與 MB&F 市場傳訊副總監 Arnaud Légeret 的對話

製錶師有兩種：一種告訴你時間，另一種告訴你故事。MB&F 始終屬於後者。自2005年於日內瓦創立以來，這個品牌——全名 Maximilian Büsser & Friends——以「全球首個製錶概念實驗室」自居，其 Horological Machine 系列自2007年起探索從太空旅行到動物王國的多元主題，每件作品皆是以單一情感意念為核心的三維動態雕塑(Kinetic Scruptulre）。

踏入第二個十年之際，MB&F 正式發佈 Horological Machine N°12——「The Guardian」：一枚腕錶與一個高38.2厘米、重15公斤、合計近1,500個零件的機械人。LA Collective 專訪了MB&F 的市場傳訊副總監 Arnaud Légeret，深入探索這台機器的誕生故事。

「Max & Max」的創作組合

二十年來，每一台 MB&F Horological Machine 皆由創辦人 Maximilian Büsser 構思、設計師 Eric Giroud 實現。

而HM12的出現，徹底打破了這一模式。

「當 Max 在2005年創立公司時，他需要有人來設計腕錶，因為 Max 本人並非設計師，」Légeret 解釋道。「Eric Giroud 是負責所有前作的設計師——始終以 Max 的想法為基礎，由 Eric 將其實現。而現在，二十年後，我們迎來了一位全新的設計師，他就是 Maximilien Maertens。」

90後的 Maertens，於2016年還是設計系學生時，因一張 HM6 Space Pirate 的圖片而與 MB&F 結緣。他於2017年在品牌實習，2021年全職加入。他早期在 MB&F 的作品主要體現於品牌與 L'Epée 1839 及 Reuge 共同創作的座鐘與音樂盒。HM12 是他的第一枚協作的腕錶。

然而，這個項目的起源屬於 Büsser。一切始於一個簡單的問題：「如果機械人的頭部能夠變成一枚腕錶，豈不是很酷？」從這種子出發，Maertens 獲得了項目的設計主導權。他汲取自身世代的靈感泉源——高達、環形使者、變形金剛、Power Rangers、鐵甲奇俠——花費數年時間反覆繪製草圖、建立3D模型、打印原型，不斷打磨比例與測試穩定性。

「最初的設計非常像高達，」Légeret 在展示早期設計草圖時說道。「然後不斷演進，經歷了許多版本——V0、V0.8、V4——直到現在這個。但其中一個版本顯得太過纖細，更像是穿著戰甲的人類。比例不對，於是他再次回歸機械人的風格。」最終設計以寬闊的肩膀、強勁的姿態與無可置疑的機械人輪廓，歷時逾五年從最初概念走到成品。

更重要的是，這次轉變不僅僅是設計師的更替，更代表著 MB&F 對自身未來的深思熟慮的佈局。「Max Büsser 最關心的是 MB&F 的延續性——他正在為公司能夠在他之後繼續存在而做一切努力，」Légeret 說。「唯一仍然欠缺的，是一位創意總監。以前，只有 Max Büsser 一人帶來創意。現在，Max Maertens 的使命是同樣為品牌帶來好的想法。」這兩位 Max，代表著一次深思熟慮的創意傳承，其縝密程度不亞於 MB&F 每件作品背後的機械工程。

以腕錶詮釋機械人面孔

HM12 的整體構思，是一張臉。「眼睛」是兩個旋轉圓盤，分別顯示瞬跳小時與追蹤分鐘；「嘴巴」是 MB&F 標誌性的戰斧微型自動陀，隨佩戴永恆運動；「大腦」是一枚60秒飛行陀飛輪，完全裸露於藍寶石穹頂之下。5級鈦金屬錶殼內藏自製自動機芯，由646個零件、86顆寶石組成，動力儲備84小時。

Face Shield Complication：200個零件服務於一個故事

HM12 最具哲學意涵的功能，是Face Shield Complication。透過左側錶冠，彩色面板線性展開覆蓋錶盤——「和平模式」完全裸露，「戰鬥模式」全面武裝。機構以連續方式運動，無固定卡扣位置，到達極限時自動脫離。

這一機構需要逾200個專屬零件——超過許多完整腕錶機芯的零件數量——且完全獨立於計時機芯研發。兩套系統共用一個錶殼，卻必須在互不干擾的前提下共存，這一挑戰要求兩位研發工程師在整個項目期間每週協調溝通。

