German Watchmaking Struts its Stuff at WatchTime New York 2015


Despite a predominance of very fine Swiss watch brands (along with one notable brand each from Japan and the USA) at last weekend’s WatchTime New York event, Germany, especially the German watchmaking town of Glashütte, was well-represented also, winning over guests with some very distinctive timepieces. Here is a sampling.

The most prestigious Glashütte brand, A. Lange & Söhne, was a must-visit for many WTNY guests. In addition to the new gold-cased, black-dialed version of its A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Up/Down — with a flyback chronograph and large “Outsize” date indication — the brand also had its new Zeitwerk Striking Time model on display as well as the all-new, F.A. Lange 200th Anniversary Saxonia model with proprietary honey gold case. Lange also wowed visitors with a live watchmaker plying his trade at a workbench in its booth.

A. Lange and Sohne Datograph Up-Down - angle
A. Lange and Sohne Datograph Up-Down
Lange Saxonia FA Lange - Honey Gold - wrist
A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia FA Lange in Honey Gold

MeisterSinger, based in Münster, Germany, was a brand unfamiliar to many attendees but its hallmark single-hand dial designs caught more than a few eyes — particularly its showcase piece, the new MeisterSinger Adhaesio, an innovative new GMT watch with a single, central, needle-shaped hand to indicate the current time on an outer scale, and a small red arrow pointing to a second time zone on a rotating ring. The striking, blue-dialed version of its Cicularis model — with the bespoke, manually wound Caliber MSH01 movement — also drew raves.

MeisterSinger Adhaesio - Black Dial
MeisterSinger Adhaesio – Black Dial
Meistersinger Circularis Blue
Meistersinger Circularis Blue

Moritz Grossmann was founded in Glashütte in 2010, but takes its name and inspiration from the legendary founder, in 1878, of the German School of Watchmaking. The Moritz Grossman Benu Power Reserve represents the second generation in its flagship collection, boasting several technological breakthroughs, including a linear power reserve display; a newly designed oscillator (the “Grossmann balance”) designed entirely in-house; a winder with pusher and enhanced hand-setting mechanism; and a modified Glashütte stopwork with a flexible arrangement of parts.

Moritz Grossmann BENU Power Reserve - front
Moritz Grossmann Benu Power Reserve

Family-owned Mühle Glashütte had its diverse collection, which includes sporty pilot and dive watches as well as more elegant gents’ models, on display at WTNY. Notable new pieces included the Robert Mühle Auf/Ab, with an “Auf/Ab” circular power-reserve indicator at 12 o’clock (a hallmark of Glashütte watches and an entirely new complication for the brand), which displays to the wearer how much of the watch’s 56-hour power reserve remains before it stops. On the sportier side was the colorful Rasmus 2000 dive watch (named after Rasmus, the patron saint of sailors), able to withstand water pressures down to 2,000 meters.

Muhle Robert Muhle Auf-Ab
Muhle Robert Muhle Auf-Ab
Mühle-Glashütte Rasmus 2000
Mühle-Glashütte Rasmus 2000

Nomos Glashütte, a brand whose rising popularity in the U.S. was attested to by the crowds gathered around its Bauhaus-inspired booth, presented several favorites from its collection, including the latest additions to its award-winning Metro collection, the Nomos Metro 38 Datum and Metro 38 Datum urban gray. In contrast to their predecessors, the new watches’ dials do not have power-reserve displays but do feature extra-large date indicators at 6 o’clock along with the small seconds subdial and a slightly larger case diameter. World-time-watch aficionados (like yours truly) also had a chance to check out the Zürich Weltzeit, powered by the automatic Nomos Xi movement and equipped with an indicator for 24 world time zones.

NOMOS Metro 38 Datum urban gray - reclining
Nomos Metro 38 Datum urban gray
NOMOS Zuerich Weltzeit
Nomos Zürich Weltzeit

Finally, Tutima, a brand that only recently returned to its Glashütte roots after decades of pre-reunification exile in Lower Saxony, displayed its revamped collection with pride. Highlight pieces included the new Tutima M2, a hyper-masculine chronograph inspired by the Tutima NATO chronograph, one of the brand’s classical military watches that as the official service watch of the German army’s pilots; and several versions of the sport-luxury Saxon One, with its central chronograph counter and unique pyramidal case (To read my review of the Saxon One, click here.)

Tutima M2 Chronograph
Tutima M2 Chronograph
Tutima Saxon One Chronograph - wood
Tutima Saxon One Chronograph

Check out WatchTime.com tomorrow for our dive watch expert Roger Ruegger’s rundown of notable dive watches from WatchTime New York 2015.

Leave a Reply