Glashutte Senator

Admired by collectors of vintage wristwatches for its iconic 1960s-era designs, such as the minimalist and elegant Spezimatic, Glashütte Original is one of the most prominent German watch brands, recognized universally for producing wristwatches that are as modern as they are an homage to traditional handcraftsmanship.

Today, this first-class company still manufactures its own movements as well as its dials. Its watch bridges and cocks are hand-engraved in-house by master craftspeople. And at Glashütte Original, the annual production of its offerings, even the highly desired best sellers, is limited to a few hundred editions or less of any model.

Unlike other established watchmakers, including Cartier, Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe, Glashütte Original was never the brainchild of one specific person, but rather the city for which it was named. Since 1845, the small German town of Glashütte has been home to the country’s leading watchmakers. With a loan from the Saxony government, entrepreneur Ferdinand Adolph Lange trained locals to become watchmakers, having identified a need for employment after the collapse of the area’s silver-mining industry.

Soon the town was attracting big names in the watchmaking business, namely Adolph Schneider, Moritz Grossmann and Julius Assmann. In 1878, the German School of Watchmaking Glashütte was established. Over the next several decades, business boomed until, in 1945, Soviet fighters bombed the watchmaking town, destroying most of the workshops. With East Germany under Soviet control, many of the workshops were merged under a state-owned firm called Volkseigener Betrieb Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe (VEB GUB). This lasted until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. In 1994, German entrepreneur Heinz W. Pfeifer took over VEB GUB and renamed it Glashütte Original.

In 1995, the revamped Glashütte Original introduced the tourbillon watch Julius Assmann 1, which featured an intricate perpetual calendar movement and was named for one of the town’s pioneering watchmakers. In 2015, the brand also paid tribute to the past — and to its well-known Spezimatic model — with its Sixties Iconic Collection, a model housed in a 39-mm stainless-steel case available in five striking color schemes and gradient effects, with each intricately painted dial done so in-house. A diver’s watch called the Sea-Q followed in 2019, also as an homage to one of the brand’s ’60s-era models.

Since 2000, Glashütte Original has been part of the Swatch Group, and today, around 95 percent of Glashütte Original’s watch parts are made in-house, contributing to their meticulous quality and craftsmanship that merges the town’s rich heritage with new technologies.

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Antique, vintage and luxury wristwatches have captured the hearts and minds of all manner of watch collectors as well as the watchmakers themselves — it's time you found your own.

Certain vintage watches for men and iconic watch designs for women are sought after not only because of their graceful proportions or innovative materials but also because of the illustrious histories of the houses that created them, histories that they stylishly embody.

Bulgari’s legendary Serpenti watch was on everyone’s list after the collection’s bold bracelet, which technically debuted after the timepiece, graced the wrist of actress Elizabeth Taylor. If anything, elaborately crafted timepieces — the unmistakably boxy silhouette of Cartier Tank watches, the elegant and minimal Calatrava designed by legendary Swiss house Patek Philippe — are even more effective than the shape we associate with traditional wristwatches.

Form watches — the all-encompassing moniker bestowed upon non-round watches — are making headlines and completing contemporary fashionable ensembles the world over. At the same time, both casual fans and careful collectors are drawn to the unbeatable charm of vintage styles, such as the icons designed by Omega that even James Bond can’t resist.

In the early days of watchmaking, watches were fragile enough that they necessitated protection from the elements. Now, wristwatches made of gold and steel can withstand the harshest climates — even 100 meters underwater, in the case of Rolex’s Submariner. Designer Gérald Genta, whose range of clients included Rolex, created for Audemars Piguet the first luxury sports timepiece to be made from stainless steel. First introduced in 1972, the Royal Oak was a perfect choice for blending the form and function that are now synonymous with sports watches.

Are you shopping for a wristwatch? It’s good to keep your needs as well as your specific personal style in mind: A smaller, subtle timepiece is a good fit for small wrists. When will you be wearing your new accessory? There’s a versatile model out there for everyday wear, while a rugged, feature-heavy watch is a safe bet if you’re prone to embarking on all-weather activities in the great outdoors.

Find antique, vintage and luxury wristwatches for sale on 1stDibs.