German watches enjoy a lot of appeal to many watch enthusiasts due to their quality and relatively high value for the price. No one can sum up the entirety of German watches in one bold statement, but overall, German watches are more dedicated toward usability and performance than the prestige that most Swiss watches go for.
My favorite examples of German Watch makers of Glashutte, Sinn, Limes, and Temption. Each of these makers produces beautiful timepieces which are as much tools as they are works of art. Glashutte is the most prestigious of the above four being the only house-manufacture. This means they produce and develop their own movements as opposed to buying movements kits. However, house-manufactures are uncommon, and the watches they produce demand very high prices. Movements purchased from such as ETA are often higher quality that a house-movement.
Sinn, Limes, and Temption each utilize movement kits, but make their own very high-quality cases. Often times these watch makers will copy each other in terms of design, but the results are always pleasing. Temption is the most unique of these brands in terms of style, while Sinn produces arguably the most rugged and utilitarian watches. Limes on the other hand makes classic-looking watches at very affordable prices.
German watches are mostly “mid-priced” putting them in the $1000-$3000 range. However, many can be found at the sub $1000 level if you shop smart on places such as ebay. German watches have a smaller distribution network in the US for a couple of reasons. First, is that most German watch makers deals straight with the consumer or straight with the dealer location. They will not use too many middlemen to get the watches to market. Second, which is combined with the first reason, there are smaller margins to be made because the prices are lower. It seems as though the German watch makers actively seek to place their watches on as many wrists as possible by keeping prices down. Although $2000 for a watch may seem steep, remember that a typical German watch is made using the highest quality metals and materials, and is hand assembled by highly skilled workers. The only thing that higher priced Swiss watches can boast is that the actual pieces used to make the watches are sometimes hand made. This does not always yield the best results in terms of quality.
What this all means for you is that you can a beautiful and functional German watch at a much lower price than a comparable Swiss watch. Although finding the watches are going to be a bit more difficult. A great place to look for German watches, as is often the case is eBay.
