The brand Glashütte Original - Glashütte Original

Glashuette_Original-where_time_is_created

The brand Glashütte Original

The Manufactory Glashütte Original

The heart of Glashütte Original beats inside the manufactory building: Here, under one roof, thousands of precision components are elaborately produced and assembled with care. In the heart of the town of Glashütte lies a bright and modern manufactory: Glashütte Original. Thanks to our exceptional production depth, we are able to design and produce our timepieces almost entirely in-house.

With over 10,000 square meters of floor space, the modern, generously proportioned manufactory building is a production site and a world of experience at once. The clear structures and transparent materials of the functional architecture reflect the high standards implicit in the “Made in Germany” quality seal. On four floors, corridors link the various ateliers, workshops and departments responsible for production and final assembly.

Glashütte Original upholds a tradition in which handcrafted perfection and select materials are combined with innovative production technologies. As an independent developer and maker of our own movements, we have good reason to call ourselves a “manufactory”. It is an ambitious claim: In the process of making watches here, we still perform a great many critical steps by hand – “per manum”.

Our values

Glashütte Original stands for innovative watchmaking art that meets the highest standards. Our timepieces are the product of the best in German engineering and craftsmanship: technically sophisticated, reliably precise and timelessly beautiful. Clearly defined values play a major role – they give us motivation day after day.

Traditional features

The brilliant horological achievements of the manufactory reveal themselves in the characteristic design elements of a Glashütte Original. The fine decoration of the movement components, lavishly finished by hand, is a natural obligation to our high quality standards – in the tradition of the old masters.

Dialmaking

Glashütte Original is one of the few watch manufactories to produce its own elaborate, handcrafted dials entirely in-house.

Of artists and their canvases

Sunray Finish

The decorative sun ray finish is applied using a rotating brass brush. Set-up and operation of the device are performed manually, while regular rotation is assured by means of a small motor.

Circular Finish

The circular finish, also known as “vinyl” pattern, is applied using a lathe. A turning tool cuts a thin thread of metal out of the rotating dial blank, resulting in a pattern of fine grooves.  This pattern is used in particular to decorate auxiliary dials such as those on a number of Pano models.

Circular Finish The circular finish, also known as “vinyl” pattern, is applied using a lathe. A turning tool cuts a thin thread of metal out of the rotating dial blank, resulting in a pattern of fine grooves.  This pattern is used in particular to decorate auxiliary dials such as those on a number of Pano models.

Mother-of-pearl

A mother-of-pearl dial is always cut in one piece from the shell and is only 0.4 mm thick. In order to protect the razor-thin material from breaking, it is mounted on a brass or German silver disc, which is also only 0.4 mm thick. Additional colour effects can be achieved by applying, for example, blue or pink lacquer between the dial and its support; the colour then filters through the mother-of-pearl, lending it a special coloured shimmer.

Moon Disc

Function and aesthetics merge in the moon phase display, which is also made in the dial manufactory. Its basic material consists of bronze or German silver. First, galvanization produces the deep blue night sky, onto which silver or gold-coloured stars are applied. The two moons are then cut out with a milling tool, which gives them their convex form. The surface of the “moons” is then finished using a special diamond milling tool, which assures a unique brilliance.

Moon Disc Function and aesthetics merge in the moon phase display, which is also made in the dial manufactory. Its basic material consists of bronze or German silver. First, galvanization produces the deep blue night sky, onto which silver or gold-coloured stars are applied. The two moons are then cut out with a milling tool, which gives them their convex form. The surface of the “moons” is then finished using a special diamond milling tool, which assures a unique brilliance.

Panorama Date

The Panorama Date’s tiny display discs are also made in-house. Subsequently mounted concentrically, these discs either match precisely the colour of the dial or are intentionally given a contrasting colour.