Glashütte and watchmaking have been inseparable for more than a century and a half. The watch manufacturers based here rank among the very best not only in Germany but internationally as well. We present some of the most beautiful men's watches from Glashütte.
Heirs to a Long Watchmaking Tradition
The watchmakers working in Glashütte today for various brands and suppliers are heirs to a long tradition. Watches have been made in this small town in the Müglitz Valley of the Eastern Ore Mountains since 1845. Some thirty years later, the watch industry had already become the economic backbone of the town. High-quality men's and women's watches were produced here in great variety. The companies that helped establish the watch town's worldwide fame at the time included A. Lange & Söhne, J. Assmann Deutsche Anker-Uhren-Fabrik, Union Glashütte, Glashütter Präzisions-Uhren-Fabrik AG, Uhren-Rohwerke-Fabrik (UROFA) and its sister company, Uhrenfabrik AG Glashütte (UFAG). After German reunification, businesses that had been nationalized in the interim were privatized again and led to new success, while several new companies were also founded or relocated here and now likewise produce luxury men's watches in this storied town.
Glashütte Original PanoMatic – a Feast for Lovers of Haute Horlogerie
Among the finest examples of Glashütte Original watches for dedicated enthusiasts of sophisticated, complex mechanical movements are, without doubt, the models of the Pano Edition. The round 40 mm cases of these men's watches are available in stainless steel or gold and house ingenious masterpieces of the watchmaker's art. The PanoReserve, whose name alludes to its prominent power reserve indicator, is powered by the hand-wound caliber 65-01, which displays not only the time but also the date as a panorama date. Striking features are the off-center, partly overlapping subdials for the hours and minutes and for the small seconds. With the PanoMaticChrono and the PanoMaticLunar, Glashütte Original also offers a flyback chronograph and a moon phase model in the same series. The relatively large share of unprinted surface on the dials gives all of these timepieces a particularly calm and elegant look.
Mühle ProMare – Nautical Men's Watches
Mühle Glashütte watches also come from this tradition-rich town. The founding family has lived in the region for more than 700 years and is now in its fifth generation of watchmaking. After Robert Mühle founded the company in 1869, it initially focused on producing high-precision measuring instruments for various Glashütte watch manufacturers. The product portfolio was gradually expanded to include rev counters and speedometers. In the fourth generation, the company's current direction finally took shape, centered on the manufacture of high-quality wristwatches, marine clocks and other nautical instruments. This maritime affinity is clearly reflected in Mühle's watch collection, where men's watches such as the S.A.R. Rescue-Timer, the mission watch for the German Navy's Sea Battalion, and the Rasmus 2000 hold an important place.
One of perhaps the most beautiful, elegant and distinctive sports watches of recent times also comes from Mühle and carries its maritime character in its very name: the ProMare Datum. Its understated black dial with a highly legible date window around 30 percent larger than usual, the strongly contrasting luminous hands and indices, and the fine orange ring around the outer edge make it virtually unmistakable. The model is not a dive watch, but it can easily keep up with one in terms of water resistance. Rated to 30 bar, or 300 meters, it offers the watch good protection during all activities in and on the water. This special Glashütte men's watch measures 44 mm in diameter and is available either on a stainless steel bracelet or on a black-and-orange water-resistant leather/rubber strap; there is also a version with a chronograph function. Alongside the two men's watches, the manufacturer has since launched a women's watch that catches the eye with its softly shimmering mother-of-pearl-colored dial.
Nomos Ahoi – Clean-Lined Designer Watches with Fresh Splashes of Color
Founded in 1990, the Nomos manufacture initially offered hand-wound mechanical wristwatches and added automatic watches to its lineup from 2005. Incidentally, its main production and administration building is located in the former reception building of Glashütte's old railway station. The brand is best known for its clean, almost austere design, which has already won numerous awards. With the Nomos Ahoi series launched in 2013, however, the manufacture also offers men's watches that bring some pleasantly fresh splashes of color to the watch market with orange seconds hands, light-blue luminous material and signal-red and signal-blue dials. The collection's name, the traditional sailor's greeting, indicates that with water resistance of up to 20 bar, or 200 meters, these masterpieces need not come off when surfing, diving or swimming.
Bruno Söhnle Rondo – Understated Elegance Reduced to the Essentials
Among men's watches, the Bruno Söhnle Rondo series stands out for its particularly clean design, focused entirely on the essentials. These timepieces owe their name to their round stainless steel case. The base model is a simple three-hand watch with a date window at 3 o'clock. There is also a version with small seconds between 7 and 8 o'clock and a date display at 2 o'clock; in this case, the crown sits at 4 o'clock. Besides their understated, elegant design, these men's watches also make ideal partner watches, as Bruno Söhnle offers matching women's models for each.
Union Glashütte Belisar GMT: Traveling the World in Style
With the Belisar GMT, Union Glashütte offers a particularly appealing timepiece with a second time zone. Available on either a leather strap or a stainless steel bracelet, these men's watches from Glashütte stand out above all for their distinctive GMT hand with its triangular red-and-white tip, which indicates the second time zone on a 24-hour scale around the outer edge of the dial. Placing the date window at 6 o'clock underscores the calm, balanced look of the dial, against which the luminous hands and indices stand out clearly.
