As we enter the festivities of Oktoberfest, it’s time to add another industry that Germany has growingly excelled at. Far too often, people believe that the best timepieces in the world come from Switzerland but German watchmaking has slowly proved that wrong.
Here are some German brands available in Singapore to tickle your fancy.
Junghans
Junghans may be a relatively quiet brand in the watch market these days but many don’t know that it was once the largest producer of clocks and watches back in the early 20th century. While it was first founded in the 1860s, the brand’s real spike in popularity came from its partnership with the famed Bauhaus designer Max Bill in 1956. Today, the brand produces timepieces with the same minimalistic style, perfect for the men who love interesting typefaces and design.
Schramberg, Germany
Available at Watches of Switzerland and select The Hour Glass stores
Sinn
As far as robust timepieces that can take a beating go, Sinn is always one of the first brands that come to mind. Every year at Baselworld where the brand exhibits, journalists are invited to attempt scratching its proprietary TEGIMENT scratch-proof cases and not once have we been able to do any harm.
Not only is the brand making waves with its case technology, its design ethos is one that’s easy to relate to with its clean design. Sinn also sits at an accessible price point, making its timepieces a great value-for-money choice.
Frankfurt, Germany
Available at The Hour Glass stores
Nomos Glashütte
The cradle of Eastern German watchmaking lies solely in a little town south of Dresden called Glashütte. Here is where three of the brands on our list were founded and grew. Nomos Glashütte however, stands out among the three for its relative youth and its unique look at design. While the other two brands (Glashütte Original and A. Lange & Söhne) command a much higher price point and stick to relatively traditional designs, Nomos is a fun brand that plays around with colour and themes all while depending on in-house made movements that boast excellent finishing. It’s a perfect brand for the men who want something that stands out without compromising on quality.
Glashütte, Germany
Available at Watches of Switzerland and select The Hour Glass stores
Glashütte Original
At the end of the Second World War, Germany was divided into two, with the USSR claiming the Eastern half of the country. This saw every Glashüttian watch brand incorporated under one public entity named Glashütte-Uhrenbetriebe. This meant that brands that had been in the town for centuries were scrapped of their histories and lumped together to produce timepieces for the Eastern Bloc market.
When the Berlin Wall fell however, GUB was bought over and privatised, eventually becoming Glashütte Original. Since its sale to the Swatch Group, the brand has grown exponentially in terms of quality and quantity. Many of the time-honoured Glashüttian practices of watchmaking has been brought back into practice, keeping the brand at the highest standards.
Glashütte, Germany
Available at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands
A. Lange & Söhne
Most people familiar with timepieces know A. Lange & Söhne as one of the very few brands that sits at the highest rungs of watchmaking alongside luminaries such as Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin. Founded in 1845 by Ferdinand A. Lange, the brand started out in Glashütte after the town won a bid to welcome a new industry after the collapse of the mines it was once reliant on. Lange moved in and essentially started what is now known as the cradle of German watchmaking. If it weren’t for Lange, brands like Glashütte Original and Nomos Glashütte would not be around.
The brand’s attention to detail is bar none, with its own unique double assembly process that ensures the watch is in pristine condition before it leaves the manufacture. A. Lange & Söhne is also one of the only brands to have produced a digital repeating timepiece.
Glashütte, Germany
Available at Ion Orchard Singapore
Meistersinger
Meistersinger’s claim to fame has always been its distinctive single needle hand timepieces that see a ten-minute incremental dials. While the brand is fairly new having been founded in 2001, it’s gone on to win several design awards for how unique its timepieces are. Whether it’s the brand’s dress watches or dive watches, the movements are now made fully in-house.
Munster, Germany
Available at Masterpiece Time & Jewels at Wisma Atria Singapore