「一套系統負責計時，另一套則負責Face Shield Complication，」Légeret 解釋道。「但他們每週都必須互相溝通，確保為對方留出足夠的空間。這就是為什麼整體有730個零件——因為這是一枚非常複雜的腕錶。」

古典錶背：Kari Voutilainen 的精修藝術

翻轉 HM12，是截然不同的另一面。未來感錶盤的背後，是傳統高級製錶的精粹：手工倒角夾板、磨砂主夾板，以及由 Kari Voutilainen 工坊 Brodbeck Guillochage 製作的穹形雕花後陀——Voutilainen 是當代製錶界最受尊崇的獨立製錶師之一，亦是 MB&F 的長期摯友。

「我們希望帶來 Horological Machine 的瘋狂，同時也帶來 Legacy Machine 的頂級製錶工藝，」Légeret 說。「要做到這一點，我們需要最頂尖的人。」

The Guardian：為腕錶而生的軀體

腕錶只是 HM12 的一半。另一半，是「The Guardian」本身——由歷史悠久的製鐘商 L'Epée 1839 研發製造的機械人軀體。自2012年以來，MB&F 與 L'Epée 已攜手完成逾15件共同創作，包括機械人座鐘 Melchior、Balthazar 及 Grant。

The Guardian高38.2厘米，連底座重約15公斤，由755個零件組成。正如 MB&F 所堅持的，它不是一個錶架或展示底座，而是一個為腕錶而生的軀體。HM12 腕錶透過快拆系統從 Velcro 錶帶上取下，以精密卡扣機構直接扣合於機械人頭部，設計確保腕錶穩固固定的同時允許反覆取戴。當腕錶佩戴於手腕時，錶帶收納於整合在機械人底座內的隱藏抽屜之中。

The Guardian本身配備了多項功能元素。胸口中央設有一枚雙金屬機械溫度計，以攝氏和華氏雙重刻度顯示溫度。右臂持有一面盾牌，內嵌放大鏡，供近距離細察腕錶機芯之用。左臂則裝有一支可拆卸的紫外線手電筒，用以激活腕錶與機械人軀體上大量塗佈的 Super-LumiNova 夜光材料——這一設計在昏暗光線下令整件作品呈現出真正超凡脫俗的視覺效果。

手臂在肩部、肘部及腕部均可活動，允許The Guardian擺出不同姿態。然而，雙腿是固定的——這一決定源於現實需要。在研發初期，團隊曾探索為機械人賦予完全可活動的雙腿，但這個想法最終被放棄。

手臂可活動，雙腿則固定——出於安全考量。「如果機械人移動過多、晃動過多，就不安全了，」Légeret 說。機械人以強力磁鐵吸附於底座，確保腕錶萬無一失。

三種色彩，36枚，僅此而已

三種配色——藍色、綠色、紫色——各12枚，合計36枚。MB&F 公開表示，HM12 絕不再生產任何其他作品。

「我們提前告知所有人：HM12 絕不會再有其他作品。Once in a lifetime。這是我們從未做過的事。」Légeret分享。

Horological Machine 的未來

HM12 在 MB&F 的踏入第二個十年的時刻到來，這個系列的下一步走向自然成為眾人關注的焦點。

Légeret 的回答毫不含糊。「我們不會在未來推出中規中矩的 Horological Machine。Horological Machine 應被視為 MB&F 的高級定製時裝——它將變得極為稀有。」

支撐這一方向的更廣泛哲學，是 MB&F 自創立以來一直秉持的信念，而 HM12 或許是迄今為止最完整地體現這一信念的作品。

這一哲學凝聚於品牌的核心格言——「一個有創意的成年人，都是倖存的孩子」——而 HM12 以最直白的方式將其化為有形：一枚外觀如機械人面孔的腕錶，由一群被要求將童年夢想變為現實的工程師打造，而他們被告知的是：夢想，永遠優先。

當被要求以一句話向從未接觸過 MB&F 的人描述 HM12 時，Légeret 毫不猶豫。

「HM12 是 MB&F 所代表一切的完美縮影。它是創造一台真正頂級的製錶機器，一枚機械計時作品，將我們帶回充滿創意的童年，令人會心微笑。而這一切，都建立在對我們所熱愛的傳統製錶工藝的尊重之上。」

