Mondaine Group reveals smart new watch from Helvetica
Helen Pawson
The Moodie Report
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.
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.”
Pictured is the promotion taking place now at Zürich Airport, a top performing airport for sales of Mondaine and Luminox watches.
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.
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