« A Collective and Its Legacy »
Luxurious quality standards, elaborate handcraftsmanship and an impressive range of models – that is how we know Glashütte Original today. Look back 30 years into the history of the Saxon brand, however, and a completely different picture emerges: as the nationalized conglomerate "Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe" (GUB), the manufacturer mass-produced affordable timepieces for East Germany and for export. Despite the communist regime, the company displayed an impressive capacity for innovation that is still reflected in Glashütte's masterpieces today.
Destruction Followed by Expropriation
The first 100 years of the company's history passed largely peacefully: founded from 1845 onward as Glashütte transformed from a mining town into a watchmaking town, numerous firms in the Müglitz Valley earned an international reputation for their high-quality timepieces.
Lange & Söhne, Mühle and Tutima are just a few of them. It was World War II that brought the little town's success to an abrupt end: initially forced to produce fuzes and military watches, Glashütte's industry was almost entirely destroyed by Soviet bombers on May 8, 1945 – the last day of the war. A fundamental restructuring of Glashütte's watch production followed: while Lange & Söhne was nationalized in 1948, the equally important manufactures UFAG and UROFA were merged into the production cooperative Precis and placed under the East German Ministry of Mechanical Engineering in 1949.
The intended consolidation of all firms into one large enterprise initially failed because ownership was legally unclear. Only after the complete expropriation of the manufactures involved in 1951 could the Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe be formed from the former companies as a "Volkseigener Betrieb" (VEB), or state-owned enterprise. In total, GUB comprised six former companies, the largest of which were Lange & Söhne and Precis.
The Sixties – GUB's Decade of Success
At the 1951 Leipzig Autumn Fair, the collective presented its first model line, with the movements initially carried over unchanged from the previous Lange & Söhne editions. That same year saw the birth of the Caliber 60 family: robustly built, it became the first flagship of the Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe. By the end of the decade, however, the Saxon engineers had developed a considerably better and more versatile series – the Caliber 70 family. For the first time, it made the production of automatic watches and chronographs possible, making the "state-owned enterprise" far more competitive internationally.
Exports to West Germany in particular played a key role for the East German leadership because of the valuable foreign currency they brought in. Successes like these would have been impossible without the progressive spirit of Glashütte's engineers.
They achieved two masterstrokes in very short order: while the shock protection of 1962 improved robustness, the top caliber "Spezimatic" ranked among the thinnest automatic movements of its time from 1964 onward. By 1979, more than three million examples of this movement had been produced, over 30% of which reached the West under the product name "Meisteranker."
Although inexpensive quartz movements were gradually displacing mechanical ones, the Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe still introduced a successor to the Spezimatic – the Spezichron. Produced until 1985, it raised its predecessor's frequency from 18,000 to 28,800 vibrations per hour and is today one of the most sought-after GUB collector's pieces.
From Quartz to Freedom
At the same time, it marked the temporary end of mechanical watch production in Glashütte. By the mid-eighties, cost pressure was high enough to justify a complete switch to battery-powered calibers. Only in 1990, with the collapse of the East German regime, did mechanical watchmaking in Glashütte pick up speed again: after the Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe were converted into the "Glashütter Uhrenbetrieb GmbH," which still exists today, the legendary caliber GUB 10-30 was unveiled – a time-consuming and costly project for the young company.
By 1994, 25,000 movements had been produced, but the price of this mechanical rebirth was high: 40,000 toolmaker hours and 2.5 million deutschmarks.
The decision was therefore made to split into two brand names: while Glashütte Original became a premium manufacturer with in-house mechanical calibers, the more affordable ETA movements were sold under the name "GUB."
Today: A Leading International Brand with an Eventful History
Although Glashütte Original already set high quality standards, at the start of the nineties the former East German collective was still far from the benchmarks of a Rolex or Omega. Calibers, cases, finishing – every aspect of the new automatic watches still needed refinement.
The decisive step came in 1994, when the GmbH passed into the hands of entrepreneurs Heinz W. Pfeifer and Alfred Wallner. With new movements, complications and designs, they succeeded in transforming the former GUB into a competitive player in modern horology. In 2000, the company was sold to the Swatch Group, which greatly accelerated the build-up of a comprehensive product portfolio.
Today, 20 years later, the brand stands on a more solid foundation than ever: collections such as the Senator and Pano successfully set themselves apart from their Swiss competitors, while the Vintage line recalls the distinctive styles of the sixties and seventies. Pure luxury instead of a socialist collective – no other manufacturer has undergone such a radical transformation in its company history.
It is easy to forget today why this modern success was possible at all: thanks to the many creative engineers and watchmakers who gave their all during the dark East German years and worked to advance the Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe. May they look with pride upon the modern luxury watches of their hometown.
