MB&F's latest creation is an extraordinary watch with the face of an actual robot

Although MB&F do make watches, they’d probably push back at the notion they’re a mere ‘watchmaker’. Founded 20 years ago by Maximilian Büsser (and friends), it’s a self-styled ‘horological concept laboratory’ where avant-garde designs are crafted into something wearable.

It makes all the sense in the world, then, that their latest creation, the Horological Machine No.12, is the face of a robot. And we don’t just mean ‘looks a bit like it could be the face of a robot’. Have a look at this product film, which could just as easily be revealing Michael Bay’s latest cinematic project. See what we mean?

This is the first timepiece created by the pairing of Büsser and designer Maximilian Maertens, although it doesn’t mean the end of the line for collaborations between Büsser and creative director Eric Giroud, who’ve been responsible for the past two decades of leftfield timekeeping.

MB&F say it’s one of the most complex mechanisms they’ve ever built. “The face is built around two ‘eyes’ displaying bidirectional jumping hours and trailing minutes,” explains the official literature.

“A ‘brain’ in the form of a 60-second flying tourbillon; and a ‘mouth’ shaped like a battle-axe, integrated into a double-sided micro-rotor” comprise the face.

The titanium and sapphire case is just as intricate, featuring a variety of finishes, mobile lugs and a deeply intricate architecture.

And yes, the robot’s body is available for purchase too. With 755 individual components, it contains even more parts than the watch itself, making it quite the desk piece.

Deeply irresponsible, if you ask us. What if that latest ‘dangerous’ Claude release gets into one of these? It’ll be intercepting our delivery packages and enslaving us in large swathes within days.

Nevertheless, it’s yours for CHF 280,000, or about £261,875, plus VAT. There are only 36 in existence – 12 green, 12 blue, 12 purple – of both the timepiece and body, and MB&F say these launch editions are the final editions.