Windmill in a Storm: The Turbulent Timekeeping History of Mühle Glashütte
German watchmaker Mu?hle Glashu?tte turned 150 years old in 2019, looking back on five generations of family stewardship through turbulent times for both Germany and the watch industry. In this feature from the WatchTime archives, we explore the company’s history of time measurement, from instruments to wristwatches.
Mühle is one of nine watch companies in the town of Glashütte, and the only one still owned by a local family.
The final day of hostilities between the Allies and Germany in World War II would also come to be remembered for the turning point that it wrought, in tragically ironic fashion, to Germany?s proud and historical watch industry. It was on May 8, 1945, shortly after Adolf Hitler had surrendered to Allied forces to bring an end to the European conflict, that Russian planes dropped bombs on the town of Glashu?tte, in the German state of Saxony near Dresden, leveling many of the watch factories that were, at the time, producing timekeeping devices for military usage. The embattled nation?s watch manufacturers would essentially cease to exist in their current states for several decades to come, with many in that industry profoundly affected by the hard times ahead. Few, however, had as much history on the line as did the Mu?hle family. Mu?hle Glashu?tte, which marks its 150th anniversary in 2019, is nevertheless regarded as a relative newcomer to the watchmaking game: it did, after all, only produce its first wristwatch in 1996, and doesn?t claim a l...
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A Week in Watches Ep. 79 – Swiss Leftovers
29-04-2024 05:06 - (
Luxury Watch )