Tutima, pioneering the German wristwatch

By Benjamin Teisseire

August 2024

Tutima originated with the transition from pocket watch to wristwatch; a movement spearheaded in Glashütte, in the 1920s, by the founder of the brand. During the Second World War it excelled in pilot’s chronographs then, when Glashütte became part of East Germany, reinvented itself in the west, not least as a supplier to NATO. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, Tutima has gone back to its hometown, all the while cementing its legacy in pilot’s watches.

Tutima, pioneering the German wristwatch

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By Benjamin Teisseire

August 2024

Tutima, pioneering the German wristwatch

n the immediate post-war years, like the rest of the country, Glashütte, the heart of Germany’s watch industry, was in dire financial straits. An ambitious cooperative, the Deutsche Präzisionsuhrenfabrik Glashütte (DPUG), had been formed to rationalise pocket watch production, but was declared bankrupt in 1925.

Not all doors slammed shut. As part of bankruptcy proceedings, the creditor bank appointed Dr Ernst Kurtz, a 26-year-old jurist, to set up a long-term structure. In 1927 Dr Kurtz was appointed at the head of the Uhren-Rohwerke-Fabrik Glashütte AG (UROFA) and the Uhrenfabrik Glashütte AG (UFAG).


Dr Ernst Kurtz, founder of Tutima

“He was a visionary,” says Alexander Philipp, sales and production director at Tutima. “He switched production from pocket watches to wristwatches, and introduced automated manufacturing methods. UROFA made calibres while UFAG produced cases and assembled the finished watches.”


Alexander Philipp, Director of Sales and Production at Tutima

Even as the two factories continued to supply third parties, Kurtz had plans to challenge the ultra-dominant Swiss watch industry and, with that in mind, founded Tutima Glashütte, reserving the best quality movements for the new entity.

“The name derives from the Latin tutus, meaning ’safe’ or ’secure’, and this shows Dr Kurtz’s determination to produce quality, reliable timepieces,” continues Alexander Philipp. “He was the first in Germany to focus on wristwatch production – a revolution at the time – and to do so on an industrial scale, to rival the Swiss.”

Success then exile

During the 1930s, Kurtz equipped his factories with machinery and introduced modern means of production that would make them independent of Swiss component supplies. He also encouraged local training initiatives.

As the Second World War raged, UROFA and UFAG were requisitioned for Germany’s war effort. This included development and production of a precise and robust pilot’s chronograph. Fitted with the UROFA Calibre 59, this revolutionary chronograph, Tutima’s future Grand Flieger, was released in 1941. “It was the first German chronograph with additional timing and a Tempostopp or flyback function. The German army issued it to its forces. More than 30,000 were made.”


The 1941 Tutima pilot’s chronograph, equipped with the UROFA 59 calibre, was the first German chronograph with a Tempostopp (flyback) function. It would become the Grand Flieger, now the brand’s flagship model.

As the Soviets advanced on Glashütte, in the final days of war, Dr Kurtz headed west. A few days later, his factory was destroyed by an air raid on the town. Whatever production resources survived the bombing were dismantled and taken to Moscow. However, Kurtz and the employees who had also fled had managed to take with them a small number of machines and tools. In 1950 they set up anew in Ganderkesee, near Bremen, where Tutima still has its administrative headquarters.


Having pioneered wristwatch production in Germany, Tutima made pilot’s watches its speciality.: ©Archives Europa Star

Ernst Kurtz had high hopes to transform the town into a “small Glashütte” but “despite producing large numbers of calibres over the following decade, business began to flounder.” In 1960 the company was taken over by one of Kurtz’s close friends and employees, Dieter Delecate.

A return to pilot’s watches and to Glashütte

The company has remained in the Delecate family ever since. When Dieter retired, his son Joerg Delecate took over as managing director, and his daughter Ute Delecate became director of marketing and public relations.


The Delecate family has been at the helm since 1960. Dieter Delecate (centre), with son and manging director Joerg Delecate, and daughter and marketing and public relations director Ute Delecate.

“Throughout its almost 100-year history, Tutima has had just two owners. We are an entirely family-owned business with no outside investors, which gives us complete independence when making strategic decisions,” says Alexander Philipp. Following its exile to Ganderkesee, Tutima set about forging an identity of reliable, efficient, military-inspired watches, recognisable by their fluted bezel.


