Unpacking MB&F’s HM12
Complexity as theatre, succession planning, and the genius of a $384,000 action figure.
About a year ago, I wrote a pointed critique of the MB&F SP One, and to my surprise, MB&F responded. In that exchange, they teased the next Horological Machine by saying it would be ‘going back to MB&F roots’. I ended that post with a line addressed to Max directly, saying I looked forward to seeing what ‘back to roots’ meant for the HM12.
Well, now we know.
The HM12 is a watch shaped like a robot’s head, which clips onto a 38cm, 15kg robot body made by L’Epée1. The watch has jumping hours and trailing minutes for eyes, a flying tourbillon for a brain, and a micro-rotor for a mouth. There is a crown on the left which deploys a set of coloured face shields, using a mechanism of more than 200 components (that has nothing to do with telling the time). The robot holds a loupe in one hand and a UV torch in the other, has a thermometer in its chest, and stores straps in a drawer within its base. 36 will be made in total, 12 each in blue, green and purple, and it’s priced at CHF 280,000 before VAT (or $384,000 in the US).
No doubt you have seen it already, because everyone covered it, and everyone covered it the same way... this is joyous, MB&F at its best, a creative adult is a child who survived, be glad it exists, blah blah. Hodinkee called it the robot and watch combo of your dreams. Revolution called it a covetable big boys’ toy. Deployant declared MB&F ‘untouchable’ with this sort of thing. The closest thing to criticism I have seen came from SJX, who pointed out, almost apologetically, that the face shields cover very little of the face and protect neither the tourbillon nor the exposed rotor - two bits you’d presumably want shielded in a battle? Haha.
First, the obvious lazy takes... The positive take is that it’s cool, we admire it, maybe we’ll get to see one in person someday. The negative take is that it’s a six-figure toy for 36 people, it’s irrelevant to essentially every collector alive (minus 36), and it will fade with the news cycle. Depending on how you see the world, both takes can be true, and I don’t think either one tells you very much.
The launch, on the other hand, tells you plenty.
Handover time
The HM12 is the first Horological Machine in the brand’s 20-year history conceived without Eric Giroud - the designer who shaped MB&F’s visual language from HM1 onwards. This one was designed by Maximilian Maertens, the former intern I wrote about in the context of Max’s succession planning. Max has said, in his own words, ‘I also recognised that he’s way more creative than me today.’
When I visited the M.A.D. House, one thing that struck me was how much of the operation is geared towards outliving Max. There’s robust product data management, incredibly detailed documentation systems, a backup person for many roles, and a project pipeline running out to 2034.
With that in mind, one perspective is that this is a succession announcement shaped like a robot. The flagship HM line which carries the lion’s share of MB&F’s identity, has been handed to the heir, in public, with the founder’s blessing - and it looks like the result is going to sell out in a heartbeat. Every founder-led independent faces the same existential question, which is whether the workshop can outlive the artisan. Journe collectors are super nervous about this even if they don’t talk about it openly. Voutilainen has restructured his whole company around this and there’s still no clear plan to replace him. Here, MB&F has answered the question using a press release that never once used the word succession.
And if you want to get poetic about it, consider what MB&F just launched... It’s called a guardian. A thing whose stated job is to protect something precious while its owner sleeps.
Make of that what you will :)
