The Mercedes-Benz trademark was created 110 years ago

TEXTAugust 8, 2019 · 3 min

Daimler Benz AG / Fabian Meyer, automatically translated

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The Mercedes star has been unbroken in its radiance and world-famous for 110 years. But how did this trademark come about? A look back at its history.

Trident star

The trident star from Mercedes Benz. People all over the world recognize this logo. Regardless of which form of the alphabet they use and in which language they communicate. The star stands for the future of the oldest car manufacturer in the world. The points of the star in turn stand for Gottlieb Daimler's vision of installing his Daimler engines in aircraft as well as in land and water vehicles.

Benz signet - 1909

Foundation laid 110 years ago

The beginning of the now world-famous three-pointed star with laurel wreath dates back to the summer of 1909.

Independently of each other, the two predecessor companies of the later Daimler AG registered their two trademarks with the Imperial Patent Office. DMG patented the trident star and Benz & Cie. patented the name "Benz" surrounded by a laurel wreath.

The origin of the laurel wreath probably lies in the fact that Benz won various races with their automobiles between 1907 and 1909 and also set several world records.

Benz signet - 1909

Merger of the companies and trademarks

The world-famous trademark - the three-pointed star encircled by a laurel wreath - was created in 1926 in time for the merger of the two companies to form Daimler-Benz AG. At the same time, the automobile brand "Mercedes Benz" as we know it today was born.

In 1926, the upright star with a badge of the trademark affixed below it in the form of a radiator grille became standard on the hoods of most car models produced.

Mercedes Benz signet - 1925

However, the racing cars of the 1930s did not have a radiator grille due to their aerodynamics. Here, the brand logo was placed flat on the radiator.

The SL sports cars of the 1950s were even more special: the brand logo on the hood was completely omitted in all forms. Instead, the star was placed on the radiator grille. Even today, the star is still used on the radiator grilles of AMG models, among others.

Mercedes Benz signet - 1926

Radiance unbroken

Nowadays, the presence of the star is no longer limited to vehicles, but is also omnipresent in the public sphere outside of cars. For example, an illuminated Mercedes star rotates on the roof of the Europa-Center in Berlin. This weighs an impressive 15 tons and is currently the largest rotating and hydraulically tilting neon brand logo in the world. (As of August 8, 2019)

All these facts make one thing clear: the radiance of this star has been unbroken for 110 years.