Few people find German watch brands as familiar with the world of watches. Most of us know the European country for being one of the biggest car manufacturers all around the globe. From Mercedes to BMW and Audi, Germany houses some car brands famous for their high-quality as well as performance.
Besides the car industry, German watch brands are trying to penetrate the watchmaking marketplace. It is ironic to see German watches left behind as the first watch was invented in Nuremberg, Bavaria, the county placed in Germany’s heart.
Thanks to Peter Henlein, a watchmaker who lived in the 15th century, we can today track time just by looking down on our wrist. It is important to be mentioned, though, that other clockmakers were creating similar instruments at the time.
Many years have passed ever since the 15th century, and the watch industry has moved with fulminant steps to the watches we can today enjoy.
Even though some of them fly under the radar, and some are left in the shadows of Swiss and Japanese watches, German watch brands manage to stand strong and keep delivering some exceptional timepieces.
Without further ado, take a look at the best German watch brands and the corresponding model they boast themselves.
Best German watch brands you must add to your collection
- Archimede
- Chronoswiss
- Damasko
- Mont Blanc
- NOMOS
- MeisterSinger
- Junghans
- Laco
- Stowa
- Sinn
Archimede
Founded in 2003 in Pforzheim, Germany, Archimede is here to prove once again that besides being young, watch brands can still manage to deliver exceptional timepieces. Less than two decades old, the German watches from Archimede are brought to watch lover’s wrists under the umbrella of Ickler – a century-old case maker also based in Pforzheim, Germany. The brand’s quality is undeniable. Equipped with Swiss high-quality automatic and chronograph movements fitted in cases of exceptional designs – an Archimede watch is offered to you as an entry-level luxury mechanical timepiece.
Founded: 1982
Founder: Gerd-Rüdiger Lang
Best Archimede Watch – Klassik 36 EG. SI. LB
Chronoswiss
Now I understand that some of you might get a bit frustrated when you see Chronoswiss listed in a German watch brands collection. As the word swiss in the name wasn’t enough, the brand’s headquarters are located in Lucerne, Switzerland. Well, considering that this relatively young watch brand was initially established in München, Germany, we took the guts to add Chronoswiss to our Best German Watch Brands collection. Despite the quartz crisis, the brand managed to deliver some cutting-edge mechanical movements with parts made completely in-house.
Founded: 1982
Founder: Gerd-Rüdiger Lang
Best Chronoswiss Watch: Opus Chronograph
Damasko
Damasko, a high-quality watch manufacturer, has positioned itself among other German watches that are shaping Germany’s watchmaking path for good.
A watch is nothing without its precision and no one better than Konrad Damasko understands the importance of it. Before establishing the watch company, Damasko started as a manufacturer for the aeronautics industry. The company owns several patents and one of them is a special model of polycrystalline silicon, widely used for various watch components.
Founded: 1994
Founder: Konrad Damasko
Best Damasko Watch: DC 80 green black
Montblanc
Looks like German watches are connected to the roots of Switzerland. The history of Montblanc started around 160 years ago, in 1858 when two Swiss brothers founded H. & C. Robert, later Minerva SA, and today is known as Montblanc. Thanks to Richemont Group, (from Germany) who bought the company in 2006, Minerva Sa became a department of Montblanc and the watches are now manufactured under the leverage of the Mont Blanc brand.
Mont Blanc is world-known for its high-end writing implements, jewelry, and watches among other products.
Founded: 1906
Founder: Alfred Nehemias, August Eberstein, Claus-Johannes Voss
Best Montblanc Watch: Heritage Spirit Moonphase Automatic
NOMOS
Nomos Glashütte owns a special place in the watchmaking race as they’re among the few German watch brands that manufacture their own in-house movements. This German watch brand is relatively new in the watchmaking business as it was founded in 1990, only two months after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Featuring artisan automatic mechanical watches fitted in classic designs, Nomos watches deliver nothing but cutting-edge timepieces.
Founded: 1990
Founder: Roland Schwertner
Best NOMOS Watch: Metro (Reference 1101)
MeisterSinger
Named after vocalists from the Middle Ages who experimented and discovered new melodies, MeisterSinger is one of those German watch brands that fly under the radar.
The company is dedicated to leaving a mark in the watchmaking industry as they managed to develop an in-house movement (ETA SA movement). From dress to diver watches, MeisterSinger is a relatively new watch brand (established in 2001 in Munster, Germany) that is moving forward to the watchmaking craftsmanship realm.
Founded: 2001
Founder: Manfred Brassler
Best MeisterSinger Watch: Paleograph Luxury Watch Men SC103
Junghans
Even though the company was founded in 1861 in Schramberg, Germany by Erhard Jungians and his brother, Junghans is one of those few German watch brands that have inherited one century and a half of watchmaking craftsmanship. The brand exploded when they started working with Max Bill (Bauhaus designer) in 1956. The cooperation resulted quite positively as Junghans came up with some attractive, minimalist wristwatches that served Junghans as a distinctive to the world of watches.
Founded: 1861
Founder: Erhard Junghans, Jakob Zeller-Tobler
Best Junghans Watch: Meister Chronoscope Sunray Dark
Laco
Blessed with little less than a century of watchmaking heritage/ Laco holds its ground as the original German pilot watch. Indeed/ in the 1940s a Laco watch was an important timekeeping tool in the cockpit/ and today the brand continues that tradition with an immense collection of pilot watches/ and navy watches among others.
Founded: 1925
Founder: Frieda Lacher, Ludwig Hummel
Best Laco Watch: Laco Westerland
Stowa
Who said that Switzerland was the only country to manufacture fine watches?. Although it is not the type of German watch brand that is giving the Swiss a run for their money/ Stowa has been working for the past 100 years in exalting their tradition of watchmaking and the German watches industry together. And isn’t even asking for credit! The brand provides an impressive array of pilot watches/ dress watches (Bauhaus style)/ marine and sports watches among others.
Founded: 1927
Founder: Walter Storz
Best Stowa Watch: Flieger Bronze Vintage 36
Sinn
The love of this German watch brand with aviation is connected with Mr. Helmut Sinn/ founder of Sinn watches. Mr. Sinn was a flight instructor. Not quite the typical watchmaker. That however/ didn’t stop the ambitious German entrepreneur to supply the aviation industry with cockpit clocks and pilot chronometers. Today Sinn operates in a new direction. Over 12.000 Sinn watches are sold every year/ with pilot watches remaining the brand’s flagship line of products.
Founded: 1961
Founder: Helmut Sin
Best Sinn Watch: Sinn 556
FAQ about German watch brands
Q. Which is the oldest German watch brand?
A: Established in 1822, the oldest German watch brand is Kienzle Uhren who initially began their journey to the world of watches as a small clock workshop named Johannes Schlenker.
Q. Which is the youngest German watch brand?
A: MeisterSinger (founded in 2001) and Archimede (founded in 2003) are the youngest German watch brands.
Q. Which is the least expensive German watch?
A: BN0024BKBRG model from Braun is the most affordable yet durable, stylish, and accurate German watch brand.
Q. Which is the most expensive German watch?
A: With a price tag of $ 14.41 K, Opus Chronograph from Chronoswiss is the most expensive German watch brand that doesn’t belong to a limited-edition series.
[…] Best German Watch Brands in 2021 […]