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Mondaine is a Swiss watch brand that was founded in 1951 by Erwin Berheim. Initially, the company did not make watches and instead made clocks for railway stations. Subsequently, Mondaine has a very distinctive and instantly noticeable style of watch that is made to look like a Swiss railway clock. Although not all Mondaine watches are this exact style, it would be akin to Rolex being recognized as the brand that created the submariner.
The design of the well-known Mondaine watch with a red seconds hand, is a copywrited design created by Swiss railway employee Hans Hilfiker in 1944. It is currently licensed to Mondaine from the Swiss federal railway – and has been since 1986.
As a brand, Mondaine are best known for having a 58 second movement (instead of the standard 60) which moved around the dial and then stopped in place at the 12 position for 2 seconds. Modern day Mondaine watches do not do this but do something similar called Stop2Go. This technology is discussed more below and different from this original mechanism. However, to the naked eye it appears to act in a very similar way to what made Mondaine famous in the first place.
Due to its rich history of involvement in the Federal Swiss railway, Mondaine are well known for their wall clocks as well as their watches.
Table of Contents
Where Are Mondaine Watches Made?
All Mondaine watches are made in Switzerland. The company is also headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
Are Mondaine Watches Quartz Or Automatic?
Mondaine watches can either be quartz or automatic – depending on which model you buy. The movements used in a Mondaine watch are typically either ETA or Sellita. Sometimes a clone or modified version of these movements can be used, again, depending on which model you purchase.
In modern years, Mondaine has also experimented with creating smartwatches.
Are Mondaine Watches Good Value For Money?
Overall, Mondaine watches are very good value for money. Their Swiss quartz models usually sell for around $150-350 on Amazon, whereas their automatic models sell in the range of $400-800 (model dependant). These are not bad prices at all considering the watches are all assembled in Switzerland and use solid Swiss movements.
None of the movements are made in-house, and Mondaine is not really known for its innovative design, but rather its classic Swiss railways dial. This fact does not make them any less valuable than their rivals though, as similar priced brands will often use Japanese miyota quartz or a similar Japanese automatic movement. These movements are not at the level of ETA or Sellita, yet typically are priced at similar levels.
If you aren’t a fan of the Swiss railways dial design, then it is going to be very difficult for you to find a Mondaine watch that you like. However, if you do like the classic design. Mondaine watches are very well priced, well made and are a solid Swiss brand. All Mondaine watches come with a 2 year warranty, which is pretty much standard within the industry’s top brands.
What Is Mondaine Stop2Go?
Stop2Go is a piece of unique horological technology made by Mondaine. Whilst some might think that it is relatively useless or boring. It is at the very least unique and atypical compared with a normal watch movement.
When the second hand reaches the 12 o’clock position, it will pause for 2 seconds. This instantly differentiates it from other watch brands – none of which do this. After these two seconds, the minute hand will jump forwards to the next marker. A watch with similar mechanics is a Breitling Aerospace, which uses a jump forwards, but this model does not have a seconds hand. Again, traditional watchmaking usually involves moving the minute hand incrementally during the 60 seconds of time elapsing.
Best Mondaine Watches
Classic
There is not too much to be said about the classic dial of a Mondaine watch that you don’t already know. It has the typical black and white dial with a striking red seconds hand. An unusual feature about this watch is that it uses a double date window at the 3 o’clock position. For some reason, this is rarely seen on any watch other than at the 12 o’clock position.
The classic contains a Swiss quartz movement and is very reasonably priced for what you’re getting.
Helvetica
Another very minimalist design. The Mondaine Helvetica has a very plain-looking dial and very thin hands. Overall it is quite an unremarkable watch. It’s extremely easy to read, reliable, low key, and basic. You won’t turn any heads whilst wearing this, but that was likely the intention when designing this model. It’s pretty good value for money, as are all Mondaine watches.
Big Evo
The Big Evo is pretty much an upgrade on the Classic design of Mondaine. The dial is 40mm, which is pretty big for a classic brand, but normal size for a man’s watch in modern day. It has a reliable Sellita automatic movement, so will certainly not let you down with its timekeeping. It’s obviously more expensive than the classic, which contains a quartz movement.
Mondaine Wall Clock
Unlike most wall clocks, this Mondaine wall clock sweeps with the second’s hand rather than ticking. Note that the clock does not have stop2go technology like a clock in a Swiss railway station as this would likely make the product far more expensive to buy.
Overall, this is very expensive for a clock, but of course you’re paying for a classic design.
Mondaine Alarm Clock
The Mondaine alarm clock is small but heavy for its size. This is very expensive for an alarm clock and it does not use a Swiss movement. Unless you are a giant fan of the brand, you would likely be better spending your money on a different alarm clock.
