Sinn Spezialuhren model 936 receives the Red Dot Award for its outstanding design quality

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The Sinn Spezialuhren Bicompax Chronograph 936 awarded by the Red Dot Award in the category ‘Product Design 2020’. The Red Dot is a recognised seal for excellence in design quality. Only products that demonstrate design excellence are awarded the quality seal by the international jury.

I would like to congratulate the award winners sincerely on their resounding success. The fact that their products were able to satisfy the strict criteria of the jury bears testimony to their outstanding design quality. The winners are thus setting key trends in the design industry and are showing what the future may hold,’ says Professor Peter Zec, Red Dot initiator and CEO.

SINN 936
The Bicompax Chronograph 936 with 60-second scale for the stopwatch minute was awarded the Red Dot Award in the category ‘Product Design 2020’ (Image credits to Sinn Spezialuhren)

Form follows function and purpose

For certified engineer Lothar Schmidt, who is also the owner of Sinn Spezialuhren, the award is confirmation that the principles on which the development and design of Sinn Spezialuhren timepieces are based hold true. ‘We are of the firm belief that form should always follow function when designing our watches and that each and every watch should be fit for purpose. It is therefore our great pleasure to receive such a renowned award for our bicompax chronograph 936. This demonstrates once again that the outstanding design quality and uncompromising functionality of a SINN watch are mutually dependent rather than mutually exclusive. We will continue to stand by our fundamental belief in future, too,’ says Lothar Schmidt.

The 936 – the chronograph with 60-second scale for the stopwatch minute

The bicompax chronograph 936 is a timekeeping instrument that stands out down to the finest detail thanks to its clarity, technical details and consistent design. It is clear from the very first glance that the perfect readability and high mechanical resilience are focal points, thus resulting in space for a pleasantly calm and purposeful design. The hour and minute hands are rhodium-coated and matt-brushed. Coating with rhodium, a precious metal similar to platinum, gives these elements the finest silvery gleam, which harmonises with the polished glass rim of the satinised case. In contrast, the seconds hand gleams in red.

Sinn Spezialuhren Bicompax Chronograph 936
The Bicompax Chronograph 936 with 60-second scale for the stopwatch minute was awarded the Red Dot Award in the category ‘Product Design 2020’ (Image credits to Sinn Spezialuhren)

In-house design of the movement

When designing the chronograph movement SZ05 in-house, Sinn Spezialuhren focused on clearly displaying the stopwatch minute display with 60-second scale. This dispenses with the need to add stopwatch minutes, as is customary with the 30-second scale. The 936 is pressure-resistant up to 10 bar, resistant to low pressure and equipped with Magnetic Field Protection. Thanks to TEGIMENT Technology – a process which is used to harden the surface of the steel – the case remains scratch-free even when under heavy-duty use.

‘I would like to congratulate the award winners sincerely on their resounding success. The fact that their products were able to satisfy the strict criteria of the jury bears testimony to their outstanding design quality. The winners are thus setting key trends in the design industry and are showing what the future may hold,’ says Professor Peter Zec, Red Dot initiator and CEO.

Sinn Spezialuhren Bicompax Chronograph 936
The Bicompax Chronograph 936 with 60-second scale for the stopwatch minute was awarded the Red Dot Award in the category ‘Product Design 2020’ (Image credits to Sinn Spezialuhren)

Form follows function and purpose

For certified engineer Lothar Schmidt, who is also the owner of Sinn Spezialuhren, the award is confirmation that the principles on which the development and design of Sinn Spezialuhren timepieces are based hold true. ‘We are of the firm belief that form should always follow function when designing our watches and that each and every watch should be fit for purpose. It is therefore our great pleasure to receive such a renowned award for our bicompax chronograph 936. This demonstrates once again that the outstanding design quality and uncompromising functionality of a SINN watch are mutually dependent rather than mutually exclusive. We will continue to stand by our fundamental belief in future, too,’ says Lothar Schmidt.

The 936 – the chronograph with 60-second scale for the stopwatch minute

The bicompax chronograph 936 is a timekeeping instrument that stands out down to the finest detail thanks to its clarity, technical details and consistent design. It is clear from the very first glance that the perfect readability and high mechanical resilience are focal points, thus resulting in space for a pleasantly calm and purposeful design. The hour and minute hands are rhodium-coated and matt-brushed. Coating with rhodium, a precious metal similar to platinum, gives these elements the finest silvery gleam, which harmonises with the polished glass rim of the satinised case. In contrast, the seconds hand gleams in red.

Sinn Spezialuhren Bicompax Chronograph 936
The Bicompax Chronograph 936 with 60-second scale for the stopwatch minute was awarded the Red Dot Award in the category ‘Product Design 2020’ (Image credits to Sinn Spezialuhren)

In-house design of the movement

When designing the chronograph movement SZ05 in-house, Sinn Spezialuhren focused on clearly displaying the stopwatch minute display with 60-second scale. This dispenses with the need to add stopwatch minutes, as is customary with the 30-second scale. The 936 is pressure-resistant up to 10 bar, resistant to low pressure and equipped with Magnetic Field Protection. Thanks to TEGIMENT Technology – a process which is used to harden the surface of the steel – the case remains scratch-free even when under heavy-duty use.

Unrivalled experience and expertise

The Red Dot Award: Product Design is one of the world’s largest design competitions. Designers and manufacturers from 60 nations entered around 6,500 products for the award in 2020. Ten products received awards in the category ‘Watches’. The experience and expertise of the international jury in assessing such products is unrivalled. The experts from various disciplines have been convening for more than 65 years in order to seek out the best designs. The assessment process, which spans several days, is based on two key criteria: the jurors test all entries in order to be able to assess them according to aesthetics, selected materials, workmanship, surface structure, ergonomics and functionality. Only after discussing each entry in detail is a decision reached regarding the design quality of the products. True to the motto ‘In search of good design and innovation’, their assessment focuses on criteria such as the level of innovation, functionality, formal quality, durability and ergonomics.

Sinn Spezialuhren Bicompax Chronograph 936
The Bicompax Chronograph 936 with 60-second scale for the stopwatch minute was awarded the Red Dot Award in the category ‘Product Design 2020’ (Image credits to Sinn Spezialuhren)

About Sinn Spezialuhren

The name Sinn Spezialuhren stands for highly functional mechanical timepieces used by pilots, divers, firefighters, emergency doctors, rescue workers, special units of the German police force such as the GSG 9, Germany’s commando frogman force KSM (Kommando Spezialkräfte der Marine) and the special unit of the German Central Customs Support Group ZUZ (Zentrale Unterstützungsgruppe Zoll). In particular, it is with technologies like DIAPAL, Ar-Dehumidifying Technology, HYDRO, TEGIMENT and Magnetic Field Protection that SINN watches continually show their durability, longevity, quality and precision both in everyday life and in extreme situations. During the development process, SINN Spezialuhren bases the design of its watches firmly on the required functionality.

About the Red Dot Design Award

In order to appraise the wide scope of design in a professional manner, the Red Dot Design Award is broken down into the three distinct disciplines: the Red Dot Award: Product Design, Red Dot Award: Brands & Communication Design and Red Dot Award: Design Concept. With more than 18,000 submissions, the Red Dot Award is one of the largest design competitions in the world. In 1955, a jury convened for the first time to assess the best designs of the day. The name and brand of the award were developed in the 1990s by Red Dot CEO, Professor Dr. Peter Zec. Since then, the sought-after Red Dot is the revered international seal of outstanding design quality. The winners are presented in yearbooks, museums and online. Further information: www.red-dot.org.

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