MB&F have boldly ventured beyond watches in the past, but Kelys and Chirp marks the disruptive brand’s first automaton.

by James Buttery

MB&F doesn?t just make watches, its machines extend to robot desk clocks (through ?friend? L?Epee), a pen fit for space and starship music boxes more likely to play renditions of John Williams? Star Wars soundtrack than the Blue Danube.
Its latest co-creation with music box specialist Reuge (and automata expert Nicolas Court) is not another music box but the brand?s first automaton, those marvelous sculptures brought to life using mechanical means.

 
Kelys and Chirp is a ?crawling? tortoise which hides a secret; its uppermost leather-clad scute pops up to reveal a singing bird automaton with articulated beak, wings and tail that dances around as it ?chirps? its tuneful song. Pushing Kelys? tail down sets it off on a 35cm walk and prepares Chirp for a recital, flipping the tail up sets Chirp off, allowing Kelys to rest. What is perhaps surprising about Kelys (from the ancient Greek tortoise-based instrument Chelys) and Chirp is that none of the fundamentals are particularly new in themselves, what is new is the combination of those elements.

Watchmaker Raul Pagès’ first professional creation was a white gold diamond and sapphire-set automaton tortoise that appear to crawl by means of a mechanical movement and singing bird automaton were a perennial favourite as far back as the 16th Century when Pierr...