When people read or hear about Glashütte, most of them associate it with a beautiful small town in the district of Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge in Saxony. Connoisseurs, however, immediately associate “Glashütte” with world-famous watch manufacturers that have their origins in this small Saxon town. In the following, we will take a look at the history of the small town of Glashütte and its importance for the watch industry today.

An excursion into history

The origins of the present-day town of Glashütte go back to the 15th century. The first documented mention of “Glaßehutte” was in 1445, and the name “Glashütte” was to be understood literally: The area was rich in iron, so it made sense to produce potash glass here. At the end of the 15th century, silver ore was found near Glashütte.

The result was a strong economic upswing. In the following centuries, however, mining became less and less important and finally ceased in 1875. However, while mining was on the decline, a whole new and equally important industry was growing up.

Saxony and the watch industry

In the 19th century, Saxony was something of a watchmaking stronghold in Germany, with the focus clearly on the small town of Glashütte. In addition to well-known names such as Union Glashütte, Mühle-Glashütte and Lang & Heyne, the town also produced the better-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 on a journey 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 specialised outside companies and then assembled them into a complete watch. The publisher then sold the finished end product.

Transfer of the Swiss concept

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

The latter subsequently became self-employed and concentrated on manufacturing 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 was not long before watchmaking was one of the most important economic sectors in the region.

The Second World War and its consequences

Around 100 years after the first watchmaking factory was founded in Glashütte, the town suffered a heavy blow: on 8 May 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 up: One half fell to the Russian sector and thus to what later became East Germany, the other half to the Allied sector and thus to what later became West Germany.

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

The fall of the Berlin Wall

Another drastic event for the entire region was the fall of the Wall. The GDR was literally history and with its demise many state-owned enterprises were privatised. As part of this privatisation, GUB was also transferred and henceforth called Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe GmbH. The company now marketed its own watches under the brand name “Glashütte Original”. However, the company was bought up by the Swatch Group in 2000 after being hit by the so-called quartz crisis.

Brands and 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 privatisation, many other brands besides A. Lange & Söhne also took off in a big way.

Glashütte and its watch factories today

Today, these “through starters” are real heavyweights in the market for high-quality brand-name watches. Among others, this applies to the companies A. Lange & Söhne, Glasütte Original, Union Glashütte, Nomos Glashütte, Bruno Söhne, Tutima and Moritz Großmann.

Brand-name watches that come from Glashütte and, on top of that, are equipped with a genuine manufacture movement, are still very much in demand. They are characterised by a particularly high standard of quality and shine with aesthetic and constructive features.

Why are watches from Glashütte so special?

Watches from Glashütte are distinguished by a number of special features that are not found in other watchmakers or watch manufacturers. Watches from Glashütte Original, for example, have blued screws, bevelled edges and hand-engraved decorations.

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

Is it worth buying a watch from Glashütte?

Buying a watch from Glashütte is worthwhile in any case. The watches stand out for their very high quality and first-class watchmaking. However, they rarely reach the price spheres that are demanded for examples of the luxury brands Paiget, Rolex, Cartier and the like. For this reason, they are a high-quality alternative to many other watch brands from the upper price segment.

Similar to other luxury brands, the purchase of a watch from Glashütte can be made as an investment. The watches of the local companies and brands are highly sought-after internationally and have been continuously increasing in value for decades. Very popular, for example, are wristwatches from A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte Original or Nomos Glashütte.

Conclusion

Even if the history of the small town of Glashütte has been marked by ups and downs, in the end fate has been kind to it. Watches from Glashütte enjoy an excellent reputation worldwide – and that will not 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: German