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This Just In: Ladies & Gentlemen.... MB & Friends Horological Machine No.12...
...was originally intended to be their 20th Anniversary piece. In typical MB&F fashion, it had other plans.
Below is from MB&F
What began as a mad idea – “wouldn’t it be cool if a watch could be the head of a robot?” – turned into five intense years of creation, engineering, redesigning, problem-solving and a few headaches. In hindsight, it’s better this way. Instead of closing our first twenty years, HM12 opens MB&F’s third decade by going right back to our roots: creating mechanical objects with a soul, a sense of wonder, and strong technical substance.
HM12 is also an important milestone in our creative story. For the past twenty years, our watches have been designed by MB&F founder and creative director Maximilian Büsser together with Eric Giroud – and we will continue to create with Eric in the years to come. HM12, however, is the first watch entirely created by “Max & Max”: Maximilian Büsser and Maximilian Maertens, the young designer we started working with eight years ago, mainly on clock and music box projects.
On the wrist, HM12 clearly follows in the footsteps of our most radical Horological Machines: futuristic, sculptural, slightly alien. But beneath the character and playfulness lies one of the most complex mechanical constructions we have ever developed. The face is built around two “eyes” displaying bidirectional jumping hours and trailing minutes; a “brain” in the form of a 60-second flying tourbillon; and a “mouth” shaped like a battle-axe, integrated into a double-sided micro-rotor. The titanium and sapphire case is equally demanding, with a complex architecture of curves, surfaces, finishes and mobile lugs. HM12 is symmetrical, including its two crowns. One is dedicated to winding and time-setting; the other activates a mechanical surprise. Turn it, and a protective "face shield" slides into place over the transformer robot’s face, adding both colour and character. That mechanism alone contains over 200 components — a third of the 646 components in the movement — which gives an idea of the technical madness hidden behind a seemingly playful gesture.
Turning the watch over reveals a second face, with a different mood. Beneath the sci-fi exterior lies a very traditional level of fine watchmaking, featuring a mix of grained, bercé and colimaçonné hand finishing on the bridges and barrels. The flip side of the domed micro-rotor reveals guillochage by our Friend Kari Voutilainen’s workshop, Brodbeck Guillochage. In total, the watch alone brings together 730 components across movement and case.
But that is only half the story. If the watch is the head of the robot, it needed a body.
Meet HM12 The Guardian: a full mechanical companion designed by Maximilian Maertens. Remove the strap thanks to the quick-release system and clip the watch into place as The Guardian’s face. The robot actually contains even more components than the watch itself: 755 in total. Its complex construction includes a mechanical thermometer, articulated arms, a hidden loupe, and a UV flashlight — useful to charge the generous Super-LumiNova on both the watch and the robot. Together, HM12 The Guardian totals nearly 1,500 components. It is presented in three launch editions – blue, green and purple – limited to only 12 pieces each. The craziest part? These launch editions are also the final editions: there will never be more HM12 The Guardians.
All the assets are here: mbandf.com
2
Best regards,
Cédric & Augustin
Your Tribe Gurus
NOTE: WPS members can feel free to start a GoFundMe to gift me an MB&F HM12 for my July birthday. Thx, you guys n' gals are the very best! 
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This Just In: Ladies & Gentlemen.... MB & Friends Horological Machine No.12...
...was originally intended to be their 20th Anniversary piece. In typical MB&F fashion, it had other plans. Below is from MB&F What began as a mad idea – “wouldn’t it be cool if a watch could be the head of a robot?” – turned into five intense years of cr...
This is THE ROBOT we've always dreamed of
That's mechanical poetry, words are unnecessary, I wish I could look at it closely.
This IS the Droid you're looking for 🤖
Yes, wish we could visit our local MB&F AD and see it.
I think this is brilliant
Look, I'll be honest, this watch isn't for me, it's very expensive. But I love the creativity. I miss the early and mid 2000s when companies like MB&F and Hautlence started along with houses like Maitres du Temps, Cabestan, Breva, HD3, MCT, or Romain ...
I'm not the only one with that feeling
Though those young watchmakers are definitely skilled and talented, how many of a carefully polished movement there can be? It's seems like the perfect homework, but it's emotionless, there's no creativity and positive madness. This machine is a crazy, ja...
I’m with you on this point.
For me this is fantastically cool, it’s exactly what MB&F should be bringing to the watch world. And to your point we need more and more of this type of creativity. Round watches have been around forever, and while I’m a buyer of certain nicely finish...
That's great!
I have fond memories of having a full-metal Mazinger Z with spring-loaded fist launchers! This and my milton bradley Starbird were my most prized possessions!
The watch itself seems very wearable…
…and almost conventional relative to a Frog, Bulldog etc. The overall package is exactly why I love MB&F. For me I love the Horological Machines, less so the other stuff they do (even accounting for the technical genius of the greatest Irish watchmaker ev...
I love how fresh their work is
IMO this is what independent watchmaking should be. Completely different from what you can get conventionally. If I had more $, I’d totally order one, but maybe the rotating art deco watch they did first. Close!
This is so cool!
What a great idea that brings kid like wonder to something that is more serious lol wish it was tho a sympathique clock or had some kind of connection to the robot but it is super cool regardless! Thank you for sharing!
😍
Brilliant. makes the anticipation of her distant cousin M.A.D.2 R&B's arrival even more exciting 😊
The HM12 is wonderfully unhinged.
MB&F never fails to push boundaries. I love that this one leans fully into the robot idea instead of pretending to be sensible. Mechanical theater like this is exactly why independent watchmaking stays so fascinating. Great to see so much enthusiasm h...