Tutima Glashütte is an independent German watchmaker renowned for its aviation heritage and pilot's chronographs. The brand emerged from the legendary Glashütte watchmaking tradition when Dr. Ernst Kurtz established UROFA and UFAG in 1927. Tutima became famous for creating the first German flyback chronograph in 1941 for the German Air Force, and later supplied the official NATO pilot's chronograph in 1984. Today, as a family-owned manufacture under the Delecate family, Tutima produces mechanical watches ranging from tool watches to haute horlogerie pieces with in-house movements, combining traditional Glashütte craftsmanship with contemporary design.
Tutima's history begins in 1927 when Dr. Ernst Kurtz, a jurist from Hamburg, established two companies from the bankrupt Deutsche Präzisions-Uhrenfabrik (DPUG): Uhren-Rohwerke-Fabrik Glashütte AG (UROFA) for movement production and Uhrenfabrik Glashütte AG (UFAG) for finished watches. Dr. Kurtz recognized the future lay in wristwatches rather than pocket watches and modernized production using Swiss-style automated manufacturing techniques. In 1941, Tutima created its most legendary timepiece: the pilot's chronograph powered by the in-house Caliber 59, the first German chronograph with a flyback function (called 'Tempostopp'). Between 1941-1945, approximately 30,000 units were manufactured for the German Air Force. Dr. Kurtz's brother Walter, a test pilot, helped validate the watches under real conditions. On May 8, 1945, Glashütte was bombed and subsequently stripped by Soviet forces. Dr. Kurtz fled to West Germany, taking skilled craftsmen with him. He eventually settled in Ganderkesee near Bremen in 1951, producing watches under 'Kurtz Glashütter Tradition.' After financial difficulties in 1956, Werner Pohlan took over and renamed the company Nurofa, reactivating the Tutima brand. Around 1960, Dieter Delecate, a close associate of both Pohlan and Dr. Kurtz, acquired the company and renamed it Tutima Uhren GmbH. The Delecate family guided Tutima through the quartz crisis and achieved a major triumph in 1984-1985 when the Military Chronograph ref. 798 was chosen as the official pilot's watch for NATO and the German Bundeswehr, beating competitors including IWC and Breitling. Following German reunification, Dieter Delecate pursued his dream of returning to Glashütte. In 2005, the family purchased property in the town, and in 2011 officially opened a new manufacture. Today, the company is run by Dieter Delecate alongside his children Jörg (Managing Director) and Ute (Marketing and PR Director), making it one of the few truly independent family-owned German watch manufacturers.
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Germany1927 Dr. Ernst Kurtz
1951 Werner Pohlan
1991 Delecate family