orn in Frankfurt, Johannes Dürrstein settled in Dresden, where he established his watch trading company in 1874. The nearby village of Glashütte had become a watchmaking hub only a few decades previously, supported by the government of Saxony. The well-connected Johannes Dürrstein became an important player in the commercial development of Glashütte’s production. That same year, he became a distributor for A. Lange & Söhne.

He joined forces with an engineering virtuoso, Julius Bergter, who had worked for the Moritz Grossmann manufacture as a watchmaker and taught at the German School of Watchmaking in Glashütte. It was with him, parallel to his wholesale and distribution business for third parties, that, Johannes Dürrstein founded his own brand, Uhrenfabrik Union, in Glashütte in 1893.

©Archives Europa Star

In this 1998 article, Europa Star looks back at the revival of Union Glashütte, which together with Glashütte Original was relaunched following the fall of the Berlin Wall. Ten years later, the two brands were separated, to be operated independently of one another.

©Archives Europa Star

The brand became the backcloth for several developments by Bergter, such as Union Glashütte’s Grand Complication, presented the same year at the Chicago World’s Fair, and the “Universaluhr” in 1900. The brand also went on to produce marine chronometers as well as ultra-thin movements for pocket watches, but then disappeared in the turbulent period between the two World Wars.

Franz Linder heads both the Swiss brand Mido and the German brand Union Glashütte at Swatch Group.

Exactly 60 years after its closure, when the watchmaking industry in Glashütte was just rising from the ashes following German reunification, Union was relaunched in 1996 under the Glashütte Original umbrella. In 2000, the two brands were taken over by the Swatch Group, from whose vast industrial capacity the company still benefits to this day. We talked with its director, Franz Linder.

Europa Star: Like many German brands, Union Glashütte has had several lives rather than one continuous, linear history. Despite this, can you see a common thread running through it all?

Franz Linder: One characteristic feature is that it was not founded by a watchmaker, like other Glashütte brands, but by a salesman, Johannes Dürrstein. His aim was to produce beautiful, accurate watches, but without anything that would make them more expensive. His was more an entrepreneurial approach than that of an engineer in search of technical feats. And that’s how Union Glashütte is still positioned today. When I came here after being appointed in 2020, I was impressed by the effort put into achieving accuracy and the best value for money. But finally, that corresponds to the group’s positioning as a whole.

Fluctuating between elegant and vintage, Union Glashütte focuses on chronographs, like this new Noramis Chronograph Sachsen Classic 2024 model with its bright orange, light blue and matte white accents, reminiscent of the motor sports of the 1970s and 1980s.

When it was relaunched, Union Glashütte was incorporated into Glashütte Original, which is also part of the Swatch Group. Why were they separated again in 2008?

Originally, when the two brands were relaunched, Union Glashütte was based on the same industrial estate as Glashütte Original. But because of its different philosophy and positioning it was important to make Union independent. It was a technological challenge to build an independent entity, but by leveraging ETA’s technology and skills we succeeded in creating a brand that was “Made in Glashütte”. The Union calibres are based on ETA designs, with certain parts made in-house and others bought in. Everything is assembled in Glashütte. The rules for the appellation are pretty strict: 50% of the value added has to be produced locally.

By leveraging ETA’s expertise within the group, Union Glashütte has succeeded in gradually developing its own calibre production.

How many people do you employ in Glashütte?

Less than a hundred, but that’s our greatest challenge: finding labour and apprentices. As we said, the rules about what has to be done in Glashütte proper are very strict, and so we have to convince watchmakers from all over Germany, or neighbouring countries, to locate to here, and that doesn’t go without saying. It drastically limits our capacity to produce, and I know it’s a challenge facing other brands too. There’s a real lack of capacity.

And yet we offer ideal conditions: all our watchmakers are able to assemble entire movements here, whereas the work is much more scattered in Switzerland. But there isn’t such a dense ecosystem here as in Switzerland, with its catchment of thousands of trained horologists. That greatly reduces our recruitment potential. In a way, watches with the Made in Glashütte label are victims of their own success and a highly exclusive appellation… So we’re looking for alternatives, such as the possibility of retraining people who already work in manual trades.

The Averin has a distinctive cushion-shaped case. This chronograph is driven by a UNG-27.S2 calibre with a silicon balance spring and a 65-hour power reserve.

Since your arrival in 2020, what have you done to develop the brand?

I joined Union Glashütte right in the middle of the Covid pandemic, when nothing was normal. But the advantage of the brand is that it was already very clear in its positioning and ambitions. I’ve strengthened the diving watches segment, adapted the marketing strategy and supported Union Glashütte’s efforts to increase its international presence, mainly in China. But that brings us back to the previous point: everything that comes out of the workshops goes straight onto the market; the problem is that we have no stock. Given this lack of capacity, we focus solely on certain markets.

Which are they?

We sell our watches in around ten countries. For a long time, priority was given to the brand’s natural markets, Germany and Austria. China offers good prospects and I hope we’ll be able to increase our volumes to tap into new markets.

This Belisar moon phase chronograph with the characteristic elegance of the “Glashütte style”.

Which models are the most popular with customers?

Belisar, both the chronograph and moon phase versions, is very popular. Another long-appreciated model is the Averin. Generally, in our segment with prices ranging from around 2,000 to 4,000 euros and averaging at 3,000 euros, our chronographs have met with a great response. And not only in Europe: they’re also much appreciated in China, which isn’t traditionally a strong market for chronographs. That’s one of the brand’s strong points.

What strategies are you deploying to gain better brand recognition outside Germany?

Again, the number one priority is to increase capacity to be able to cater to market demand. That’s the real constraint of the criteria peculiar to Glashütte. On the other hand, wearing a Union Glashütte watch is a real choice, they’re a rare sight on a wrist. And it’s that singularity that makes us attractive to connoisseurs, including in China.

The 1893 Johannes Dürrstein commemorative limited edition, complete with calendar display, moon phase and a white enamel-lacquered dial, refers to the brand’s creator and year of creation.

Between the two brands you manage, Mido and Union Glashütte, are there any links or direct synergies??

What the two brands have in common is that they focus mainly on automatic watches, with similar ambitions, but in different segments. In the Swatch Group portfolio, Union Glashütte lies in a price range similar to that of Longines and Rado, above that of Mido. That also reflects the different industrial skills, because at Union Glashütte virtually everything is done in-house, with very elaborate finishes and high-end materials, such as the silicon balance spring.

As for how it’s marketed, Union Glashütte is rooted first and foremost in the world of classic cars in Germany. It’s a partner of rallies like the Sachsen Classic, the Silvretta Classic and the German Classic. There’s a natural link with the brand’s strong point, chronographs. And for nautical sector, the brand focuses on kitesurfing. Despite these differences, I put my expertise at the service of both brands, in China, for example, where Mido is already well established.

What characteristics can German watchmaking promote to stand up to the domination of “Swiss-made”?

You have to make a distinction between Germany and other countries. In Germany, the Glashütte appellation is recognised and the Germans are rightly proud of their watchmaking skills. Outside Germany, in China, for example, it’s rare for Union Glashütte to be a client’s primary brand. That distinction is an advantage.

The German brand, which has a strong presence in the chronograph segment, relies on classic car rallies to highlight its uniqueness.