Does the picture above make you smile? Did it add a little joy to your day? If not, well don’t waste your time looking at this because that is mainly what the Sherman from MB&F and L’Epée was created to do. Max Busser, the impresario behind MB&F (he’s the MB part), has always been expressing his childhood dreams in mechanical sculptures and that is what he’s done with this (relative) mobile table clock. Yes, Sherman is a clock built by L’Epée, a manufacture specializing in high-end tableclocks, and the little guy mainly tells the time, via the blue hands on his chest (he does not literally tell you the time). More importantly, Sherman is a reflection of the young Max’s desire for a robot friend because MB&F pieces are time machines that take you back to your own past. Again, if MB&F timepieces and other kinetic creations have never done this for you then, at this point in the story, you are apparently a masochist who will read on no matter what.

As a reward to those of you who are soldiering on, here are some details on how Sherman works and what he does. Hours and minutes are displayed, as mentioned above and, timekeeping wise, that is it. Sherman’s arms can hold small items like pens or his own winding key (as noted in the press materials) and are flexible enough to be moved into many positions. The rubber caterpillar tracks are likewise functional and, with a little help from a friend, Sherman can move across flat surfaces. This basically covers everything Sherman, who stands just over 14cm tall, does. As the release from MB&F makes abundantly clear, it is not very much but you might want to also compare Sherman with the other robot from MB&F. At 450 pieces, Sherman is not for everyone but he will be appreciated quite a bit by some. He is also surprisingly light, at just under 1 kg, so he will be at home on most desks or even shelves. This surprising weight is probably due to the fact that he is palladium or gold plated, not made entirely of these dense metals. Even the version with diamonds (yes diamonds are an option) is gold-plated.

For those who are interested in such things, you will have observed that Sherman’s construction appears to expose his moving parts to the elements, while turning structures like the barrel bridges into actual supports for the aforementioned rubber tracks. We are unsure of the possible care complications that may result from this but the escapement itself is protected by the blown mineral glass dome otherwise known as Sherman’s head. Yes, you can be “mesmerized” by Sherman’s thought processes.

Specs

• MB&F and L’Epée Sherman
• Dimensions: 143mm x 109mm x 80mm
• Functions: Hours and minutes
• Power reserve: 8 Days
• Movement: Mechanical, manual-winding, by L’Epée
• Water resistance: NA (Sherman doesn’t swim)
• Material: Fully palladium plated or gold-plated with palladium-plated going train or fully gold-plated with 735 VVS diamonds around the eyes, hour markers and head
• Limited to 200 pieces (palladium-plated), 200 pieces (gold-plated) and 50 diamond-set gold-plated pieces