MELCHIOR
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INTRO
Melchior was created by L’Epée 1839 and MB&F, to mark MB&F Ten year anniversary under the theme: "A creative adult is a child who survived".
Melchior is an impressive kinetic robot which may remind you of your childhood dreams, but also happens to be an impeccably finished, 480-components mechanical table clock.
THE STORY
Indeed, 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 by 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 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.”
Christening this roboclock ‘Melchior’ – after a traditional forename in his family – Büsser developed the concept with designer Xin Wang, selecting a high-end L’Epée 1839 clock movement and reimagining it as the mechanical head and torso of a robot. For L’Epée 1839 CEO Arnaud Nicolas, the positive feeling is mutual. “We had a real blast making Melchior with MB&F,” he says. “Melchior is not just a table clock, it is a kinetic sculpture for eternal children and includes lots of small details, the type that we love working on at L’Epée 1839. It was a stimulating technical challenge”.
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INSIGHTS
Indeed, 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 by 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 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.”
Christening this roboclock ‘Melchior’ – after a traditional forename in his family – Büsser developed the concept with designer Xin Wang, selecting a high-end l’Epée 1839 clock movement and reimagining it as the mechanical head and torso of a robot.
For L’Epée CEO Arnaud Nicolas, the positive feeling is mutual. “We had a real blast making Melchior with MB&F,” he says. “Melchior is not just a table clock, it is a kinetic
sculpture for eternal children and includes lots of small details, the type that we love working on at L’Epée. It was a stimulating technical challenge”.
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Time display with hour and minute discs
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Melchior's gatling gun winding key
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Melchior's brain as the regluator, and double retrograde seconds eyes
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Power reserve indicator
SPECIFICATIONS
EXCLUSIVE LIMITED EDITION
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.
DESIGN & DISPLAY
Jumping hours and sweeping minutes: Twin discs forming part of Melchior’s breast
plate, one disc displaying hours, the other disc minutes
Retrograde seconds: Flyback discs mark 20-second intervals behind a steel mask
Power reserve indicator: Dial on abdomen providing intuitive view of remaining energy
DIMENSIONS & WEIGHT
30.3cm x 21.7cm (depending on position of the arms) x 11.2cm
Weight: 6.3kg
MOVEMENT
L’Epée in-house designed and manufactured movement
Balance frequency: 18,000 bph / 2.5Hz
Barrels: 5 in series
Incabloc shock protection system
Power reserve: 40 days
MATERIALS & FINISHING
HEAD
Dome: polished glass screwed via polished and bevelled palladium-plated brass bezel
Retrograde seconds display in stainless steel
Movement mainplate in palladium-plated brass
TORSO
Breastplate (forming hour and minute hands) in palladium-plated brass
Abdomen (power reserve indicator frame) in stainless steel
Ribcage/spine (formed by skeletonised mainplate) in palladium-plated brass
LEGS
Stainless steel
SHOULDERS AND ARMS
Stainless steel; magnet in left arm socket
Right forearm: screwed-in rocket with chrome-plated brass body and stainless steel warhead
Left forearm: Gatling gun in stainless steel with palladium-plated brass
Body and armour finishing includes anglage, mirror polishing, satin finishing, circular
satin finishing, sand-blasting, polishing. ‘Shoulders’, ‘pelvis’ and skeletonised
mainplate treated with black PVD for the two-tone ‘dark and light’ edition
FEATURES
Gatling gun shape winding key sets time and winds movement
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Reference
Stainless steel & brass, black PVD-treated components - Limited edition of 99 pieces
SOLD OUT
![](/sites/default/files/styles/product/public/product/ref/Melchior-Light-face_preview.jpg?itok=yoXeiFMH)
Reference
Stainless steel and brass - Limited edition of 99 pieces
SOLD OUT