這一番話不僅是對 HM12 的完美詮釋，更是 MB&F 二十年歷程的精準總結——以及對未來二十年的清晰宣言。

Childhood Dreams Forged in Titanium: MB&F HM12 'The Guardian'

A conversation with Arnaud Légeret, Deputy Head of Marketing Communications at MB&F

There are watchmakers who tell the time, and then there are watchmakers who tell stories. MB&F has always belonged firmly to the latter. Since its founding in Geneva in 2005, the brand — whose full name, Maximilian Büsser & Friends, is itself a declaration of creative intent — has operated as what it calls "the world's first horological concept laboratory." Its Horological Machine series, launched in 2007, has explored themes from space travel to the animal kingdom, each piece a three-dimensional kinetic sculpture built around a singular emotional idea.

Now, as MB&F enters its third decade, it has unveiled the Horological Machine N°12 — 'The Guardian': a wristwatch and a towering 38.2cm, 15kg robot companion, together comprising nearly 1,500 components. LA Collective sat down with Arnaud Légeret, Deputy Head of Marketing Communications, to go behind the machine.

The "Max & Max" Dynamic

For twenty years, every MB&F Horological Machine was shaped by founder Maximilian Büsser's concepts and designer Eric Giroud's execution. The HM12 breaks that mold entirely.

"When Max founded the company in 2005, he needed someone to design the watches, because Max is not a designer," Légeret explained. "Eric Giroud is the designer that worked on all the previous MB&F watches — always based on Max's idea, but Eric making it come to life. And now, after 20 years, we have, for the first time, a new designer coming in. This new designer is Maximilien Maertens."

Maertens, born in the 90s, first encountered MB&F as a design student in 2016 when an image of the HM6 Space Pirate stopped him mid-scroll. He secured an internship with the brand in 2017, returning full-time in 2021. His earlier work at MB&F was largely visible through the brand's co-created clocks and music boxes with L'Epée 1839 and Reuge.

The genesis of the project, however, belongs to Büsser. The founding impulse was a single simple question: "Wouldn't it be cool if the head of a robot could become a wristwatch?" From that seed, Maertens was given creative ownership of the project. Drawing on his generational touchstones — Gundam, Pacific Rim, Transformers, Power Rangers, Iron Man — he spent years iterating through sketches, 3D models, and printed prototypes, refining proportions and testing stability.

"The very first design was very much like Gundam," Légeret noted, showing early design sketches during the presentation. "Then moving forward, there were many other versions — V0, V0.8, V4 — until this one. But one version became a bit too skinny, more like a human wearing a suit. The proportion was not okay, and then he went more into a robot style again." The final design, with its broad shoulders, powerful stance, and unmistakably robotic silhouette, took over five years from initial concept to finished piece.

Critically, this transition is not merely a change of designer. It represents MB&F's deliberate preparation for its own future. "Max Büsser's preoccupation is to have a perennity for MB&F — he's doing everything for the company to be able to live even after him," Légeret said. "The only thing that was still missing was a creative director. Before, it was only Max Büsser who brought the ideas. Now, the mission of Max Maertens is to bring also good ideas to the table." The two Maxes,represent a creative succession as considered and deliberate as the mechanical engineering that goes into every MB&F piece.

A Robot's Face as a Horological Instrument

The HM12 wristwatch is conceived, in its entirety, as a face. The "eyes" are two rotating discs showing jumping hours and trailing minutes. The "mouth" is MB&F's signature battle-axe micro-rotor, perpetually in motion on the wrist. The "brain" is a 60-second flying tourbillon, fully exposed beneath a sapphire dome. The case — 84 components of Grade 5 titanium — houses an in-house automatic calibre of 646 parts, 86 jewels, and an 84-hour power reserve.

The Face Shield: 200 Components in Service of a Story

The HM12's most philosophically revealing feature is its face shield complication. Operated via the left crown, coloured panels deploy linearly across the dial — "peace mode" leaves the face open; "battle mode" armours it completely. The mechanism moves continuously, with no fixed snap positions, and automatically declutches at its limit.

This mechanism requires over 200 dedicated components — more than many complete watch movements — and was developed entirely independently of the timekeeping calibre. The two systems share a case but must coexist without interfering with each other, a challenge that required the two development engineers to coordinate weekly throughout the project.

