On an unusually warm day in early March, I was invited to visit Sinn headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. Sinn had prepared a special program including a special exhibition showcasing their technologies over the last 30 years in the main foyer. This was followed by a factory tour, and finally seeing their latest collection. 
Most of us are familiar with the origins of Sinn, which all started with Helmut Sinn, who was a flight instructor, and former World War II pilot. The company’s core business under his ownership was the manufacturing of navigation clocks and pilot chronographs. In 1994, certified engineer Lothar Schmidt acquired the company from Helmut Sinn and renamed it to ?Sinn Spezialuhren GmbH?. Lothar Schmidt worked previously with IWC, and was also part of Günter Blümlein?s team to revive A. Lange & Söhne.
This year Sinn is celebrating 30 years since Mr. Schmidt acquired the company. It was a coincidence that the day of my visit, news broke regarding Mr. Schmidt?s succession plans. He will celebrate his 75th birthday this year, and announced plans to create a foundation similar to the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, that will own the shares of Sinn and its subsidiary companies. Mr. Schmidt also owns the SUG casemaker in the famous watchmaking village of Glashütte. 
Over the past 30 years, Mr. Schmidt, with his engineering background, has developed several technologies for Sinn watches. In 1995, Ar-Dehumidifying Technology was introduced for the first ...