Mondaine Official Swiss Railways Watch - the Swiss time icon Ingenuity and simplicity are the elements, which often distinguish an attractive piece of design from. The Mondaine Official Swiss Railways watch is proud to be associated with such an example of excellent 20th century design. The simple design, the unmistakable easy-to-read face, distinctive hands and the famous red seconds hand have made the Mondaine collection successful the world over. In 1944, Hans Hilfiker, a Swiss Engineer and Designer and employee of the Federal Swiss Railways, created a clock, which has become known as the Official Swiss Railways Clock. It is amazing just how long this design has endured and now it appears to take a place in the eternal hall of fame along side other well known design icons such as the Coca-Cola bottle, the Mercedes star, the Toblerone packaging, or the design of the US dollar bill.
MONDAINE Official Swiss Railways Watch - the most punctual clock in the world.
Who else but a Swiss engineer would design an ingenious clock that ensured train punctuality would become a visible concept to everyone in Switzerland and abroad? A timepiece that ticks off a minute in only 58 seconds at first baffled people and continues to charm them today, but this unique feature of the Swiss Railway Clock has ensured smooth and absolutely precise departures of Swiss trains on the full minute for the last 60 years.
Realizing that electrically powered clocks could be unreliable, inventor and Swiss Federal Railways employee Hans Hilfiker perfected a trick to make certain that clocks in every station show exactly the same time. Hilfiker accelerated the railway clocks so that the second hand (a unique design visible from far away) comes up to the 12 o’clock position after 58 seconds. Here it stays awaiting release from an automatic electrical impulse sent through the electric power network that happens every full minute. First the black minute hand jumps to the next position and then the red second hand on all the clocks in the network begin a new rotation, ensuring synchronization of the entire rail system.
This exclusive attribute has fascinated travellers since the classic design was invented and the intellectual property protected in the 1940s - an era where electric and quartz movement as well as radio and satellite-based timekeeping did not exist. It is the only system of its kind in use and has furthered Switzerland’s image as the most punctual country in the world.
Zurich watchmaker Mondaine has incorporated this highly individual motion within its Official Swiss Railway SBB Watch. The fascinating execution “Stop to Go”, like on the original clock, features the famous red second hand that turns full circle in 58 seconds and then waits at 12 o’clock for the black minute hand to move on before starting its next rotation.
MONDAINE Official Swiss Railways Watch - the Swiss time icon.
The simple design, the unmistakable easy-toread face, distinctive hands and the famous red seconds hand have made the Mondaine collection successful the world over.
Ingenuity and simplicity are the elements, which often distinguish an attractive piece of design from a truly iconic design classic. The Mondaine Official Swiss Railways watch is proud to be associated with such an example of excellent 20th century design.
In 1944, Hans Hilfiker, a Swiss Engineer and Designer and employee of the Federal Swiss Railways, created a clock, which has become known as the “Official Swiss Railways Clock”.
It is amazing just how long this design has endured and now it appears to take a place in the eternal hall of fame along side other well known design icons such as the Coca-Cola bottle, the Mercedes star, the Toblerone packaging, or the design of the US dollar bill.
In 1986 the Mondaine watch company, owned by the Bernheim family, took the blueprint of the iconic-patented design of the Railways Clock and turned it into a watch collection. These watches are the famous clock in miniature and carry the same Swiss reputation of excellent watch making skills, punctuality and uncomplicated design.
The Mondaine collection has in turn become a respected design in its own right and has gone from strength to strength and today it is widely considered to be one of the “10 Classic Swiss Watch Designs”. The Mondaine Watch collection continues to grow in popularity in Europe, the United States of America and the Far East, easily recognizable as the clock seen on all Swiss railway platforms, responsible for the legendary punctuality of the Swiss rail network.
60 years after its creation there are some 3000 of these clocks on station concourses and platforms throughout Switzerland and even a selection in London’s Design Museum where Sir Terence Conran commissioned their installation as permanent, functional exhibits.
