PRIM Rathouský Barell

Forty years ago, the most famous Czech brand, PRIM PNO1, was registered. It was created in 1968 by renowned graphic designer Jiří Rathouský and his wife, Mrs. Theodora Nováková. On September 11, 1984, the state enterprise Chronotechna officially registered this trademark with the Industrial Property Office.

Let’s take a closer look together into the unique historical archives, which in 2016 revealed treasures from their joint work on the PRIM logo for the former national enterprise.

Why did the national enterprise commission a logo from such a prominent designer in the late 1960s? The answer is simple: if you wanted to create a logo for a state enterprise, you had to be a member of the Art Council and defend your design before a committee. Fees for the designs were paid only through the Fine Arts Fund, of which both Dora Nováková and Jiří Rathouský were members.

The watch design is complemented by a handcrafted, stitched strap made of high-quality cowhide leather, with the underside dyed red or blue depending on the dial variant. The strap features quick-release spring bars for easy replacement and a prominent polished stainless steel buckle with a mechanically engraved PRIM logo.

The combination of precise craftsmanship and delicate details pays homage to an era when design was true art. Each piece in this collection is made with the utmost care and focus on quality, ensuring not only a flawless appearance but also long-lasting durability. The watches are produced in a limited quantity. 70 kusů – 35 kusů …of each version and are individually numbered.

Jiří Rathouský was born on April 20, 1924, in Prague, and passed away on September 5, 2003, in Prague. He was a graphic designer and typographer who engaged in a wide range of artistic disciplines – from book design, corporate identity creation, and the visual style of major Czech companies and institutions, to information design for large-scale public projects, poster designs for museums and theaters, and postage stamp creation. As a type designer for his projects, he designed and realized several original typefaces, which became a unique contribution to the history of Czech typographic art.

He studied art education and architectural design under Professor Cyril Bouda at the Faculty of Education of Charles University in Prague. However, in 1949, his studies were interrupted for ideological reasons, and he was only officially granted his degree after the Velvet Revolution in 1992.

Artist The artist and typographer Jiří Rathouský became especially renowned for his designs of book editions, logos, and promotional graphics. In addition to numerous design commissions, Rathouský also engaged in fine art graphics, creating prints with natural motifs, and was an active member of the Association of Czech Graphic Artists Hollar. Together with his wife, artist Dora Nováková, he devoted a great deal of creative energy to the visual promotion of cultural institutions’ programs – including the National Theatre, the National Technical Museum (NTM), and the Museum of Decorative Arts (UPM) in Prague.

Between 1967 and 1970, these activities led him to collaborate on the artistic design of the Czechoslovak pavilion at Expo 67 in Montreal, Canada, and Expo 70 in Osaka, Japan, earning him well-deserved international recognition.
“Rathouský’s signature style is recognizable on a wide range of book covers. His emphasis on conceptual design gave a distinctive visual identity to many book series. His studio produced the graphic logos for publishing houses such as Albatros, Artia, Československý spisovatel, Orbis, and Olympia. He is also the author of the long-established logo of the National Theatre in Prague, shaped like a crown of linden leaves above the initials ‘ND’.”

He is the author of the information design for the New Stage of the National Theatre in Prague as well as for the well-known Intercontinental and Thermal hotels in Karlovy Vary, stated Marta Sylvestrová, curator at the Moravian Gallery in Brno.
In the early 1990s, Jiří Rathouský also developed a wayfinding system for the Czech Parliament.
His most significant commission from the late 1960s and early 1970s was the integrated Prague public transport information system, which was implemented on Line C of the Prague metro.