Time is money: Apple pays $21M for clock design, says report

Apple's iOS 6 clock and an official SBB watch from Mondaine.

(Credit: Apple/Mondaine)

Quality Swiss-made timepieces don't come cheap. Just ask Apple.

The company shelled out a $21 million "lump sum" to license a clock-face design from the Swiss Federal Railway service, French news agency AFP reported, citing a Swiss paper.

In September, the railway service, also known as SBB, objected to the clock-face design in iOS 6, saying it too closely resembled a trademarked design created in 1944 by SBB employee Hans Hilfiker and used in train stations throughout Switzerland.

Hilfiker's design has been honored by both the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the London Design Museum and has become a symbol of Swiss punctuality, according to the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs' swissworld site. It's also licensed to Mondaine, a Swiss watch manufacturer.

SBB reached a licensing agreement with Apple last mont... [Read more]