Mondaineis thetrademarkfor a series ofwatchesmade by theSwisscompanyMondaine Watch Ltd. The company was founded byErwin Bernheim.Initially, he exported wristwatches manufactured by different Swiss watchmakers. Subsequently, he started manufacturing lever watches at Remonta AG, a subsidiary of Mondaine inBiberist,Switzerland.[1]
Its line of Mondaine watches are heavily influenced by classicalSwiss railway clocks,called theOfficial Swiss Railways Watch /SBB,with the design licensed from theSwiss Federal Railwaysin 1986. This design, byHans Hilfiker,originated in 1944.[1]
The original movement was unlike other watches and unique because of the following fact: By spreading 58 seconds over the 360 degrees (rather than the usual 60 seconds), the second hand comes to a complete stop at the 12 numeral for two seconds, giving the illusion that time has stopped. Then, the minute hand advances one step and the second hand starts a new cycle. However, the company stopped making models with this mechanism around 2001.[2]In 2013, a redesigned model was launched under the namestop2go.[3]In keeping with how the movement itself works, the crown is shaped like a rocker switch that you flip back and forth instead of winding.
In 2006, Mondaine purchased a 50% stake of AmericanLuminoxcompany, giving Mondaine increased access to the American market, and Luminox increased access to the European and Asian markets.[4]The speciality ofLuminox watchesis their self-powered luminous readability at night using miniatureTritiumdevices manufactured by mb-microtec, another Swiss company.[5]In 2016, Mondaine took over the remaining part of the Luminox company and manufactured these watches in Switzerland using theSwiss madelabel.[1]Luminox watches became a major part of revenues for the Mondaine Group in 2020.[6]
Additionally, Mondaine offers a selection of models inspired bymodern artand markets fashionable watches under thePierre Cardinbrand.[1]
Controversy over Apple iPad's iOS 6 clock design
editIn 2012,Apple'siPadclock design iniOS 6resembled atrademarkeddesign created in 1944 by SBB employee Hans Hilfiker, which is now licensed to Mondaine. Upon threat of lawsuit from Mondaine, Apple agreed to settle the matter out of court. Apple paid 22.5 millionSwiss Francsto Swiss Federal Railways to license the design for use in their iPad clock.[7][8]
References
edit- ^abcdAbout us.mondaine-group. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
- ^Customer service response
- ^Press release by Mondaine, 27 June, 2013
- ^Luminox, the American watch brand teams up with Mondaine,Allbusiness Monday, April 3 2006
- ^The eternal glow from Niederwangen.mbmicrotec. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
- ^Andrea Martel:Weder mechanisch noch Luxus: Wie sich ein Schweizer KMU mit seinen günstigen Swiss-made-Uhren behauptet.Neue Zürcher Zeitung,23 November 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
- ^Apple pays 21m for clock designcnet
- ^"Apple's Deal For Swiss Clock Design Breaks Mondaine's" Exclusive "Licensing Agreement | Cult of Mac".Cult of Mac.2012-10-16.Retrieved2018-01-26.
External links
edit- mondaine-group- Official web site
- mondaine- Official web site
This articleneeds additional or more specificcategories.(November 2021) |