Brief History of Glashutte Germany

There are many lessons to be learned from the history of Glashütte. The education of people to become component watch and clockmakers proved pivotal in the development of Glashütte region bringing with it, huge economic success. If the school did not exist, there would be no tradesmen in the area to fill the positions created by the industry. In the United States, schools have been slowly closing over the years because of numbers or funding. Some are doing well but others are struggling. In recent years there has been a trend to streamline the education process and cut out skills that are not deemed to be "necessary". We are seeing less watchmakers and more watch technicians. The point of education is to give you knowledge and while some of the skills learnt may not be needed by some employers, it does not mean that they will not be needed in the future, or later on in a student’s career. Your knowledge is what gives you value and by cutting it back or “streamlining” it they are diminishing your value. Are we really giving watchmakers the best education? Or, does this education predisposed bias that push students and their skill sets in a certain direction.

The Glashütte school has produced many famous watchmakers and acted as a hub for Glashütte over the years. Technical advancements and numerous horological achievements have stemmed from the school all because of the quality of the education. One most notable and very popular alumnus amongst Germans is Alfred Helwig, the inventor of the flying tourbillion and teacher at the Glashütte school. The duration of the course was and still is over 3 years and is of top quality. It was the hub of the town and not only acted as a school, but acted as a breeding ground for academic and commercial ideas. e.g. the flying tourbillion

A Bit of History

The name Glashütte, comes from the word Glasskoferzen and Verhuttung, referring to a particular type of smelting of silver called "glass ore" which was predominately mined from the region.  Mining was the primary industry before watchmaking. Watchmaking came about out of necessity.

It all began with Ferdinand Adolph Lange, but first it is important to know where and who he trained with. Lange was an apprentice to Johann Friedrich Gutkaes (1775 – 1845) from 1830 until 1834. Lange was considered his most successful student, Lange spent time as a journeyman in Paris where he worked for Winneral for 4 years about 1837 – 1841. In 1842 Gutkaes signed over his workshop to both his son and Lange who had three apprentices under them.

The Government at the time began searching for ways to improve the impoverished people of the Erz mountains. In 1843 back from a trip to Switzerland Lange proposed setting up a watchmaking industry under the same model as the Swiss, proposing to the government a new way of manufacturing not yet done in Germany, called the "supply system" (which is essentially a division of labour).  In 1844 they began building the school in Glashütte where they had agreed to teach 15 apprentices. By December 7 1845 the ceremony was held for the opening and by the next day Lange and his employee at the time, Adolf Schneider, began teaching 15 students from the Glashütte area and surrounding suburbs over the course of 3 years. The first set of apprentices where pushed into what they excelled at, so if someone was good at making hands they did that, or if someone was good at making jewels they went that way. This allowed Lange to recreate the supply system he had seen in Switzerland in 1843. The whole venture relied on the students succeeding. They were required to spend another 5 years with Lange after their initial apprenticeship and at the end would own the tools they worked with.

There are four main watchmakers who are credited with essentially creating watchmaking in Glashütte and being the pillars or, as they were called, the 4-leaf clover. They are of course, Ferdinand Adolph Lange, Julius Assman, Moritz Grosmann and Adolph Schnieder.  Lange and Schnieder moved to Glashütte first, Schnieder founded his own manufacturer in 1855 and became Mayor from 1867 to 1878. Julius Assmann moved in 1850 after being persuaded by Lange, he moved to Glashütte from Berlin. In 1852 he opened his own business from the support of Lange who was Mayor at the time and later married Langes daughter. Mortz Grosmann moved to Glashütte in 1854 where he set up shop manufacturing watches, tool and scientific writing. He was also actively involved in the school and taught. To cement relationships a lot of the families married, this kept everyone friendly and guaranteed the success of Glashütte watchmaking.

From 1850 until 1870 these four watchmakers worked together to create movements even though they were separate companies. There was a deep understanding not only between these men, but all the different workshops that everyone had to work together. Between 1854 and 1864, there were several specialists and in addition to the independent craftsmen, there were also dedicated companies (18 of them) producing individual parts. In a report from 1864, 18 trades were needed to produce a watch, these are:

1.Frame Makers                                                                               10. balance makers  

2. repasseurs (quality control)                                                    11. gold plating specialists  

3. winding mechanism makers                                                   12. finishers  

4. dial train makers                                                                         13. repeater or chronograph makers  

5. pinion makers                                                                               14. visiteurs (quality control inspectors) 

6. lapidaries                                                                                        15. case makers  

7. stone setters                                                                                 16. guillocheurs   

8. screw makers                                                                                17. engravers              

9. escapement makers                                                                  18. regulating specialists

There also existed numerous other trades and associated craftsmen helping these people and the industry, including prominent toolmakers. With all these tradesmen in one area it is no surprise that Glashütte become almost self-sufficient. Almost everything could be made from start to finish in this little town.

Lange and a lot of watchmakers at that time, gathered knowledge abroad by being a ‘journeyman’. This would involve working for different horologists around the country or other countries after having finished an apprenticeship. The concept of a ‘journeyman’ is nothing new, it was practiced throughout history at different points in time. I believe millennials are the perfect generation to do this and are already doing this in some part, which is evident by the fact that more often than not they tend to job hop. I can only recommend that others should seek knowledge over immediate financial gain and take into account other freedoms and opportunities that could be had at an independent workshop, where you are exposed to a broad range of products, from the high to low end, from the simple battery change to the complex restoration.

As demonstrated by the Glashütte model, it is necessary to engage the services of other skilled professions within the watchmaking industry; it is a hard slog on your own. We currently have a trend of watchmakers and designers in the USA, UK and Europe trying to start brands doing varying levels of manufacturing in-house. The majority of manufacturing is still done overseas in countries like Switzerland, Germany, Japan and China. If the USA and other countries are to once again move to the forefront of watch manufacturing whether that is handmade or modern methods such as CNC or EDM. People are going to have to start working together. Do I think it’s possible.....? Yes! But… There are a lot of hurdles to overcome such as knowledge! As well as jealously, to name only a few. People need to start sharing and helping each other. It’s about working together to achieve a common goal and that common goal is to create a leading watch manufacturing industry in the USA. If you work collaboratively and one person wins, that means that everybody wins. Much like the thriving watchmaking hub of Glashütte.

The Glashütte watchmaking industry was a true testament to the idea of people working together to achieve a common goal and constantly pushing each other to forge ahead. The foundation of a strong education and opportunity of employment created a thriving industry. This thriving industry was born from the need of many and the drive of a few. Glashütte stands as a true testament to watchmakers working together. Unfortunately, due to different corporate ownership these ideals and practices have very little place in Glashutte now. Unless the companies are owned by the same conglomerate then they would not dare work together. It truly is a shame, but it does not mean that we can’t learn from history and replicate this for ourselves.

References:

Measuring the moment – Herbert Dittrich

The beginning of a tradition – Herbert Dittrich

Inventors and visionaries – Herbert Dittrich

The Art of Precision – Herbert Dittrich