Glashutte Original

In 1918, the Deutsche Präzisions-Uhrenfabrik Glashutte GmbH (DPUG) was founded in the town of Glashutte, with the words “Original Glashutte” on its logo. However, DPUG soon ran into financial difficulties and was split into two parts: Uhren-Rohwerke-Fabrik Glashutte AG (Ufora), which manufactured machines, and Uhrenfabrik Glashutte AG, which assembled watches using Ufora’s machines. The finished watches were sold under the Tutima Glashutte brand. The military calibre 59 was popular after its production started in 1941, but its promising early popularity ended with the air raids of 1945, which destroyed most of Glashutte’s watchmaking facilities. However, the first post-war movements were completed shortly after 1946. In 1951, all Glashütte watchmakers were merged into VEB Glashütte Uhrentrieb, and during the years in East Germany, the factory produced an astonishing one million watches a year. The marine chronometers produced by the factory were also highly regarded in the West. With the reunification of Germany, watchmaking declined and in 1993 the investor France Ebauches came to the rescue and the following year the privatisation agency agreed with Heinz W. Pfeifer and Alfred Wallner on a plan to bring Glashutte Original to its current glory. Today Glashutte Original is part of the Swatch Group. Glashutte Original’s most popular contemporary watch series are the Senator, Seventies and Sixties.