Swiss-made table clock in Angelo Mangiarotti case, 1961-3

In depth

Advertised as ‘a breakthrough in the art of timekeeping,’ the Secticon table clock was manufactured in la Chaux de Fonds with a Portescap movement and a case designed by Milan-born architect and urban designer Angelo Mangiarotti. Its novel chronometer-style escapement opened new horizons in domestic timekeeping. ‘For the first time,’ the catalogue proclaimed, ‘nearly absolute precision is introduced to daily life’.

Inside the clock, a dry cell battery drives a small transistor motor, running at 1000 rpm and driving an electromagnetic remontoire escapement, which in turn drives the motion work through worm gearing. The escapement – advertised as a completely new design – is controlled by a balance and an impulse spring, and was capable of achieving an accuracy of +- 2 seconds per day.

This is the ‘tall’ Model T1 Secticon, in black with a gilt dial, black Roman numerals and a red seconds hand. The case design exemplifies Mangiarotti’s interest in functionality and truth to materials, its organic shape being perfectly adapted to realisation in the relatively novel material of moulded plastic. A similar commitment to functionality characterised the design of the movement, which was modular for easy repairs and replacement. The Secticon was exhibited at the 1961 Basel Fair and the Swiss patent dates from the following year. It was distributed in the UK first by Baume & Co (already established in the luxury goods market), and then from 1965 by Gent. Sales were steady, but it was an expensive clock at £24 – twice the average wage of the time – and ultimately declined in popularity after the arrival of cheap quartz movements in the 1980s.