Swiss watchmaker Mondaine showcased the brand’s first ever smart watch at last week’s TFWA World Exhibition.
The Helvetica No 1 Smart, which does not have a LED screen like other smart watches, features the Mondaine Helvetica Bold shape, a classic brushed matt steel case, white dial, sapphire crystal and a soft leather strap.
A sub dial at six o’clock is an analogue representation of the timepiece’s smart technology which features MotionX activity tracking, Sleeptracker sleep monitoring, sleep cycle alarms, Get-Active alerts and Smart coaching. All the data can be backed up and stored in the MotionX cloud. The model has a battery life of over two years and is priced at €800.
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Hover over the images with our unique Moodie Magnifier to view Mondaine’s new Helvetica No 1 Smart watch |
Helvetica No 1 Smart uses the horological smart watch platform, power MotionX, to manage the bi-directional communication between the watch and smart phone or tablet it is connected to via the downloaded app. The information is read in an analogue way via the sub dial, in contrast to regular smart devices where the data is shown digitally.
Developed by Swiss company Manufacture Movements Technologies (MMT), the horological smart watch platform is currently only licensed for use by Frederique Constant, Alpina and Mondaine.
Mondaine CEO Andre Bernheim commented: “This is a beautiful Swiss watch that is also connected and smart. Mondaine, founded by our father in 1951, introduced some of the world’s first LCD and LED watches and now we are doing something which is the next step in today’s watch industry. This is the first-ever Swiss-made horological smartwatch. It is a world first and Mondaine is proud to be at the forefront of this new technology, thanks to a collaboration with MMT.”
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Pictured is the promotion taking place now at Zürich Airport, a top performing airport for sales of Mondaine and Luminox watches |
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Europe and Asia are Mondaine’s strongest markets in travel retail, with the brand listed at all airports in Korea. Mondaine Global Sales Manager Travel Retail Beat Schärer said the company would like to strengthen its position in Asia.
For Luminox, the top performing region for duty free is the USA but sales are also strong in Europe, in particular Zürich Airport, revealed Schärer.
A one-month long promotion for Mondaine Helvetica and Luminox ANU series is currently running at Zürich Airport with another activation planned soon with World Duty Free Group at Heathrow T5.
In other news, Mondaine Group’s Luminox brand recently launched the ANU (Authorised for Navy Use) Chronograph 4240 series, available in travel retail now.
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The ANU Chronograph is said to enable very precise repeated timing |
Developed especially for elite military operatives to perform under the toughest conditions, the ANU Chronograph features an independent sweep second hand, independent sub dials to measure seconds and tenths of a second, and a 12-hour elapsed timer that can also be set for count down.
Chronograph functions, said to enable very precise repeated timing around complicated high performance machinery, are used in many professions including naval submarine navigation, automobile racing and other activities where precise timing is critical.
“Whether under the sea, in the air, or on land; whether in high pressure or low pressure, day or night, the ANU series watches from Luminox will serve you well and function perfectly, and now with the launch of the chronograph version, split second timing is an added benefit,” Luminox stated.
