Mondaine Stop 2 Go

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Amor Vincit Omnia
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Mondaine Stop 2 Go

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

I heard these were back, and tried one on at the Norwich AD earlier. It's a very smart trick and a nice-looking watch, about 40mm (41 maybe) but very thick case, much taller than the C3. The strap is a bit of a monster too.
I do like the look of Mondaines, but I'm not paying £450 for a quartz time piece that does a nifty trick!
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Re: Mondaine Stop 2 Go

Post by poppydoodlesdad »

I like the look of the Mondaines too, I like the clarity, style and their emulation of the station clock. Which is why I have one.
But, as you say, as far as I can see this particular feature is not much more than a gimmick, and a costly one at that.
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Re: Mondaine Stop 2 Go

Post by Berkshire »

poppydoodlesdad wrote:I like the look of the Mondaines too, I like the clarity, style and their emulation of the station clock.
The very reason my brother enjoys his Mondaines. A classic design icon.

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Re: Mondaine Stop 2 Go

Post by Robin CB »

Not seen one in the flesh, but have seen a YouTube of it - a very interesting complication (apparently requiring two movements).

£450 does seem a lot for a quartz, but is it any less VFM than some of the CW range??

If you are into Mondaine then this is the complication to get though :)
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Re: Mondaine Stop 2 Go

Post by poppydoodlesdad »

Robin CB wrote:Not seen one in the flesh, but have seen a YouTube of it - a very interesting complication (apparently requiring two movements).

£450 does seem a lot for a quartz, but is it any less VFM than some of the CW range??

If you are into Mondaine then this is the complication to get though :)
I also saw a video of it but there seemed to be a rather lengthy pause between the minute hand jumping forward and the second hand re-starting after the stop.

Not clear whether this is how it is meant to be but the actual station clock on which it is based did not show this hesitation and had more of a sweep the the second hand.

Two movements sounds interesting and would account for the tallness of the watch though I'm a bit surprised this function couldn't be achieved off a single quartz movement? (without actually working out what that would involve!).

As for VFM, well I'm not sure some of CW quartz represent that great value either.

Still it is an interesting complication and would no doubt make a great talking point, but I can't see it as anything terribly useful or functional.
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Re: Mondaine Stop 2 Go

Post by Robin CB »

poppydoodlesdad wrote: ....

Still it is an interesting complication and would no doubt make a great talking point, but I can't see it as anything terribly useful or functional.
Given the phone in your pocket, that argument could be applied to any watch :silent: :silent: :silent:


I don't have a Mondaine yet, and it is not at the top of any wish list, but .......
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Re: Mondaine Stop 2 Go

Post by poppydoodlesdad »

Robin CB wrote:
poppydoodlesdad wrote: ....

Still it is an interesting complication and would no doubt make a great talking point, but I can't see it as anything terribly useful or functional.
Given the phone in your pocket, that argument could be applied to any watch :silent:
I think for a lot of the members here it is the principle argument :D

Me, I like to use my watch to tell the time (and if it gets a bit of attention too then that's a bonus).

Oh, and when you get one I'll expect pictures at least. A video would be even better :)
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Re: Mondaine Stop 2 Go

Post by rcherryuk »

poppydoodlesdad wrote: Two movements sounds interesting and would account for the tallness of the watch though I'm a bit surprised this function couldn't be achieved off a single quartz movement? (without actually working out what that would involve!).

As for VFM, well I'm not sure some of CW quartz represent that great value either.

Still it is an interesting complication and would no doubt make a great talking point, but I can't see it as anything terribly useful or functional.
We've got one of the originals and , apparently, we had the last spare movement frm Mondaine when we had it serviced a few years ago. We actually had a note offering to swap the watch for a new watch as they wanted to keep a fully working one in their collection !

We were told that the original design was very hard on the movements, and they failed regularly. Also the stop mechanism had to be added by hand to a non-standard movement, so was both costly in money and time to produce.

TBH I wish we'd swapped, but it's my wife's favourite watch, so we didn't :-)
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Re: Mondaine Stop 2 Go

Post by Robin CB »

rcherryuk wrote: ...

