The watchmaking town of Glashütte

When you read or hear about Glashütte, most people associate it with a beautiful little town in the Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains district in Saxony. However, connoisseurs immediately associate "Glashütte" with world-famous watch manufacturers that have their origins in that very Saxon town. In the following, we want to look at the history of the small town of Glashütte and its current importance for the watch industry.

Excursion into History

The origins of today's town of Glashütte date back to the 15th century. "Glaßehutte" was first mentioned in a document in 1445. The name "Glashütte" was to be taken literally: the area was rich in iron and so it made sense to produce potash glass here. At the end of the 15th century, silver ore was found near Glashütte.

A strong economic boom was the result. In the centuries that followed, however, mining lost more and more importance and was finally stopped in 1875. While mining declined, a completely new, equally important industry grew up.

Saxony and the Watch Industry

In the 19th century, Saxony was something of a watchmaking stronghold in Germany, with the focus clearly being on the small town of Glashütte. In addition to well-known names such as Union Glashütte, Mühle-Glashütte and Lang & Heyne, the city also produced the more well-known brands A. Lange & Söhne and Glashütte Original .

The watch industry had its origins in Ferdinand Adolph Lange, a German watchmaker, inventor, entrepreneur and regional politician. In the early 1840s, Lange was traveling through Europe. Among other places, he visited the Swiss "Vallée de Joux", the "Valley of the Watchmakers". Lange was immediately fascinated by the Swiss concept: Swiss watchmakers received the components for their watches from specialized outside companies and then assembled them into a complete watch. The publisher then sold the finished product.

transfer of the Swiss concept

After returning home, Lange was keen to transfer the successful Swiss concept to his homeland. Motivated by start-up funding from the Saxon government, he saw Glashütte as the ideal location for a healthy watchmaking industry. Lange then founded the first watchmaking workshop in Glashütte in 1845 and began training the first watchmakers.

The latter subsequently set up their own businesses and concentrated on producing the individual parts needed to assemble a watch. These were delivered to Lange's company and assembled. Many other entrepreneurs followed Lange's example in the years that followed. It wasn't long before watchmaking became one of the most important industries in the region.

The Second World War and its Consequences

Around 100 years after the first watchmaking workshop was founded in Glashütte, the town suffered a severe blow of fate: on May 8, 1945, the last day of the Second World War, the Russian air force bombed the small town of Glashütte. The latter was partially destroyed. After the end of the Second World War, the town was divided: half went to the Russian sector and thus to the later GDR, the other half to the Allied sector and thus to the later West Germany.

The companies in the Russian sector were expropriated and the local watch manufacturers merged into the VEB Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe. The new company called itself GUB for short, but the products themselves were sold under the brand name "Glashütte". The company Glashütte Original still uses this name today. The GUB brand was in international demand and sold wristwatches and quartz watches with great success.

The Fall of the Wall

Another dramatic event for the entire region was the fall of the Berlin Wall. The GDR was history in the truest sense of the word and with its demise many state-owned companies were privatized. As part of this privatization, the GUB was also transferred and from then on called Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe GmbH. The company now sold its own watches under the brand "Glashütte Original". However, hit by the so-called quartz crisis, the company was bought by the Swatch Group in 2000.

Brands and the associated rights, such as A. Lange & Söhne, were bought back from their former owners and production and distribution continued with legally different companies. As part of the privatization, many other brands gained momentum alongside A. Lange & Söhne.

Glashütte and its watchmaking companies today

Today, these “upstarts” are real heavyweights on the market for high-quality brand watches. This applies to companies such as A. Lange & Söhne, Glasütte Original, Union Glashütte, Nomos Glashütte , Bruno Söhne, Tutima and Moritz Großmann.

Brand watches that come from Glashütte and are also equipped with a genuine in-house movement are still very popular. They are characterized by a particularly high quality standard and shine with their aesthetic and structural features.

Why are watches from Glashütte so special?

Watches from Glashütte are characterized by a number of special features that cannot be found in other watchmakers or watch manufacturers. For example, watches from Glashütte Original are equipped with blued screws, beveled edges and hand-engraved decorations.

Another special feature that is appreciated by many watch lovers is the so-called swan neck fine adjustment. This ensures a more finely regulated balance and at the same time increases the accuracy of the watch. Also worth mentioning is the so-called three-quarter plate: This design goes back to Adolph Lange and is still one of the trademarks of many watches from Glashütte today.

Is it worth buying a watch from Glashütte?

Buying a watch from Glashütte is definitely worth it. The watches shine with their very high quality and first-class watchmaking skills. However, they rarely reach the price ranges demanded for models from the luxury brands Paiget, Rolex, Cartier and the like. For this reason, they are a high-quality alternative to many other watch brands in the higher price segment.

As with other luxury brands, purchasing a watch from Glashütte can be seen as an investment. The watches from local companies and brands are highly sought after internationally and have been steadily increasing in value for decades. For example, wristwatches from A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte Original or Nomos Glashütte are very popular.

Conclusion

Even though the history of the small town of Glashütte was marked by ups and downs, fate was kind to it in the end. Watches from Glashütte enjoy an excellent reputation around the world - and that is not going to change any time soon. Anyone currently thinking about buying a new wristwatch should consider a brand from the heart of the German watch industry. It is a good and sustainable investment.

This post is also available in: English