COMPANY: MONDAINE
“The simple design, the unmistakable easy-to-read face, distinctive hands and the famous red seconds hand have made Mondaine timepieces uniquely recognized the world over. Ingenuity and simplicity are the combined elements that distinguish and define a truly iconic design classic. The Mondaine Official Swiss Railways watches embody these elements and proudly exemplify excellent 20th century design.”
MODEL: Stop2Go
SPECIFICATIONS:
Model number A512.30358.16SBC
Function Stop2go
Movement (manufacture. Ref.) MONDAINE stop2go cal. 58-02
Movement (type) Quartz
Case size/diameter (mm) 41.00
Case material Stainless Steel brushed
Case back Caseback with Screws
Crown Regular Gasket
Crystal/Glass material Sapphire anti-reflective coated
Water resistance (m/ft/atm) 30 / 100 / 3
Strap/Bracelet material Genuine Leather
Strap width at lug (mm) 20.00
Origin Swiss Made
All aboard! Even to this day, when I hear a train off in the distance it brings a smile to my face. When I was a kid I would imagine being aboard that train that I would hear. Imagining how awesome it would be to travel the railroad. Who hasn’t imagine that at some point or another. There is something that is just so fascinating about the railroad. Some people are even more fascinated with the railroad than others. For example, Hans Hilfiker, the man who was responsible for designing the clock for the Swiss Federal Railway service (SBB) in the 1940’s. This station clock possessed an unique feature, the second hand would pause briefly, allowing the minute hand to jump forward. No it wasn’t broken, there was a very important reason for the pause/jump. This method was for keeping the SBB system synchronized from a central master clock so that the railway could run without incident.
Mondaine has implemented this key feature of the SBB clocks of yesteryear into their Stop2Go watch. Mondaine watches are instantaneously recognizable because of their design roots coming from the famous SBB clocks. The round brushed stainless steel case comes in at 41mm with a lug with of 20mm. 41mm is an ideal size for this watch because I think anything bigger would end up looking cartoonish.
The lugs are quite refined. Thin and short allowing the Stop2Go to wear true to its 41mm size and just over 47mm from lug tip to tip. How the ridge runs along the sides of the case the appear to run the length of the case. This cool little detail adds some great personality to the overal simple case design. The low profile of the case is maintained by its 11mm height.
The crown is pretty unique on the Stop2Go. It doesn’t look like you average crown by any means. What it reminds me of is a winder on an old tin robot toy from the 1950’s, which does go along with my love of trains and the railroad. The crown functions essentially as a push/pull style crown to set the time. You can also use the crown to fine tune the second hand to properly pause at the 12 o’clock position. This can be achieved by holding down the crown for 3 seconds and then turning the crown counter-clockwise to advance the second hand. Once the second hand reaches the 12, you simply push the crown once to set it back in motion.
The case back is held in place by 4 flat head screws and features a raised MONDAINE in the center of the case that is surrounded by a red circle. The case back also features engraved information about the watch itself. This case is simple, effective and well executed. No gimmicks, just pure essential functionality.
The dial has to be the most recognizable part of this watch. The famous crisp matte white dial, with the pop of color, there is something so attractive about the dial on Mondaine’s watches. The white of the dial is so absolutely clean and it makes the perfect backdrop for the applied black hour markers. The markers are midnight black and the minute markers are as well, making ease with legibility.
Now the ease of legibility doesn’t stop with the markers alone, the thick black hour and minute hands help make this dial distinct. Of course I haven’t forgotten about the main attraction here, at that main attraction being the red second hand. This is what truly makes the Mondaine dial in my honest opinion. Its origin of design was inspired by the stop paddle of the old Swiss Railway crossings and looking at it you can absolutely see that inspiration.
The coolest feature of this watch is what it’s actually named for, the Stop2Go. You now know the back story of why it pauses for 2 seconds at the 12 o’clock position while the minute hand jumps to the next minute. It’s just so cool to watch it actually work. I found myself watching and waiting just for the second hand to reach the 12 so I could watch it pause and for the minute hand to jump. It’s quite addicting and quite entertaining actually.
The movement inside the Stop2Go is the MONDAINE stop2go cal. 58-02. Obviously because of its special and unique way of functioning/time telling you can’t just rely on your off the rack movement. Mondaine developed the movement specifically for the Stop2Go watch. Being a quartz movement it is very accurate as you would expect.
The Stop2Go came on a bright red, leather strap. Now, this color strap might not be for everyone but this strap is super soft from the get go. I like that it’s a non-tapering style strap and is pretty thick. It’s more square in design than it is rounded. The Stop2Go also looks great on a NATO strap.
Timing is everything when it comes to the railway system. There is no margin for error. Absolutely none. Percision in timing. Mondaine has achieved that percision with their Stop2Go watch. That percision can be seen throughout the Stop2Go watch. The dial is absolute perfection. There’s a real crispness to this dial and when you see it in person you will see what I mean. I love how clean the dial is, no gimmicks or anything that isn’t needed. The Stop2Go is just that, no gimmicks, nothing unnecessary. I wouldn’t call this watch minimalistic. Because of its origin this watch is packed with historical character.
Mondaine has done an excellent job with executing every aspect of this watch. There isn’t anything about the Stop2Go watch that I would change. It would be cool though to see a nice engraved train on the back of the case and that’s just a nit picking stretch of a suggestion. If you are a train enthusiast and love watches too, then this is the perfect watch for you. If you are looking for a crisp, clean, killer matte white dial watch then this is also the watch for you. This is perfect to wear with a t-shirt and a pair of jeans just chilling on the weekend kind of watch.
The Stop2Go feature also adds to the coolness factor of this watch. It’s a unique feature that I found myself constantly entertained by. It reminded me of watching a model train circling the track. Another suggestion to the design element would be having the “railroad track” style minute track. I think this would really add to the overall experience of this watch. Mondaine makes some iconic watches and they are very well designed. You will not be disappointed by this variation of their watch and you will in fact find yourself entertained and enamored by the Stop2Go feature.
I want to personally thank Mondaine Watches for this wonderful experience. It made me feel like a kid again, obsessed with the railway. Thank you for reading!
Time to Blog Watches 