"One mechanism was working on the timekeeping, the other on the face shield complication," Légeret explained. "But every week they had to talk to each other and make sure that they would leave enough space for the other one. That's why all together you have these 730 components — because it's a very complicated watch, but one mechanism is made of 200 components and the rest is 500-plus components for the watch."

The Classical Reverse: Kari Voutilainen

Turn the HM12 over, and it reveals a second identity. The futuristic dial gives way to a caseback of meticulous haute horlogerie: hand-beveled bridges, a frosted mainplate, and a guilloché dome rotor executed by Brodbeck Guillochage — the workshop of Kari Voutilainen, one of horology's most respected independents and a long-standing MB&F collaborator.

"We wanted to bring the craziness of the HMs, but also the super high-end watchmaking of the Legacy Machine collection," Légeret said. "To do so well, we needed the greatest."

The Guardian: A Body Built Around a Watch

The wristwatch is only half of the HM12. The other half is 'The Guardian' itself — the robot body developed and manufactured by L'Epée 1839, the historic clockmaker with whom MB&F has collaborated on over 15 co-creations since 2012, including the robot clocks Melchior, Balthazar, and Grant.

The Guardian stands 38.2cm tall, weighs approximately 15kg with its base, and comprises 755 components. It is, as MB&F insists, not a stand or a display base. It is a body built around the watch. The HM12 wristwatch detaches from its Velcro strap via a quick-release system and clips directly onto the robot's head via a precision clipping mechanism designed to hold the watch securely while allowing repeated handling. When the watch is on the wrist, the strap is stored in a concealed drawer integrated into the robot's base.

The Guardian is equipped with several functional elements of its own. A bimetallic mechanical thermometer occupies the centre of its chest, displaying temperature in both Celsius and Fahrenheit. The right arm carries a shield containing a magnifying glass for examining the watch's movement in detail. The left arm houses a detachable UV torch, which activates the Super-LumiNova applied generously across both the watch and the robot's body — a feature that transforms the piece in low light into something that feels genuinely otherworldly.

The arms are articulated at the shoulder, elbow, and wrist, allowing the Guardian to be posed. The legs, however, are fixed — a decision that emerged from practical necessity. Early in the development process, the team explored giving the robot fully articulated legs. The idea was abandoned.

The arms are articulated. The legs are not — a deliberate safety decision. "If the robot is moving too much, shaking too much, it's not safe," Légeret explained. The robot is magnetized firmly to its 7kg base, ensuring the watch is never at risk.

36 Pieces. No More. Ever.

Three colorways — Blue, Green, Purple — 12 pieces each. Total: 36. MB&F has committed publicly that no further HM12 pieces will ever be produced.

"We told everyone up front: there would never be any other HM12. Once in a lifetime. Which we have never done before."

The Future of the Horological Machine

The HM12 arrives at a moment of transition for MB&F. With Maximilien Maertens formally established as the brand's creative future, and with HM12 representing a deliberate return to the radical, sculptural ethos of the brand's earliest Horological Machines, the question of where the series goes next is a natural one.

Légeret's answer is unambiguous. " We are not going to do consensual Horological Machines in the future. Horological Machines should be seen as the haute couture of MB&F — it will become very exclusive."

The broader philosophy that underpins this direction is one that MB&F has held since its founding, and which the HM12 embodies perhaps more completely than any previous piece.

It is a philosophy captured in the brand's defining motto — "A creative adult is a child who survived" — and one that the HM12 makes tangible in the most literal way possible: a watch that looks like a robot's face, built by engineers who were asked to make a childhood dream real, and told that the dream comes first.

When asked to describe the HM12 in a single sentence for someone who had never encountered MB&F before, Légeret did not hesitate.

"HM12 is the perfect summary of what MB&F stands for. It is creating a really super high-end horological machine, a mechanical timepiece, that brings us back to our childhood, which is full of creativity, that should make people smile. But all of that by respecting the traditional watchmaking that we love."

It is, in the end, a fitting summary not just of the HM12, but of twenty years of MB&F — and a clear declaration of intent for the twenty that follow.

鈦金屬鑄就的童年夢想：MB&F HM12「The Guardian」Childhood Dreams Forged in Titanium: MB&F HM12 'The Guardian'