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An Interview with D. Dornblüth & Sohn

written by A.Morgan - 22nd Jun 2011

Amongst the clinical workshops and mass production of some of the largest manufacturers around today, it’s hard to believe that there is still room in the market for the traditional approach. But there is – and D. Dornblüth and Sohn are an example of one of the few truly handmade watch companies that we have left. We spoke to Dirk Dornblüth about what it takes to be a traditional watchmaker in a modern world.

Work at the Kalbe workshop is done the traditional way; by hand

TWM: You take a much more traditional approach to watchmaking than other brands – how did it start, and why does it appeal to you?

DD: When my father started in 1962 with his own watchmaker’s workshop, he mostly had to restore and service old mechanical watches. Creating watch parts by hand occupied most of his work time each day until the German Reunification in 1990, because watch part replacements were only available in small amounts or not at all. Further to that, quartz watches entered the eastern market as well, so the repair business nearly died. But our team took advantage of nearly fifty years watchmaking experience, which today allows us to create timepieces in the old watchmaking tradition with classic materials and traditional parameters, like 18,000 semi-oscillations for example.

TWM: What do you think of modern watchmaking in general?

DD: In the modern art of watchmaking CNC machines build a high number of watches, which are not created by watchmaker’s hands. In my opinion, there is no hand craft involved. To be honest, digital watches mostly run more accurately than mechanical watches, but in mechanical watches like ours the traditional way of watchmaking keeps it alive.

TWM: How long does it take to complete a watch, and what goes into making it how you do?

DD: Seeing some of the traditional watchmaking machines in my workshop, I can say that I’m very proud to have these and the knowledge of how to use them. I know that it is quite unfamiliar to most, but that is the way I discovered watchmaking back when I was a child. “Time accepts nothing which was realised without her;” this sentence is part of our daily work, so, depending on the calibre we work three to seven days on one timepiece in total.

TWM: More specifically, what work goes into creating the movement?

DD: We create fifty to seventy-five percent of our watch parts in-house, dependant on the model. We mill the wheels, pinions and springs, create gold chatons, spindles, and for the Regulator and Gorch Fock I model we have even started with in-house dials. We permanently work on and develop new solutions, which enables us to increase the in-house involvement from each new release to the next.

TWM: What is your workshop like? Is it full of expensive, high-tech machinery?

DD: According to the philosophy of traditional watchmaking, our workshop is like a museum for old machines, which we work with every day. Several clients who visit us enjoy seeing them, and how their individual timepiece is made in detail.

TWM: What was the inspiration for allowing customers to customise their watches, and how far will you let them take that customisation?

DD: Our customers mostly decide for a timepiece from our collection after long consideration and, as a result, mostly keep them for a lifetime. We often create the individual watch as an heirloom or a memorial piece for special occasions such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries etc. Each timepiece is built after ordering, so we do not have any stock. That gives us the possibility to realise special wishes such as individual engravings. We always discuss the wishes with each client and try to give them an impression of the final timepiece in advance. We try to realise individual wishes as far as possible, but if I feel that a timepiece would not be a “Dornblüth” anymore because of it, I inform the client about my worries.

Every last detail is painstakingly created to utmost perfection

TWM: How do you feel about the ever-growing trends for larger, fussier watches?

DD: I think that large sized watches are a trend like you can see in every business, e.g. clothes, electronic equipment etc. In general, timepieces with a size of 32-42mm have been always created since the beginning of wrist watches. Timepieces in this size will be seen in the future as well, but these get influenced by trends, which appear and disappear.

TWM: What new model at this year’s Baselworld has piqued your interest the most?

DD: There have been many new models shown this year. In general, I felt a comeback to the basic functions of timekeeping. I have seen several new models which I liked, but I’m most excited about the new release of Tutima Glashütte, which was unfortunately not shown there, but will be presented in May hopefully.

TWM: Where do you want to take the company in the next few years in terms of development?

DD: The daily inspiration and challenge for my team is to increase the amount of in-house parts, which we have done with nine of our models over the years already, but discovering other ways of approaching the daily challenges or making a new development inspires us the most. We will keep that way to become as independent from suppliers as possible, but keeping the traditional way of watchmaking also.

TWM: Can you tell us about any new models you will be releasing soon?

DD: Inspired by the daily conversation with our clients, we get more and more ideas which we try to accommodate, although it’s quite complicated in a small team like ours with only six people. But we put a lot of work into new models and projects, which might take some more time, but will not be a never ending story.

With thanks to Dirk Dornblüth for his insight into traditional watchmaking