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MB&F Reveals The $384,000 HM12 The Guardian Watch

MB&F Reveals The $384,000 HM12 The Guardian Watch

A futuristic flying tourbillon and a fully functional robot display companion combine for one of the wildest independent watch releases of the year.

Small batch, independent watchmaking comes with its perks. Without having to stick to the traditional designs and processes of mass-produced luxury watches, independent watchmakers have complete creative control. It’s an art mastered by visionaries like Max Büsser, who has built a reputation for pushing the boundaries of watchmaking through exclusive collaborations. As part of the iconic Horological Machines Collection, Büsser partnered with Maximilian Maertens to launch the all-new MB&F HM12 The Guardian, pairing an incredibly complex watch with a towering robot companion designed to house and work with it.

GALLERY-EMBED

At the center of it all is the HM12 itself, shaped like the head of a futuristic robot, with the time displayed through two “eyes” using jumping hours on one side and trailing minutes on the other. Above them is an exposed flying tourbillon that acts as the robot’s “brain,” while below is a double-sided micro-rotor shaped like MB&F’s signature battle-axe. The movement, developed entirely in-house, packs an impressive 646 components, 86 jewels, and an 84-hour power reserve.The most notable feature is the watch’s mechanical "face shield." Controlled by the left-side crown, a pair of movable shields can be opened or closed to reveal or conceal the dial. It’s not just a visual gimmick, either. The shield mechanism alone contains more than 200 individual parts, making it more mechanically complicated than most complete watches.

Every HM12 comes with "The Guardian," a 15-inch-tall mechanical robot developed with longtime MB&F collaborator L’Epée 1839. More than a simple display stand, the robot serves as a functional companion piece. The watch can be detached from its strap and mounted directly onto the robot’s head, while its body hides a built-in thermometer, an integrated loupe for inspecting the movement, and a removable UV flashlight that illuminates the Super-LumiNova.Together, the duo is made up of nearly 1,500 components and sparks the same science fiction stories that inspired them.

Available in blue, green, and purple, the MB&F HM12 The Guardian will be limited to just 12 examples of each color, for a total production run of only 36 sets worldwide.

Source: MB&F

Jordan Aquistapace