Good news for Germany?s undisputed capital of fine watchmaking: Last week, the German authorities passed a law that legally protects the designation of origin of timepieces made in Glashütte. As a result, from now on they enjoy a comparable legal protection to “Swiss Made” watches. For the local manufacturers, the new regulation provides a significantly improved legal framework and a more effective protection against copycats. Customers will benefit from this, too. They can be certain that watches displaying “Glashütte I/SA? on the dial have actually been manufactured in this time-honored and highly praised town, including all quality-related manufacturing processes.

The small Saxon city nestled in the eastern Ore Mountains near the Czech border draws on a noble tradition of more than 175 years of watchmaking that was initiated by Ferdinand Adolph Lange (1815?1875). By founding a small workshop in the town in 1845, the legendary watchmaker laid the cornerstone of an unparalleled success story in the world of watches. Thanks to his efforts, clock and watch workshops popped up in Glashütte throughout the second half of the nineteenth century. Soon, the precision pocket watches from the once bitterly poor town made their way to the top and were sought after for their superior quality and craftsmanship.
After a 45-years hiatus under the regime of the former East German social government, when all the once famous brands were combined into the V...