We've got one of the originals and , apparently, we had the last spare movement frm Mondaine when we had it serviced a few years ago. We actually had a note offering to swap the watch for a new watch as they wanted to keep a fully working one in their collection !

We were told that the original design was very hard on the movements, and they failed regularly. Also the stop mechanism had to be added by hand to a non-standard movement, so was both costly in money and time to produce.

TBH I wish we'd swapped, but it's my wife's favourite watch, so we didn't :-)
Was the original movement mechanical then? How long ago was it produced / did you buy it?

Curious more than anything, but wondering about getting it serviced / repaired if I do buy one ......
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Re: Mondaine Stop 2 Go

Post by rcherryuk »

Robin CB wrote:
rcherryuk wrote: ...

We've got one of the originals and , apparently, we had the last spare movement frm Mondaine when we had it serviced a few years ago. We actually had a note offering to swap the watch for a new watch as they wanted to keep a fully working one in their collection !

We were told that the original design was very hard on the movements, and they failed regularly. Also the stop mechanism had to be added by hand to a non-standard movement, so was both costly in money and time to produce.

TBH I wish we'd swapped, but it's my wife's favourite watch, so we didn't :-)
Was the original movement mechanical then? How long ago was it produced / did you buy it?

Curious more than anything, but wondering about getting it serviced / repaired if I do buy one ......
It was/is a quartz movement with an added 'device' to effect the pause and release, we bought two in an closing down sale for £20 each in 1998 and they were already discontinued then :-) I'm sure the new ones will be much more reliable, and therefore more serviceable.
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Re: Mondaine Stop 2 Go

Post by paw3001 »

Tried one of these recently as felt the brand and movement was worthy of being the quartz in my collection.

However, I felt the build quality was seriously lacking at the price and the strap was cheap and nasty. Also I was disappointed with the quite jerky sweep of the second hand

It killed my desire for one.


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Re: Mondaine Stop 2 Go

Post by Robin CB »

rcherryuk wrote: ....

It was/is a quartz movement with an added 'device' to effect the pause and release, we bought two in an closing down sale for £20 each in 1998 and they were already discontinued then :-) I'm sure the new ones will be much more reliable, and therefore more serviceable.
Thanks Rob :D

Saw one in the window of a shop in Chichester today (the shop is shut on Mondays - duh !!!) and spent a good few minutes watching the hands - sad or what :lol:
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Re: Mondaine Stop 2 Go

Post by Robin CB »

paw3001 wrote:Tried one of these recently as felt the brand and movement was worthy of being the quartz in my collection.

However, I felt the build quality was seriously lacking at the price and the strap was cheap and nasty. Also I was disappointed with the quite jerky sweep of the second hand

It killed my desire for one.


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I've only seen it, not had a chance to handle it, so thanks for the feedback Paw.

Perhaps tomorrow .....
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Re: Mondaine Stop 2 Go

Post by Robin CB »

Finally got to play with one in the flesh and the two Mondaine autos.

Discounted the two autos fairly quickly I'm afraid :( One was just two big and similar in shape to ordinary watches - http://www.jurawatches.co.uk/collection ... tch-md-101

The second was just two fiddly to set and actually not that special - http://www.jurawatches.co.uk/collection ... tch-md-103 (sorry for linking to Jura but the Mondaine website is down).

The Stop2go is interesting. In addition to the stop2go function, it has a very different way of setting the time. pull out the crown and the second hand flys to 12. Turn the crown a fraction and the minute and hour hands speed up to allow you to set the time. Increasing the turn speeds up the hands and decreasing the turn slows them down (a bit like turning the throttle on a motorbike).

Picking up on Paw's point though - the finish isn't superb and the strap is a bit rough and ready, even compared to normal Mondaine straps. It is only WR to 3 ATM as well.

The AD was also not able to confirm that batteries could be changed without being sent back to Mondaine (£50 a pop) :problem:

I am a little less excited about it now :?
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Re: Mondaine Stop 2 Go

Post by bradjhomes »

It's a watch that I've been interested in for a while. I didn't go looking for a used one from the first incarnation due to their many failures, and want to see some real life reviews before making any decisions. Information like whether it needs to be sent back to Mondaine for a battery change is all important. The quality of the strap less so.

Thanks for your thoughts.