Grant
L'Epée 1839 x MB&F
Co-created by MB&F and L’Epée 1839, Grant is a robot with a time display on his shield – and a mission to slow things down, when time runs too fast.
Overview
MB&F and L’Epée 1839 present Grant, a triple-tracked, Mad-Max-cross-Transformer robot clock on a mission. In today’s fast-paced, always-on, 24/7 world, we are under constant bombardment from time: seconds race by; there is never enough; everyone wants more; and it keeps getting faster and faster. The nearest hour was once precise enough; now the world’s most accurate clocks are better than a second over the entire age of the universe!
No wonder you are stressed, but relax, help is at hand. Grant is here. Grendizer meets Mad Max meets Transformer.
About Grant
Grant is a robot with a time display on his shield and a mission to slow things down when time runs too fast. There are no incessantly flashing digital numerals on Grant’s shield, no constantly spinning second hand. Grant transforms frantic chaos into relaxing hours and minutes, and that’s all the time you really need.
While Grant’s time moves relatively slowly, he can travel quickly over rough terrain (or the messiest desk) on his three operational rubber tracks. Grant can also transform into one of three different modes: lying horizontally over his chassis for a low profile; crouching at 45 degrees; and sitting up 90 degrees. Grant’s time shield can always be set to a comfortable and optimal viewing angle.
Transformer Time
Whatever the angle, Grant’s highly polished clockwork is on full display, and you can follow every click and turn of the gears. The mainspring barrel click near his ‘belly button’ is particularly mesmerizing in operation. The isochronal oscillations of the regulator keeping time in Grant’s glass-domed ‘brain’ are evidence of the clockwork’s high precision. Watching Grant “thinking” in real time is a stress-relieving activity in itself: Grant transforms time so that you can relax and enjoy it.
Grant's 8-day, in-line manufacture movement features the same superlative fine finishing as found on the finest wristwatches: Geneva waves, anglage, polishing, sandblasting, plus circular and vertical satin finishing. Hand finishing a clock movement is significantly more challenging than that of a wristwatch due to the larger surface areas of the clock components.
While he doesn’t look for fights, Grant believes offense is a great form of defense and packs appropriate weaponry. His left arm holds a “you-really-don’t-want-to-mess-with-me” spinning disk, while his right arm clasps a removable grenade launcher. Grant even has a surprise up his sleeve: his grenade launcher is removable and doubles as the winding and time-setting key for his 8-day clockwork, so he isn’t likely to run out of either firepower or time.
L'Epée x MB&F
Limited Editions
Grant is available in three limited editions of 50 pieces each in Nickel, Black, and Blue.
- Hours and minutes
- L’Epée 1839 in-line eight-day movement, designed and manufactured in-house
- Power reserve: 8 days
- Balance frequency: 2.5 Hz / 18,000 bph
- 155 components and 11 jewels
- Incabloc shock protection system
- Winding: grenade launcher on right hand pulls out to reveal a double-depth square socket key that both sets the time and winds the movement.
- Transformer body with three operational tracks and three positions of clock/body.
- Material: stainless steel, nickel-plated brass, palladium-plated brass.
- Dome/head: mineral glass.
- Flat position: 115 mm (tall) x 212 mm (wide) x 231 mm (long)
- Vertical position: 166 mm (tall) x 212 mm (wide) x 238 mm (long)
- Components total: 268
- Weight: 2.34 kg
Discover the models available
Inspiration
Grant takes his name from the Medium Tank, M3; a medium-sized American tank in use during World War II. In Britain, the tank came in two variations with differing turret configurations and crew sizes and each model was naturally given its own name. The Brits nicknamed the American-turreted tank "Lee”, after Confederate general Robert E. Lee; the British-turreted tank was called "Grant", after Union general Ulysses S. Grant.
The M3 tank had significant firepower (like MB&F’s + L’Epée 1839’s Grant) and was well armoured (unlike Grant). The M3’s drawbacks included a high silhouette and poor off-road performance, both issues rectified in the Grant: low profile (when laying flat) and excellent high-speed off-road performance (thanks to the three tracks).
L’Epée 1839 developed Grant to MB&F’s design using its 8-day, in-line manufacture movement as a structural base. Grant doesn’t just look like a complicated piece of high-precision micro-engineering, he is an incredibly solid piece of complex high-precision micro-engineering with an impressive 268 components going into the construction of his body and clockwork.
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