« An Industry Celebrates Its Anniversary »
Since 1845, a picturesque little town in the Ore Mountains has been making history as the heart of the German watch industry: Glashütte is celebrating 175 years of precision craftsmanship and technical pioneering spirit. Renowned worldwide for its excellence, today's brand landscape of the Müglitz Valley looks back on an eventful history whose foundation was laid by the visionary watchmaker Ferdinand Adolph Lange. Let's take a journey through time and uncover the secrets behind the three-quarter plate, the swan-neck regulator, and sunburst finishing.
Ferdinand Adolph Lange: Founding Father of a Thriving Industry
175 years of watchmaking in Glashütte – an anniversary we could not celebrate today without Lange's life's work. Born in Dresden in 1815 as the son of a gunsmith, he learned the horological craft from 1828 under court watchmaker Johann Christian Friedrich Gutkaes – builder of the famous five-minute clock at the Semperoper – and deepened his expertise during many years as a journeyman in Switzerland's watchmaking workshops. In 1841, Lange returned home not only as an outstanding craftsman but also as a visionary entrepreneur, dreaming of establishing a watch industry of its own in the Ore Mountains. A dream that became reality just four years later with the help of a generous loan from the sovereign, Frederick Augustus II: in 1845, Lange founded the company "A. Lange & Cie.", trained his first class of apprentices, and focused on producing lever-escapement watches – a higher-quality construction compared with Swiss cylinder watches.
Decades of flourishing growth followed: first, Lange achieved his international breakthrough at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851, and then numerous talented figures settled in the idyllic Saxon setting. Entrepreneurs such as Julius Assmann and Moritz Grossmann not only founded several watch factories but, in 1876, also established the German School of Watchmaking (DUS), where Alfred Helwig – inventor of the flying tourbillon – would later receive his training. Alongside this impressive business activity, the hallmarks for which Glashütte timepieces are famous to this day were already in place in the 19th century: the three-quarter plate, winding wheels with sunburst finishing, and the decorative yet functional swan-neck regulator established the Ore Mountains as a watchmaking home in its own right alongside renowned Switzerland.
175 Years of Ups and Downs – from the World Wars to the GDR
At the beginning of the 20th century, the local industry reached its high point for the time being: manufactures and specialized suppliers made almost self-sufficient watch production possible on site, with pocket watches as well as clocks, marine chronometers, and scientific precision pendulum clocks being made and shipped worldwide. But 175 years of watchmaking in Glashütte also means looking at the dark chapters of this historic town. While World War I required a switch to war production and passed off reasonably lightly, World War II brought the senseless and almost complete destruction of Glashütte. The bombing by Soviet aircraft took place on the last day of the war, May 8, 1945.
At first, it seemed as though the inventive and energetic people of Glashütte might restore their industry to its former glory. But the dismantling, expropriations, and nationalizations of the Eastern Bloc soon painted an entirely new picture of the local industry: several companies - among them Lange, Urofa, and Ufag – were merged into the state-owned conglomerate Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe (GUB), which stood out as the region's largest employer from 1951 until reunification and became known above all for the "Spezimatic" automatic movement. Produced from 1964, it earned a reputation as a reliable workhorse and was exported abroad by the millions – including to West Germany as the "Meister-Anker" through the mail-order company Quelle. But there were exceptions, too: the family business Mühle remained privately owned until 1972, before it was also nationalized.
Return to Former Glory: 1990 to Today
In 1990, reunification ushered in an unprecedented era of growth and a return to former greatness. The GUB became Glashütter Uhrenbetrieb GmbH, which was privatized under Heinz W. Pfeifer in 1994 and split into two brands: while Glashütte Original marked a renaissance in the luxury segment, the watch brand Union specialized in distinctive mechanical watches in the affordable premium segment. In 2000, both manufacturers were acquired by the Swatch Group, going on to international success. At the same time, A. Lange & Söhne established itself as a new force in the high-end segment: founded in 1994 by Walter Lange, great-grandson of Ferdinand Adolph Lange, the brand made a resounding entrance at the pinnacle of watchmaking with four collections right from the start. 175 years of watchmaking in Glashütte at its peak.
Alongside the rebirth of old names, the Ore Mountains became an impressive setting for innovative new companies. Foremost among them is Nomos: founded in 1990, the manufacturer competes in the same price segment as Union and Mühle. Tangente, Tetra, Orion, Ludwig – the young brand's collections stand for minimalist designs and, with their in-house developed manufacture movements, offer something truly special in the €1,000 to €4,000 price range. Modern simplicity that creates a strong contrast to the classically oriented Glashütte Original, demonstrating Glashütte's great product diversity.
Since 2000, this diversity has also included Bruno Söhnle: famous for its high-quality collections in the three-figure price range, the brand offers a stylish and respectable entry into the fascination of this legendary watchmaking town.
"175 Years Watchmaking Glashütte": Special Editions of the Nomos Ludwig
From Bruno Söhnle to A. Lange & Söhne: 175 years after Lange's groundbreaking founding, Glashütte's brand landscape today reflects exactly the splendor its founding father once envisioned. So in 2020 there is more than enough reason to celebrate. Nomos is marking the anniversary with three special models from its classic Ludwig collection: the "Ludwig 175 Years Watchmaking Glashütte" comes in three sizes of 35, 39, and 41 millimeters in diameter, each limited to 175 pieces. Enamel-white dials, blued hands, and display casebacks define an elegant series that could not represent 175 years of success more fittingly.
The 35-millimeter model uses the hand-wound Alpha movement with a 43-hour power reserve, while the two larger editions are powered by the DUW 3001 with a time-only display and seconds (39 millimeters) and the DUW 6101 with an additional date (41 millimeters). The highlight of the largest Ludwig is the Roman numerals of its date display – a unique, if unusual-to-read, feature celebrating the 175 years. We can't wait to see what special touches await us for the 200th anniversary of Glashütte's watch industry.
Featured image: © Eva K. wikipedia.de http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html
