I have an interest in Swiss watchmaking, French watchmaking, British Watchmaking, United States watchmaking and German watchmaking. Whilst my greatest interest has traditionally been in Swiss watchmaking, I respect the innovations of the British and I love the reemergence of German watchmaking skill and design excellence.
I was lucky enough to be able to visit the town of Glashütte, the centre of German watchmaking prowess in Saxony. After the disaster of the second world war in regards to the division of Germany, this region fell under the control of the Soviet Union. Whilst West Germany prospered, the authoritarian control of the Soviet regime waned.
German watchmaking wasn't totally dead, the factories were rebuilt and knowledge was retained, the watch manufacturers produced timepieces for the Soviet military. When the communist regime collapsed, East Germany was liberated and the free market once again reigned supreme.
German timepiece manufacturers such as A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte Original, Union Glashütte, Nomos Glashütte and Muhle Glashütte are up and running again. Whilst I would love to be a proud owner of a A. Lange & Söhne, I need to be realistic, this is so far out of my price range and whilst I can appreciate their engineering excellence - it's not going to happen.
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