In 1984 the German armed forces and NATO chose the Military Chronograph ref. 798, with a Lemania 5100 movement, as official chronograph. Its rounded case, with no protruding edges, and integrated pushers are designed for security and maximum operability.

The army again played a part in the next stage of the company’s development, as Alexander Philipp explains: “In 1984 the Bundswehr invited bids for a pilot’s watch. Tutima won the contract with its Military Chronograph ref. 798. The watch was fitted with a solid Lemania 5100 automatic calibre, inside a case with round edges and integrated pushers for safe and easy use. It became the official NATO chronograph. Tutima was back in pole position for its pilot’s chronographs and continues to supply the German armed forces.”


In 1985 Tutima was commissioned to equip NATO pilots.: ©Archives Europa Star

Following German reunification, Dieter Delecate was eager for the company to return to its Glashütte roots, but it wasn’t until 2008 that a suitable site became available and the brand could relaunch production in its place of birth.


In 1995 Tutima was one of the German brands to benefit from reunification: although it had never ceased production, it was able to return to its home in Glashütte: ©Archives Europa Star


The Tutima Manufacture in Glashütte

Dieter Delecate wanted to mark this return with a “masterpiece of German watchmaking” that would offer a showcase for Tutima’s expertise, and so he and master watchmaker Rolf Lang began work on a grand complication. Three years later, in 2011, the Tutima Hommage Minute Repeater was presented to the world: the first minute-repeater wristwatch to be made entirely in Germany. Every one of its 550 components, with the single exception of the balance spring, is made in-house.


In 2011 Tutima celebrated its return to Glashütte with the first minute-repeater wristwatch to be made entirely (except for the balance spring) in Germany. For Pierre Maillard, writing in Europa Star, this was the opportunity to look back at the brand’s history.: ©Archives Europa Star

: ©Archives Europa Star

Tutima today

Since returning to Glashütte, Tutima’s number-one objective has been to reassert itself as, in Alexander Philipp’s words, “the reference in German chronographs and sports watches.” The company doesn’t disclose exact production figures but they are in the region of 10,000 units a year. According to Philipps, “80% of our watches are equipped with ETA or Sellita movements with the added value required by the Glashütte designation, and 20% are fitted with in-house calibres.”


The Calibre 800 movement in the Hommage Minute Repeater is manufactured entirely by Tutima.

“Tutima is known for offering quality in its main price segment of €2,000 to €6,000 and we intend to maintain that. Our watches with in-house movements range from €8,000 to almost €200,000. We have five core collections, which are Flieger, Patria, M2, Saxon One and Grand Flieger. We’re very much sports-oriented although we have a classic line, too.”

Distribution is through partnerships with authorised retailers in Europe, Asia, the United States and Middle East. “Distribution is well balanced geographically. One noticeable difference is that we don’t sell direct to consumer, not even at our Manufacture in Glashütte, where we direct visitors to our local partner.”


Tutima on the front cover of Europa Star’s Chinese edition in 1999. The brand intends to promote the specific qualities of German sports and pilot’s watches to customers around the world.: ©Archives Europa Star

The brand is putting itself more in the public eye. It was at the Beau-Rivage hotel in Geneva during Watches and Wonders and is making its debut at Geneva Watch Days, as well as at Vicenzaoro.


The iconic Grand Flieger Classic Chronograph, ref. 6408, inspired by the 1941 model

New releases in 2024 give a clear idea of Tutima’s future. The Flieger Legacy T5 chronograph in grade 5 titanium combines modernity, durability and elegance in a 41mm case. The new Tutima Lady Sky collection comes in fresh colours and a smaller 34mm size.


The brand appeared on-screen in the 2003 spy thriller The Recruit, starring Al Pacino and Colin Farrell: ©Archives Europa Star

“We’re staying focused on the Flieger, because we have strong and authentic ties with aviation. In 2019 we were named Manufacture of the Year; the first watch company to obtain this distinction in Germany and proof of our commitment to quality,” notes Alexander Philipp.

There are plans to built a new production facility next to the Manufacture in Glashütte and, promises Alexander Philipp, Tutima is lining up some major surprises for its one hundredth anniversary in 2027.