Mühle Glashütte

The Mühle family's roots in the Glashütte region extend over 700 years, but their involvement in precision instrument-making began when Robert Mühle founded his workshop on April 22, 1869. After training as a precision toolmaker under the legendary watchmaker Moritz Grossmann, Robert established the sole manufacturing facility for measuring instruments serving all Glashütte watchmakers and the German School of Watchmaking. Under the second generation (Paul, Max, and Alfred Mühle), the company expanded from 1918 onwards into speedometers, rev counters, and car clocks, supplying prestigious brands including Maybach, DKW, BMW, Horch, and Wanderer motorcycles. World War II brought devastation when Soviet forces bombed Glashütte in 1945. The family was expropriated but Hans Mühle re-established the company in December 1945. In 1972, the GDR government nationalized the family business a second time, converting it into VEB Feinmechanik Glashütte, later absorbed into VEB Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe (GUB). German reunification in 1990 enabled Hans-Jürgen Mühle to revive the family legacy. In 1994, he founded 'Mühle-Glashütte GmbH nautische Instrumente und Feinmechanik,' initially producing marine chronometers, ship's timepieces, barometers, and hygrometers. Wristwatch production began in 1996 and quickly became the company's primary focus. A 2005 legal dispute over the 'Glashütte' designation led to financial difficulties, but Thilo Mühle (fifth generation) took over management in 2007 and successfully restructured the company. The sixth generation has since joined the business, continuing the family tradition.