Melchior
L'Epée 1839 x MB&F
Melchior was one of MB&F’s 10th Anniversary Pieces, presented in 2015 under the theme ”A creative adult is a child who survived”.
Overview
Founded in 2005, MB&F celebrated its first decade in 2015. To commemorate this milestone, the Geneva-based Horological lab presented a number of Anniversary Pieces during the year, under the theme: ”A creative adult is a child who survived”.
The first piece was Melchior, created with L’Epée 1839: an impressive kinetic robot which may remind you of your childhood dreams, but also happens to be an impeccably finished, 480-component mechanical table clock.
About Melchior
With his smart steel and brass armour, enigmatic glint in his eyes, animated brain and muscular, articulated arms – the right one packing a rocket launcher, the left a Gatling gun – Melchior is the robot buddy you would want by your side while trying to thwart Darth Vader. But look again and you will see Melchior is a majestic high-end table clock featuring jumping hours, sweeping minutes, double retrograde seconds and a 40-day power reserve; a tribute to refined, classic clock- and watchmaking.
Conceived and developed by concept lab MB&F, and engineered and crafted by L’Epée 1839 – Switzerland's only specialised high-end clock manufacture – Melchior is the result of Maximilian Büsser’s quest to revisit his childhood hankering for a robot friend.
A man's best friend
“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, man’s best friend was his robot,” says Büsser.
“As a 10-year-old fan of Star Wars, I knew Luke Skywalker could never have prevailed had it not been for droids like R2-D2 – a loyal, resourceful and brave robot who was always saving his friends. As an only child, I imagined having my own robot companion… Melchior makes that childhood fantasy a reality.”
L'Epée x MB&F
Limited editions
Melchior is limited to 99 pieces and is available in a monochromatic ‘light’ edition or a two-tone ‘dark and light’ edition featuring black PVD-treated components.
- “Slow” jumping hours and sweeping minutes
- Retrograde seconds: flyback discs mark 20-second intervals behind a steel mask
- Power reserve indicator on Melchior’s belly
- L’Epée 1839 in-line eight-day movement, designed and manufactured in-house
- Incabloc shock protection system
- Power reserve: 40 days
- Balance frequency: 18,000 bph / 2.5 Hz
- 334 components / 17 jewels
- Stainless steel and brass
- Dimensions: 303 x 217 x 112 mm
- Weight: 6.3 kg
Discover the models available
Inspiration
Christening this roboclock ‘Melchior’ – after a traditional forename in his family – Maximilian Büsser developed the concept with designer Xin Wang, selecting a high-end L’Epée clock movement and reimagining it as the mechanical head and torso of a robot.
Indeed, with his smart steel and brass armour, enigmatic glint in his eyes, animated brain and muscular, articulated arms, Melchior is the robot buddy you would want by your side while trying to thwart Darth Vader. But look again and you’ll see that Melchior is also a tribute to the most refined classic clock and watchmaking.
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