Fratello On Air: A Closer Look At German Watch Brands

Welcome to another episode of Fratello On Air! This week, we discuss German watch brands, focusing on the sportier marques. There’s no doubt about it; this show is close to our hearts. Balazs lives in the Fatherland, and Mike spent twelve years there. Therefore, we’ve built an appreciation for these companies.

Ah Germany! If you’ve listened to us for any length of time, we enjoy poking harmless fun at mainland Europe’s economic center. That being said, the watches from the “Land” are anything but funny. While the Swiss may receive most of the glory, German watch brands are no slouches. In this installment, we walk through some of the key ones, add our personal experiences with each, and mention models. Enjoy the show!

Handgelenkskontrolle

Some of you will appreciate that our episode on German watch brands is appropriately serious. In other words, there is zero banter! Instead, Mike starts with a story about a vintage watch he purchased a couple of years ago. The chronograph ran beautifully until, all of a sudden, it didn’t. For whatever reason, this past weekend, he decided to chat with friends and pull out his inexpensive blue demagnetizer. This tool was used in concert with an app called Magnetick and another called Oscillo, yielding amazing results. The first app helped detect that the watch was magnetized, while the second acts as a timegrapher. What was the watch? Well, it happens to be the watch Mike wore for his Handgelenkskontrolle, a 1947 Breitling Chronomat 769. Balazs is wearing the recently reviewed Albishorn Type X-Graph.

German watch brands

Huge thanks go to Balazs for researching the backstory on the brands in this episode and for being our travel guide. We kick off the discussion with a brand that is arguably the most well-known German tool watch company. Sinn, from Frankfurt am Main, has been one of our favorites for more than a decade. Mike even owns a handful of them. We mention our visits with the brand, their undying focus on creating useful watches for specific environments, and their no-nonsense design. Next, we move to Hanhart in Gütenbach. This brand is best-known for its chronographs, including the 417 ES worn by Steve McQueen. We share our admiration for the overall quality and attention to detail of this heritage brand.

Tutima takes us to the famous town of Glashütte in eastern Germany. This company is also known for its robust pilot chronographs. Today, this continues, but there’s also a focus on higher-end dress watches. We stay in town and mention Mühle Glashütte. This relatively under-the-radar marque produces fantastic tool watches at relatively approachable prices. We mention the serious devotion to this brand by collectors.

Brands are located throughout the country

Balazs has us racking up kilometers on the autobahn as we move to the Black Forest again. Junghans is located in Schramberg. Balazs has visited the impressive headquarters, with its stepped architecture. For Mike, the name reminds him of his first business trip to Germany. He marked the occasion by purchasing a manual-winding Max Bill watch. A trip back to Glashütte brings us to another brand we love: Nomos. This relatively young company has always done things its own way. The Bauhaus-like designs are incredibly simple, but equally as pleasing. Once again, we discuss our history with the good folks at this brand.

Finally, we end our travels in Pforzheim, which is one of the most important areas for toolmaking and watchmaking in Germany. We talk about Stowa and Laco, two of the original makers of the B-Uhr. Yes, we know the history of these watches can be polarizing, but the legibility defined in these pieces is still relevant today. Both brands have moved on with additional offerings, but they also produce some interesting heritage-inspired pieces at affordable prices.

We hope you enjoyed today’s episode and thank you for listening! As always, if you have ideas for future shows, please let us know.