Men's Lifestyle June 10, 2026 0 Comments

This Insane 2026 Watch Has a Robot Sidekick—And It’s About to Crush the Competition Like a True Champion!

Ever wonder what happens when Swiss watchmaking meets full-on robot fantasy? MB&F just flipped the script, unveiling a mechanical wristwatch that moonlights as the head of a robot. The HM12 “The Guardian” isn’t your everyday timepiece — it’s a titanium and sapphire marvel that channels the heart of a sci-fi mech while telling time like no other. Born out of a simple yet wild question—“Could the head of a robot be a wristwatch?”—this project took years of grinding, prototyping, and sheer creative beast mode to pull off. Mixing a flying tourbillon brain with a sliding face shield, and pairing it to an actual 38 cm tall mechanical robot buddy, it’s as much tech art as it is horology. It’s bold. It’s rare (just 36 pieces worldwide). And at around $350,000 before taxes? Let’s just say, it’s a high-stakes flex in the world of luxury watches. Curious how this fusion of childhood dream and industrial prowess came to life? Dive in. LEARN MORE

2 min read

MB&F has unveiled one of the year’s most unusual watch launches: a mechanical wristwatch designed to function as the head of a robot.

Called the HM12 “The Guardian,” the project arrives as the Geneva-based independent watchmaker enters its third decade. Founded in 2005 by Maximilian Büsser, MB&F built its reputation on highly unconventional “horological machines” that draw inspiration from science fiction, industrial design, and childhood imagination rather than anything as traditional as Swiss watchmaking.

luxury watch with a unique design and blue accents

MB&F.

The watch itself, otherwise known as the robot’s head.

The project began with a simple challenge from Büsser to designer Maximilian Maertens, who has spent the past eight years working on MB&F’s clocks and music boxes.

“The brief was very simple,” Maertens told Esquire during a preview presentation in London. “Wouldn’t it be cool if the head of a robot could become a wristwatch?”

And who hasn’t entertained similar thoughts? That said, delivering it was another matter.

What followed was a five-year development process that produced a titanium and sapphire watch displaying the time via jumping hours and trailing minutes, with a flying tourbillon positioned as the robot’s “brain.” A second crown operates what MB&F calls a face-shield complication, allowing six panels to slide across the watch’s face.

“It was a small extra for me because I thought it was quite nice to add,” Maertens said of the shield. “But it was a very long process.”

wrist with a unique watch design and white sleeve

MB&F

A look at it on the wrist.

The face-shield mechanism contains more than 200 components by itself. The movement as a whole comprises 646 components, offers an 84-hour power reserve, and features a double-sided micro-rotor decorated with guilloché produced by the workshop of revered independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen.

The watch, however, was only half the idea.

Using a quick-release system, the HM12 can be removed from its strap and mounted onto “The Guardian,” a 38cm-tall robot developed with Swiss clockmaker L’Epée 1839.

The robot contains a mechanical thermometer in its chest, articulated arms, a magnifying loupe hidden within one shield and a UV torch concealed in the other. Because: Why not?

Altogether, “The Guardian” contains 755 components, bringing the total count for the project to almost 1,500.

For Maertens, getting there involved years of trial and error. “The biggest problem was to really fit the size of a head to the robot’s body,” he explained, a little sadly. “In the beginning, the head was always a little bit too big.”

black robotic figure with glowing blue accents

MB&F.

The blue edition of the HM12 “The Guardian.”

The designer produced numerous prototypes before settling on the final proportions. “I’ve never done a robot before,” he said. “It was just a lot of learning.”

That influence is visible throughout the finished piece. Maertens cites Japanese robot culture, including Gundam and Transformers, among his inspirations, while the movable face shield recalls the battle mode of a science-fiction character rather than anything traditionally associated with Swiss watchmaking.

The HM12 “The Guardian” will be offered in blue, green, and purple editions, with just 12 examples of each produced.

At CHF 280,000 [about $350,000] before taxes, it is among the year’s more expensive launches.

It is also among the most personal.

As Maertens put it, “Of course I am proud—it is the first and greatest robot I’ve ever designed.”

mbandf.com