Teddy Baldassarre
An Inside Look At The New Glashütte Original Dial Manufacture
Here’s the headline: this summer, the namesake and flagbearer of the Glashütte watchmaking region, Glashütte Original, has opened its own, dedicated dial manufacture. You might be asking yourself, “I thought G.O. already did everything in-house, what’s the deal?” And while you would be right to ask, the basis of the question is also correct. Glashütte Original, while owned by Swatch Group, does, in fact, “do everything in-house,” or to be more specific: 95% of everything. However, up to this point, the dials for G.O. watches were made in a facility six hours away in Pforzheim. This move has brought production to a 5,000-plus-square-foot facility that is just a quick float down the babbling Muglitz River - 450 meters, to be exact. In a market where collectors are placing increasing importance on “in-house” everything, this is a big move for a company that has been preaching the Homemade Gospel from the Saxon hilltops for decades. Not only does this allow for more agile production timelines, but it increases G.O.’s production capabilities as a whole. G.O. brought me to Germany to see the new facility and to tour the full manufacture as well. In addition to the photos here, which won’t tell the full story, we also have a full video touring the manufacture. This sort of care for detail and attention to craftsmanship is deeply ingrained in the region, and in Glashütte Original as a brand. The people at this manufacture take the namesake very seriously...
