3’ Mondaine SBB CFF FFS Railway Station Clock
Dimensions:
34” / 86cm Diameter
6” / 15cm Thick
History:
The Swiss Railway Dial as we know it today was developed by Hans Hilfiker (1901-1993) in 1944, as an attempt to meet the diverse needs of the modern railway station. Perhaps he was destined to create what would become the icon of the Swiss Railway, being born just months before the country’s railway system formally became a federal institution on January 1, 1902.
If you ride a train in Switzerland today, you may see SBB CFF FFS emblazoned on the side of the trains and wonder what those letters mean. They are each an abbreviation for ‘Swiss Federal Railway’ in the three official languages of Switzerland- German, French, and Italian. Thankfully, any one of the three will do, and the abbreviations are much quicker to read than Schweizerische Bundesbahn, Chemins de fer fédéraux Suisse or Ferrovie federali svizzere. Like Europe in miniature, the country is an amalgam of language and culture, woven together with a network of railways, all keeping time to one symbol- the Swiss Railway clock.
The dial is easily recognizable- plain black tick marks, accented on the hour, matching black hands to denote the hour and minute, and the unique red disc second hand, or ‘sweep’- all perfectly proportioned. Very recently it was chosen by the London Design Museum and the Museum of Modern Art as “one of the most iconic examples of 20th century design.” With the exception of adding the red sweep in 1953, which is based on the hand-held signal baton once used to prepare trains for departure, the Swiss Railway clock remains quite unchanged from its original form. It is an enduring representation of pragmatic simplicity. Such is the continuing influence of the clock and its designer that the SBB corporate headquarters is located on Hilfiker Street!
Delivery: Free delivery inside the continental United States. (Contact for international shipping quote)