While German watches might not be as well known as Swiss watch brands or Japanese brands but they are definitely as good as them. In fact, recently we published our list of best German watches that you can buy from Amazon.
However, we found that most people don’t know about various German brands and the rich history each one has. So we decided to list the 8 best German watch brands that you should definitely know about.
Best German Watch Brands
1. Sinn
Year Of Establishment: 1961
Place Of Establishment: Frankfurt am Main
Official Website: https://www.sinn.de/en/
One of the oldest and most revered watch brands that came out of Germany is Sinn. The brand was founded in 1962 in Frankfurt am Main by pilot Helm Sinn. In its early day’s company focused on making mechanical watches for pilots, chronograph watches, and cockpit clocks.
Since then the company has earned many accolades. And one of them is the fact its watch has been worn even in space by German astronauts. Dr. Reinhard Furrer wore the 140 S mechanical watch made by Sinn to space in 1985 which proved the reliability of the Sinn watches.
Moreover, Sinn also helped in developing TESTAF ( the technical standard for pilot watches). It ensures that watches meet certain performance and measurements criteria before being certified as pilot watches. Not just that, over the years the company has also garnered several awards for innovative design. And the latest one won by them is the red dot award for their 105 St Sa UTC watch.
So if you are a pilot looking for a watch then we definitely would recommend going with watches made by Sinn.
2. STOWA
Year Of Establishment: 1927
Place Of Establishment: Engelsbrand, Germany
Official Website:https://www.stowa.de/en/
The next watch brand on our list is STOWA, founded by Walter Storz in 1927. And, the company is based out of Engelsbrand, Germany. So the company is no stranger to watches and has been making them for almost a century now. Later in 1996, the company got acquired by Jorg Schaur.
Several decades later Stowa watches are still well known for their quality and function. In fact, this German watch brand has its own watch movement which can’t be said for a lot of well-known companies these days. And, if you want to buy their gorgeous watches then you can buy them directly from their website.
While it’s a well-known brand, it cannot be said that the company didn’t have ups and downs. In fact, STOWA’s building was destroyed during World War 2 by the allied forces. However, the company rebuilt itself and was back on its feet almost 5-6 years later and the rest is history.
So, with almost 100 years of legacy along with their own watch movement, STOWA is one of the best german watch brands. Therefore if you are looking to buy a german watch do keep STOWA in mind.
3. Junghans
Year Of Establishment: 1861
Place Of Establishment: Schramberg, Germany
Official Website:https://www.junghans.de/en/
Junghans is one of the most well-known German watch brands. The company is more than a century old and entered the watchmaking business in 1861. Apart from the rich history and good brand name watches made by Junghans are also good at timekeeping.
The organizer of the Olympics selected Junghans as the official timekeeper in 1972 demonstrating that Junghans watches are reliable. And, seeing the brand you can see the watch is proud of its heritage and bears a Made in Germany logo on all its watches.
While the company started out by making only wall clocks and mechanical wristwatches, over the years it has created a diverse portfolio of products. Today they make quartz watches, automatic mechanical watches, solar-powered watches, atomic watches, and more.
4. NOMOS Glashutte
Year Of Establishment: 1990
Place Of Establishment: Glashutte, Germany
Official Website: https://nomos-glashuette.com
Glashutte is a small town in Germany known for its watchmaking and it’s famous among all the watch enthusiasts all around the world. The condition for adding the Glashutte name under your brand is that at least 50% of caliber must be made in Glashutte. Apart from that distinction NOMOS also enjoys being one of the only few brands with their own watch movement system.
GPHG (GRAND Prix d’ Horlogerie) is considered to be the topmost award any watchmaker can achieve. And, NOMOS is the second non-Swiss company in the world that has won this prestigious award. This is one of the many accolades that the company has earned for itself over the years.
Forget the best german watch brand, NOMOS is easily one of the world’s best watch brands that have still kept the tradition of watchmaking alive.
5. Zeppelin
Year Of Establishment: 1996
Place Of Establishment: Germany
Official Website: https://www.pointtec.de/zeppelin/de
When Japanese brands flooded the market with their cheap, affordable, and yet very accurate quartz watches entire industry changed overnight. Many watch companies that used to make mechanical watches couldn’t compete with them and went out of the business. That time period is also better known as the quartz crisis.
Seeing the changing market PoinTec also a german based company decided to focus on providing premium watches. And, PoinTec acquired the license to manufacture watches under the Zeppelin brand name. In the early 90s, blimp or better known as Zeppelin was a very popular way of traveling. To pay homage to that, Zeppelin also incorporated the blimp logo on the dial.
Fast forward to today Zeppelin is one of the most successful german watch brands and known for their quality timepieces.
6. Braun
Year Of Establishment: 1921
Place Of Establishment: Kronberg im Taunus, Germany
Official Website: https://braun-clocks.com
Braun is a brand that is several decades old and they make premium watches, wall clocks, digital clocks, and various other watch accessories. And all their watches are made using high-quality materials like ceramic, and that’s what sets them apart from the competition.
However, it is important to note the company has licensed its brand name to Zeon Ltd. It is responsible for manufacturing and distributing Braun watches all over the world.
While this brand is mostly known for its consumer products but has made great strides because of its durable and affordable quartz watches. In fact, we think if you are looking for an affordable timepiece from one of the best german watch brands then you would be happy with Braun watches.
7. Montblanc
Year Of Establishment: 1906
Place Of Establishment: Hamburg, Germany
Official Website: https://www.montblanc.com/en-us
Anyone who knows a thing or two about luxury definitely knows about Montblanc. They are very popular for their premium pens, bags, jewelry, watches, and various other fashion products. However, it should be noted that Montblanc didn’t enter the watchmaking business till 1997.
Since 1997 company’s watchmaking business has grown exponentially and even acquired watchmaker Minerva to improve its watch game. Today Montblanc has its own caliber but also uses 3rd party movements on lower-end models. Thanks to all the efforts, Montblanc today is one of the most famous German watch brands.
8. Damasko
Year Of Establishment: 1994
Place Of Establishment: barbing, Germany
Official Website: https://www.damasko-watches.com/
The next German watch brand on our list is none other than Damasko. They are known for high-quality material and that’s what sets them apart from other German brands. In fact, they also made watch cases for Sinn till 2002 and that’s the reason many people find their design to be a little similar to Sinn watches. So if you are looking for a well-built watch that would last for quite some time then Damasko won’t disappoint.
Are German Watches Any Good?
German watch brands have their own unique watch history, and their luxury brands are capable of going head to head with any watch brand in the world. No matter which brand you compare them to, you will find that german brands can meet the same quality standards if not exceed them. So if you are looking for your next watch then do give German watches a look.
FAQs
Braun and Zeppelin are some of the most well-known german brands that make the best timepieces at reasonable prices.
While there are various well-known German watch brands but if we have to pick then Montblanc is probably the most famous German Watch Brand.
Not all watches from german brands are expensive. So if you want affordable watches you can buy a watch from Braun. However, if you are looking for premium watches then you can go with Sinn, Montblanc, and others. Which Is The Best Affordable German Watch Brand?
Which Is The Most Famous German Watch Brand?
Are German Watches Expensive?