Exclusive Video: A Conversation with the MB&F HM12 “The Guardian” Robot Master Maximilian Maertens

While you can expect nearly anything to sprout from the inventive mind of watchmaker Max Büsser, one thing you can often count on is a big dose of intriguing, evocative childhood whimsy. MB&F’s new limited edition HM12 “The Guardian” is a perfect object lesson on how passion and fun can drive horological development.

We sat down with the timepiece/kinetic sculpture’s creator, MB&F’s Creative Designer for Watches & Clocks, Maximilian Maertens, to get a more probing sci-fi-inspired story of our own. “Max [Büsser] approached me with the concept of creating a timepiece that could serve as the ‘head’ of a more involved robot body,” Maertens told us. “Max and I kind of ‘fly’ in the same universe, but I wanted to pay homage to not only the out-of-the-box HM series, but also to the more traditional watchmaking work of MB&F’s Legacy Machines.”
 

This led to some very inventive watch design decisions, resulting in a flying tourbillon “brain,” a micro-rotor “mouth,” and an entirely new complication in the form of a pattern-shield system for the dial that lets owners “dial in" the appearance of the watch itself, and more. The inventive spirit continues onto even the “robot body" itself with its thermometer “heart,” loupe-magnifier arm “shield,” and UV-light arm “weapon” to expose the many luminescent details of the construction.

While Maertens may have channeled visual robotic influences from his youth (think Transformers, Power Rangers, Pacific Rim, and Japanese animation), the result is futuristic, kinetic, and horologically breathtaking. 
 

For an exclusive collector’s perspective on this new limited edition, check out our article, “MB&F HM12: The Watch with a Robot Guardian from Another Galaxy.” To learn more about the brand and its astounding creations, check out the MB&F website. Enjoy the video!