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  Tutima back to Glashütte

“A step back is sometimes a step ahead.” The sentence was uttered by Dieter Delecate, the founder of Tutima, which has returned to its birthplace in Glashütte. A new site, new image, new campaign, new logo, new website and new collections are on the menu.
And a new case, therefore, whose steel architecture, which combines matte and polished surfaces, houses a form that will henceforth become the identity of the brand. A kind of contemporary cushion shape, which shares its tense and sharp lines with a pyramidal bezel that opens onto the dial circle.

M2 by Tutima

Quite a daring shape, baptised the Saxon One, which is also available as – or rather mutates into – the sporty M2. A city watch, the Saxon One houses in its case middle, almost invisibly, the chronograph pushers. The indications are arranged clearly and easy to read on a black or white dial. Developed by Tutima on a “Swiss” base, the calibre 321 has a rare minutes indication that uses a central hand that is read against a scale on the flange. The price of this watch with a Swiss movement but typically Saxon finishing is 6,800 Euros.
The M2 is a military watch, the successor to the M1, which for decades has been the official watch of the German army. “Nothing can shock it,” is its slogan. It has a titanium case, reinforced sapphire crystal, screw-in case back and a soft iron inner cage against magnetism, all of which are there to ensure the resistance of this large 46.5mm chronograph, which is powered by a modified Valjoux 7750. It has a clearly readable minute counter and a 24-hour display.
But Tutima, proud of its newly rediscovered “Made in Glashütte”, also gives in to pure Saxon temptation and presents a very heimlich Patria. With a manually wound manufacture movement with the typical 3/4 architecture of this watchmaking region of Germany, the Patria has a look that could not be more classic. Round, sober, frugal (65 hours of power reserve), it uses the same escapement and gear train as the minute repeater that Tutima launched a few years ago. For 13,800 Euros, it is an object that is meant to last.

 Unchained Tudor

But in this mid-range segment, from €1,500 to 4,500 one brand growing strongly risks causing some damage. Tudor is no longer the shy little sister of Rolex, it is now freed from this burdensome superego and we even hear that some of the more avid collectors are now favouring Tudor watches over those with the crown.

“ Tudor is no longer the shy little sister of Rolex.”

“This is our first autonomous stand since 1926,” explains Philippe Peverelli, one of the key members of the small dream team now running the brand (which nevertheless has 140 employees at the moment). “For many years we were considered to be a sub-brand that made Rolex copies for Mao’s China. As a result, we have been there for 40 to 50 years, which is rare among watch brands, and we are very well known there,” he adds, with a frankness rare within this grande maison. “From this summer, we will also be present in strength in the USA. It’s the right time, expectations are already very high and we are arriving with a range of products that is now complete”.

HERITAGE CHRONO BLUE by Tudor

There is still a long way to go for the brand to follow in the footsteps of the untouchable Rolex, but there is “plenty of room for manoeuvre”. Crowned with its new identity, ready with its new black and red codes, equipped with its own brand territory – motorsport – Tudor has the wind in its sails. Capitalising a lot on its history, the brand presents a new Tudor Heritage (the brand’s most emblematic collection, surfing on the vintage revival wave), the Tudor Heritage Chrono Blue. It is basically a reinterpretation of the Tudor “Montecarlo”, an iconic watch from 1973, that is particularly sought-after among collectors. Its graphic design is close to that of the original, with a 45-minute counter (split into three zones of 15 minutes) off-centre at 9 o’clock and off-centre small seconds at 3 o’clock, both set in a blue lozenge. It uses an ETA 2892 movement with a Dubois-Dépraz module (for the 45-minute counter). For CHF 4,200, the Chrono Blue is delivered with a steel bracelet and a fabric strap (a must for the brand).

FASTRIDER BLACK SHIELD by Tudor

The other new arrival was presented at the end of a post-apocalyptic video, against the backdrop of volcanoes erupting lava. It is the Tudor Fastrider Black Shield, a microblasted matt black ceramic piece on a matt rubber strap. Born of the partnership between Tudor and the Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati (which is at the same time launching the customised Ducati “full black” bike) the Fastrider is a powerful monoblock watch which required two years of research and development. The red hands and hour markers stand out against the black background and are highlighted further by the gasket for the sapphire crystal, which is also red in colour. It costs CHF 4,750, which seems very competitive for an all-ceramic piece.