MB&F HM12 The Guardian – back to the roots, with a smile

MB&F opens its third decade with HM12 The Guardian, a return to its earliest spirit of mechanical imagination. What began as a playful question – “wouldn’t it be cool if a watch could be the head of a robot?” – became five years of design, engineering and problem-solving. The result is bold, but the thinking is serious.

The face presents two “eyes” for bidirectional jumping hours and trailing minutes, a “brain” as 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 symmetrical, fitted with mobile lugs and two crowns. One handles winding and setting. The other triggers a mechanical flourish: turn it, and a protective “face shield” slides over the robot visage. That curtain alone accounts for over 200 components out of the movement’s 646, a neat reminder that whimsy can be fully engineered.

Flip the piece over and the mood softens. Beneath the sci-fi silhouette lies traditional craft: grained, bercé and colimaçonné hand finishing on bridges and barrels. The reverse of the domed micro-rotor carries guillochage by Kari Voutilainen’s workshop, Brodbeck Guillochage. Across movement and case, the watch counts 730 components.

Then comes the other half of the idea. Remove the strap via quick-release and dock the watch into its mechanical companion. The Guardian, designed by Maximilian Maertens, becomes the robot body with 755 components of its own. It houses a mechanical thermometer, articulated arms, a hidden loupe, and a UV flashlight to charge the generous Super-LumiNova on both watch and robot. Together, the duo nudges 1,500 components. Excess for its own sake? Not quite. Here, the construction serves clarity of intent and a small grin.

HM12 is the first watch created entirely by “Max & Max” – Maximilian Büsser and Maximilian Maertens – a new chapter that still speaks MB&F fluently. It launches in blue, green and purple, limited to 12 pieces each, and these are also the final editions. Retail price is CHF 280,000 + VAT (USD 384,000 / EUR 305,000 + tax). Radical on the surface, traditional underneath, and honest about its joy in motion. The atelier lights are clearly still on.