More than 165 years of Glashütte watchmaking tradition

The continuing development of watchmaking since its first stirrings has contributed in a significant way to the contemporary success of the Glashütte Original brand. Equipped with a loan from the Saxon government, in 1845 Ferdinand Adolph Lange founded the first watch firm in Glashütte - a location that for almost four centuries had been marked principally by its silver mining. The goal of the new undertaking was to create an independent Saxon watch industry.

In the fifties the arrival of such masters of their craft such as Adolph Schneider, Moritz Großmann and Julius Assmann as well generated a great deal of enthusiasm. Over the course of several decades, many timepieces from Assmann´s "German Ancre Watch Factory" won prizes around the world. Their proven accuracy was reason enough for the Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen to purchase an Assmann observation watch in 1910; one year later he was the first person to reach the geographic South Pole.

The plan called first for a simple, but mechanically complete pocket watch. The workshop system in place at the time allowed the manufactories to make use of components produced in a division of labour by local suppliers. By around 1865 the characteristic features of the Glashütte precision pocket watch had matured: the Glashütte three-quarter plate, gold lever wheel and gold chatons as well as the decorative sunburst finish. This watch was produced with only minimal changes for 80 years.

Precision in large and small formats

Glashütte pendulum clocks also represent extraordinary precision, particularly those from the Strasser & Rohde Mechanical Workshops, founded by Ludwig Strasser and Gustav Rohde. Precision pendulum clocks were used in observatories, institutes and watch companies in order to regulate pocket watches and marine chronometers. In addition, Strasser achieved a great deal of influence as a result of his activity as a teacher and director of the German School of Watchmaking in Glashütte.

Great demand for precision watches from Glashütte required growing numbers of qualified craftsmen. Acting in the name of the Central Association of German Watchmakers, on May 1st 1878 Moritz Grossmann opened the German School of Watchmaking Glashütte. The school quickly earned a formidable reputation through exceptional graduates and teachers such as Alfred Helwig. Glashütte Original has honoured this heritage since 2002 with its own school of watchmaking, named after Helwig.

As early as 1916 Karl W. Höhnel marked one of his pendulum clocks, for the first time, with the phrase Original Glashütte. The German Precision Watch Factory Glashütte (Sa.) e. G.m.b.H., entered on the 9th of November 1918 in the trade registry, also used this proof of origin in its trademark, and beginning in 1921 on its pocket watches as well, in order to distinguish Glashütte quality products from imitations made abroad (e.g. System Glashütte).

The Company

With the development of the Flying Tourbillon a teacher at the watchmaking school won renown: Alfred Helwig. He anchored his tourbillon on one side only; two bearings guided the wheel staff. The tourbillon and escapement could be mounted without a top cock. As a result the view of the tourbillon was clear, it appeared to fly. The tourbillon was also relieved of pressure and could be executed with great delicacy. The construction achieved the best rate precision of portable precision watches.

Two new companies were formed in Glashütte: to meet growing demand wristwatch movement blanks were produced for the first time in Glashütte by UROFA, which emerged from the Glashütte Precision Watch Factory. The UFAG factory completed and distributed the watches. The large "G" and the name of the town Glashütte formed UFAG´s impressive logo.

With the reunification of Germany in 1990 came the transformation of VEB Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe into the Glashütter Uhrenbetrieb GmbH. The company is the official legal heir to all formerly independent watch companies extant in Glashütte up to 1951. Since 1994 the brand name "Glashütte Original" has stood for fine German watchmaking with the highest degree of production depth.

Luxury Brand

In 2000 Glashütte Original was honoured for the first time with the much sought-after title of "Watch of the Year": Readers of the trade publication "Armbanduhren" and the "Welt am Sonntag" newspaper put the classic Senator "Perpetual Calendar" in first place. In October the Manufactory joined the Swatch Group Ltd., an important step for the growth of the locally renowned brand into a global luxury brand.

The restructured Manufactory building was opened on September 8, 2003. In 13 months a modern production facility was built, a clear sign of an innovative spirit and orientation toward the future. In this transparent world of experience visitors embarked on an exciting path of learning that took them to all areas of production and offered direct insight into the fascinating work of the Manufactory.