MB&F launches HM12 The Guardian, a robotic watch sculpture.
– Combines high complication flying tourbillon with robot design.
– Limited to 36 pieces, priced at CHF 228,000 each.
– Features a mechanical face shield with complex components.
– Collaborates with designer Maximilian Maertens for future leadership.
Full Story
MB&F has returned to its roots with the launch of HM12 The Guardian, a striking mechanical sculpture featuring a 38cm-tall robot and a complex flying tourbillon timepiece. This piece reflects two decades of innovation and creativity at the firm.
According to the company, “HM12 The Guardian revisits key elements developed over the past twenty years and recombines them into a single object. Part Horological Machine, part Legacy Machine, part Co-Creation, it brings together narrative design, high-end watchmaking, mechanical experimentation and a playful relationship with the object.”
Max Büsser, the founder of MB&F, has long been inspired by his childhood memories of science fiction robot toys. This creative ethos was previously seen in the 2015 collaboration with L’Epée on the robot-clock known as Melchior.
In this latest project, Büsser collaborated with Maximilian Maertens, who is poised to take over as the next leader and creative director of MB&F. The HM12 Guardian integrates an in-house movement, an intricate mechanical transformation system, and a robot companion in one distinctive horological creation.
Available in three limited editions, each consisting of only 12 pieces, the HM12 encapsulates MB&F’s decade-long journey characterized by imaginative design, traditional watchmaking expertise, collaborative innovation, and a challenge to conventional horological norms.
The inception of the project stemmed from a straightforward yet imaginative query from Büsser: what if a robot’s head was designed as a watch? Maertens took this concept, dedicating over four years to hone the idea through numerous sketches, 3D models, and prototypes to finalize the design.
The watch presents itself as a face when viewed straight on, featuring two prominent openings that function as the robot’s eyes. The left side indicates the time with instantaneous jumping hours, and the right displays trailing minutes. A flying tourbillon mimics the robot’s exposed brain above these eyes, while a rotating micro-rotor styled like a battle axe is positioned below as the mouth.
Sapphire crystal plays an integral role in the design, providing clarity and allowing light to enhance the view of the intricate movement within, including the tourbillon from various vantage points. The heart of the HM12 is a fully integrated automatic calibre, consisting of 646 components and 86 jewels, which offers an impressive power reserve of 84 hours, carefully crafted to fit the watch’s unique head shape.
While the front showcases a futuristic look, the back reveals a more traditional aesthetic, featuring hand-finished parts and a guilloché rotor dome created with the expertise of independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen and his team.
Central to the HM12’s design is its mechanical face shield system. Controlled via a crown on the watch’s left side, these shields can be adjusted to conceal or reveal sections of the watch’s face, featuring more than 200 components dedicated solely to this innovative mechanism, rendering it more intricate than many complete mechanical watches.
The case, made from Grade 5 titanium, measures 49.3mm in length, 43.6mm in width, and 13.8mm in height, accented with Super-LumiNova details and outfitted with three sapphire crystals that provide multiple perspectives of the movement.
Accompanying the watch is The Guardian, a meticulously crafted robot body produced by L’Epée 1839. This isn’t just a display piece; it consists of 755 components and acts as a mechanical extension of the timepiece. The HM12 can be easily detached from its strap and affixed onto the robot’s head, while its chest houses a mechanical thermometer, one arm holds a loupe for examining the timepiece, and the other features a removeable UV torch for highlighting the Super-LumiNova accents on both the watch and the robot.
With a total of just 36 examples available globally, featuring blue, green, and purple editions, HM12 The Guardian represents a melding of artistry and engineering that redefines horological creations. Each piece is priced at CHF 228,000, excluding tax, offering a distinctive blend of technical achievement and imaginative design.
