Sherman

L'ÉPÉE 1839 × MB&F

Overview

Sherman doesn't walk, talk, weld cars, or roam Mars. He doesn't try to kill Sarah Connor, help Luke Skywalker, warn Will Robinson, star in feature-length films, or enforce the law. In fact, Sherman really only does two things, but he does both extremely well. Sherman tells the time. And Sherman makes people smile, which is probably the world's most useful and emotionally valuable complication.

The movement plates and bridges of the clock make up the skeleton and body of the robot; Sherman’s mainspring barrel bridge extends down to support his rubber caterpillar tracks, movement spacers act as shoulders for the arms, and his eyes are bolt heads supporting the regulator. The transparent dome on Sherman's head reveals his mechanical brain. Sherman's arms can be manipulated into nearly any configuration, and his hands can be used to hold items.

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the machine

Display

  • Hours and minutes displayed on Sherman's chest

Engine

  • L’Epée 1839 in-line eight-day movement, designed and manufactured in-house
  • Incabloc shock protection system
  • Power reserve: 8 days
  • Balance frequency: 2.5 Hz / 18,000 bph
  • 148 components and 17 jewels
  • Manual-winding: a double-depth square socket key sets time and winds movement

Body/Frame

  • Options: palladium-plated; gold-plated or gem-set with 477 high-quality VVS diamonds around the eyes, hour markers and head.

Dimensions and weight

  • Dimensions: 143 mm (tall) x 109 mm (wide) x 80 mm (deep)
  • Weight: 0.9 kg
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8 days power reserve

8 days power reserve

Sherman's mechanics are based on a L'Epée in-line eight-day movement, which ensures that the friendly tank-treaded table clock can display the correct time for more than a week before rewinding.

Clock regulator

Clock regulator

The clock regulator’s gentle beating and intricate composition are made visible thanks to its polished glass dome cover. If the protective dome acts like a skull, then the regulator symbolises Sherman’s brain at work.

Caterpillar tracks

Caterpillar tracks

His rubber caterpillar tracks are fully functional and, with a little help from a friend, he can roll over the rugged terrain of a typical office desk.

inspiration

inspiration Maximilian Büsser and Arnaud Nicolas CEO of L’Épée 1839

Conceived and developed by MB&F, engineered and crafted by L’Epée 1839, Sherman is the result of Maximilian Büsser’s on-going quest to revisit his childhood, during which he hankered for a robot friend.

Sherman's name – as his continuous tracked undercarriage hints at – is derived from the prolific M4 Sherman tank used by the USA and its allies in World War II. Officially called the Medium Tank M4; it was dubbed the Sherman M4 by the British, who named it after General William Tecumseh Sherman. While the name may have originated in a war scenario, he is most definitely a robot of peace, since Sherman is fitted with the most powerful weapon of all: the ability to make you smile.

L’Epée 1839

Epée 1839

Dedicated to making high-end clocks, L'Epée has been a prominent Swiss Manufacture for over 180 years. Founded in 1839 by Auguste L’Epée in France’s Besançon region, the company originally focused on producing music boxes and watch components. The brand was synonymous at the time with entirely hand-made pieces.

From 1850 onwards, the Manufacture became a leading light in the production of ‘platform’ escapements, creating regulators especially for alarm and table clocks, as well as musical watches. It became a well-known specialist owning a large number of patents on exceptional escapements and the chief supplier of escapements to several celebrated watchmakers of the day. L'Epée has won a number of gold medal awards at international exhibitions.

L'Epée 1839 is now based in Delémont in the Swiss Jura Mountains. Under the impetus of its CEO Arnaud Nicolas, it has developed an exceptional table clock collection, encompassing a full range of sophisticated clocks.

www.lepee1839.ch