Glashütte Original
GLASHÜTTE ORIGINAL - watchmaking art from Germany
Glashütte, Saxony has been the undisputed center of the German watch industry since the middle of the 19th century. So what the Vallée de Joux for the Swiss watch industry stands for, is the Saxon Switzerland for the German watch industry.
It was no less than Adolph Lange, who wanted to make a center of precision watchmaking out of the small Saxon town, which was economically on the ground. His plan went on. In addition to numerous clockmakers, casing constructors, watch-hand manufacturer and balance makers settled in the town. The German watchmaker school was also settled here.
Complicated pocket watches from Glashütte won prizes at exhibitions and competitions and can compete with the high quality level of Switzerland. The name "Glashütte" becomes a quality label.
The economic viability of the region seemed to be secured. The two world wars and the economic crisis, however, forced many companies to register bankruptcy. From 1951, the local watchmaker merged with the compulsory cooperative VEB Glashütter watch companies, Glashütte became the second most important location for watch production in the former GDR after Ruhla.
Between 1955 and 1961, the popular watchmakers Glashütte produced 12,500 chronographs of the caliber 64. The Glashütter chronograph combines timeless beauty with mechanical precision and makes collectors hearts beat faster. But hand-winding and automatic movements were also built in Glashütte. In the 1960s, Glashütte mainly exported watches to the West, to mail-order houses such as Quelle, and was thus an important foreign exchange source for the GDR.
At the present time the Glashütte watches from the 50s and 60s are particularly popular. E.g. the Specimatic. The Specimatic was produced between 1964 and 1979. In total, there are 3.6 million copies of which 1.8 million with date display and 1.8 without.