Glashütte Original

The history of Glashütte Original traces back to 1845 when visionary watchmakers Ferdinand Adolph Lange, Moritz Grossman, Julius Assmann, and Adolf Schneider established watchmaking operations in the Saxon town of Glashütte, chosen for its proximity to Dresden's established clockwork fame. By 1865, they had developed signature innovations that remain hallmarks of Glashütte watchmaking: the three-quarter plate, gold lever wheels, and chatons. Moritz Grossman founded the German School of Watchmaking in 1878, ensuring a continuous stream of talented craftsmen. World War I and the subsequent hyperinflation devastated sales, and World War II brought further destruction when bombing leveled the town in the war's final days. Under East German communist rule from 1949, all seven watchmaking companies were forced into the state-run VEB Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe (GUB) in 1951. Isolated from capitalist markets by the Iron Curtain, GUB continued focusing on traditional mechanical movements while the West grappled with the quartz crisis. After German reunification in 1990, the company was registered as a private business. In 1994, Heinz W. Pfeifer purchased the company—then down to just 72 employees—renamed it Glashütte Original, and revived traditional Glashütte watchmaking. The brand's successful renaissance led to its acquisition by the Swatch Group in 2000, providing resources for international expansion. Since 2002, Glashütte Original has operated the Alfred Helwig School of Watchmaking, named after the Glashütte watchmaker who invented the flying tourbillon in 1921.