Mondaine Helvetica watch series

Mondaine. License: All Rights Reserved.

Swiss watch manufacturer Mondaine – known for making the Swiss railway wristwatches – recently launched a series based on another Swiss icon. The watches were designed by German designer Martin Drechsel, taking inspiration from elements in the typeface and the modernist typography it stands for: asymetrically aligned dial, using only glyphs from Helvetica for the watchface, and incorporating the form of the numeral '1' into the lugs. The watches are available in three "weights" – Light, Regular, and Bold – with the case getting thicker and more pronounced with the weight of the typeface and design of the dial, as well as many different sizes and color/material combinations. (For the Helvetica skeptics, the lightest and smallest watch has almost no type on it.)

A dedicated Website presents the different models and includes a nice film starring Alfred Hoffmann, last director of the Haas type foundry. Interview with Martin Drechsel.

Mondaine. License: All Rights Reserved.

Mondaine. License: All Rights Reserved.

Mondaine. License: All Rights Reserved.

Mondaine. License: All Rights Reserved.

Mondaine. License: All Rights Reserved.

Mondaine. License: All Rights Reserved.

Mondaine. License: All Rights Reserved.

License: All Rights Reserved.

Alfred Hoffmann. Still from the promotional film.

License: All Rights Reserved.

Alfred Hoffmann going through his father's "Helvetica journal". Still from the promotional film.