Watch out, Switzerland. These other watch making regions are on the rise.
Watch out, Switzerland. These other watch making regions are on the rise.
GLASHUTTE
A tiny East German town with a population of about 7,000, Glashutte’s origin story is well-known to fans of top manufactures based here, such as A. Lange & Sohne (pictured) and Glashutte Original. As silver mining in Glashutte waned in the 19th century, watch maker and entrepreneur Ferdinand Adolf Lange started the region’s first watch manufacture – A. Lange & Sohne – and kick-started a thriving watch making industry. One of the town’s brightest young stars is Nomos, which has earned rave reviews for its affordably priced designs equipped with in-house movements.
JAPAN
When we visited one of Switzerland’s most high-end watch companies recently, its representative singled out Seiko as one of the world’s few “real watch manufactures that can make everything itself”. While Seiko is a billion-dollar entity that produces large quantities of quartz and mechanical time pieces, it is its technically top-notch Grand Seiko (pictured) and highly finished Credor time pieces that watch aficionados cannot get enough of. Japan is also home to respected independent watchmakers such as self-taught Hajime Asaoka, known for his elegant tourbillon watches.
ENGLAND
