German Watchmaking History Part I

Germany is synonymous with precise engineering and utilitarian design. Their economy is the fourth biggest in the world, and the biggest in Europe. Neither of these statements will come as a surprise to most of you, however, considering what they’ve been through in the last 100 years, it’s incredible that they’ve been able to maintain this position in the world. As a parallel to Germany’s geopolitical and economic timeline, their watchmaking industry has shared similar ups and downs. In part one of this series, I will cover the German watch industry – with a specific focus on Pforzheim and Glashütte – leading up to WWII, and during the war. It’s not meant to cover every last detail, but it should serve as an excellent primer for moving into the post-war years and onto today.

There’s a solid fifteen to twenty year period leading up to the war where the wristwatch industry boomed in Germany. The cities of Pforzheim and Glashütte became known for quality watchmaking, something that has thankfully been restored to some degree today. Although one might wonder what the watchmaking industries in each city would look like today had they gone uninterrupted, there’s still plenty of history to talk about.

Pforzheim

For over 200 years, Pforzheim has been closely associated with jewelry and watchmaking. It all started in the 1760s, when Jean Francois Autran was granted permission to build a watchmaking facility in an orphanage with the aim of offering its orphans the chance to develop useful skills, as well as bring new industry to the area. With the facility pumping out a constant stream of talented watchmakers, the framework for a jewelry and watchmaking hub was made possible.

By the time the mid-19^th century arrived, workers in Pforzheim were unionizing, and new jewelry-related schools were popping up. It wouldn’t be long until wristwatches would become ‘en vogue’, and brands we know today started their chapters in the history books.

A Flieger watch made by Laco for the Luftwaffe — courtesy of Bonhams

Laco and Stowa were both founded in the 1920s, Laco coming first in 1920, followed by Stowa seven years later. As was common with many other Pforzheim watchmakers, Laco and Stowa were fitting Swiss movements into their German-made cases. However, Laco had bigger plans. In 1933, Ludwig Hummel, the man running the show at Laco, opened up a movement manufacture named Durowe. Through this new company, Pforzheim would gain a major bump in its ability to produce precision mechanisms. Durowe would go on to supply other watchmakers with its movements, and by 1940, had the capacity to produce over 300,000 movements in a year.

Bauhaus style Stowa — look familiar?

Stowa was one of the recipients of Durowe’s movements, in addition to still utilizing Swiss movements. Many of the models in Stowa’s current lineup are fantastic re-creations of their pre-war watches. Stowa, to some extent, wrote the book on Bauhaus watches. They certainly weren’t the only ones making watches with a Bauhaus look, but it heavily influenced the majority of their models. As the war approached, Stowa had been flourishing, and moved into bigger facilities just before 1940, which brings the timeline right to the doorstep of WWII.

With the war taking a hold of basically every square inch of Germany, the watchmakers of Pforzheim were left no choice but to help. Wristwatch production was stifled, and the watchmaking facilities were re-purposed to produce fuses for artillery rounds and torpedoes. It was unfortunate their mastery of precision watchmaking was used for such destructive and unproductive purposes – but their hands were tied for the time being. Some of the watchmakers moved an hour south to Schramberg, where Junghans was located, Germany’s largest watchmaker.

In addition to producing fuses, Laco – along with Stowa, and Glashütte resident A. Lange & Söhne – produced a number of Flieger watches for the Luftwaffe. I don’t think these watches require much of an introduction, as the Flieger aesthetic is arguably one of the most influential designs the watch industry has seen. Stowa was also tasked with providing deck watches for the German navy – another design that is still seen all over the watch market.

Given Pforzheim’s strategic location, and their role as one of the large fuse makers, it was an obvious target for the Allied countries. In 1945, the city of Pforzheim would be effectively leveled by an Allied attack. It would take several years before the watchmakers of Pforzheim would begin to get their feet underneath them once again. In fact, some of the post-war monetary policies benefitted Stowa and Laco greatly, and allowed them to produce even more watches than before.

Glashütte

Like Pforzheim, Glashütte’s watchmaking history goes back quite a ways, not quite as far back as the 1760s, but indeed as far as the 1840s. In 1845, Ferdinand Adolph Lange – yes, quite related to that “Lange” – opened up a watchmaking facility that would be the beginning of a localized industrial revolution. Industry in Glashütte was not particularly strong at the time, and with the watchmaking experience Lange had gained abroad, he proposed an initiative to the Saxon government whereby they would invest in the framework of a brand new industry. Lange’s idea accounted for efficient watch production, as well as an apprenticeship program — because of Glashütte’s isolated location, both of these would be key factors in supporting any sort of lasting growth. Before anyone knew it, Glashütte was the most active and important watchmaking city in Germany.

Ferdinand Adolph Lange

It’s no surprise that the war ravaged Glashütte’s watchmaking, but by then, they had already accomplished a tremendous amount. The German School of Watchmaking had gained a worldwide reputation, and in 1920, one of its teachers, Alfred Helwig, invented the flying tourbillon. Glashütte not only had the ability to develop high-end complications, but also pump out movements en masse. Uhren-Rohwerke-Fabrik Glashütte AG (UROFA) and Glashütter Uhren-Fabrik AG (UFAG) were both established in 1926, the former a producer of movements, and the latter focusing on assembly and distribution. UROFA managed to develop a number of different calibers, which powered UFAG watches as well as complemented Durowe’s supply of movements to Pforzheim. At this point, between developing new complications and mass production techniques, all that was left was to create an industry standard material — Richard Lange had that covered. In 1930, Lange created and patented a new metal which was to be used for balance springs. You all know this metal as Nivarox, which is exactly what his discovery led to. Glashütte was truly Germany’s watch version of Silicon Valley.

German School of Watchmaking

As mentioned, Lange was one of the watchmakers who made Flieger watches for the Luftwaffe. Unfortunately, this would be the beginning of the end of their watchmaking for the time being. Glashütte was hit just as hard as Pforzheim, but even worse, the Russians took the majority of their watchmaking equipment after the war, setting them back many years. This of course will be covered in more detail in the next part of this series, so stay tuned.

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