Mixing equal parts tranquility, aggression, and whimsy, MB&F and L'Epée 1839 are releasing the Grant. Billed as a triple-tracked, Mad-Max-meets-Transformer robot clock on a mission, the tracked buzzsaw-wielding timepiece combines horology with a souped-up executive toy designed to relax its owner by slowing down life just a touch.
According to the makers, one of the big drawbacks of modern life is its fast-paced, always-on-the-go lifestyle, where irreplaceable seconds are constantly spinning away for no very good reason. To save nerves and blood pressure, MB&F, known for its playful upmarket clocks, has come up with Grant, which the company refers to as "Grendizer meets Mad Max meets Transformer."
Sporting an analog mechanical display on its back, Grant and its open-framework design beneath a mineral glass dome are intended not only to tell time, but to provide something relaxing to look at as its clockwork turns and the isochronal oscillations of the regulator keeping time in Grant's glass-domed brain, along with its belly-button mainstream barrel, are on full display. To emphasize that lack of urgency, there are an hour and a minute hand on the display, but no seconds hand.
In addition to its timekeeping functions, the Grant is a bit of a toy as well, with operational rubber tracks and the ability to transform into three distinct profiles designed to not only make the display more comfortable to read, but also to open Grant up to reveal its hidden robotic face in all its fearsomeness. The latter is backed up by the buzzsaw in its left hand and the "grenade launcher" in its right that doubles as the winding key for the eight-day mechanism.
Folded up in its "tank" profile, Grant stands 115 mm (4.5 in) tall and rises to 166 mm (6.5 in) when completely unfolded in its "robot" profile. It weighs a hefty 2.34 kg (5.2 lb) and is made of 268 components of stainless steel, nickel-plated brass, palladium-plated brass. Inside it is an L'Epée in-house eight-day, 155-jewel, 2.5-Hz movement with an Incabloc shock protection system. All the parts sport hand-applied Geneva waves, anglage, polishing, sandblasting, circular and vertical graining, and satin finishing.
Named after a British variation of the American M3 medium tank of World War II, the Grant is available for CHF 22,200 (US$22,920) in three limited editions, Nickel, Black, and Blue, of 50 units each.
The video below shows the Grant being assembled.
Source: MB&F
