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 Not only the gateway to the world, but also to trailblazing horological craftsmanship. Chronometry gained international importance in imperial Germany much later than it did in England or France. The epicentre was the city of Hamburg.
Two reasons were decisive for this: increasingly busy commercial activities centred on Bremen and Hamburg; and Hanseatic ship-owners were eager to achieve independence from foreign (especially English) chronometer suppliers. After the major German ship-owners agreed to a joint venture, the Chronometerwerke GmbH was founded in Hamburg in 1905. The enterprise was renamed “Wempe Chronometerwerke” in 1938. The goal was mechanised manufacturing of highly precise marine chronometers and ship’s clocks. And thus the cornerstone was laid for a German chronometer industry which would be able to compete on the international scene.
The naval observatory in Hamburg. Dedicated to the high art of precision engineering.
Today too, in the era of satellite navigation, Wempe offers aficionados and connoisseurs of maritime timekeepers a limited series of timepieces which prove that fine mechanical ship’s chronometers have lost nothing of their appeal. Alongside these marvelous creations of the watchmaker’s art, Wempe’s maritime program also includes battery-powered and mechanical ship’s clocks, ship’s bell clocks, barometers, barographs, thermometers, hygrometers and comfort-meters. Image: The naval observatory in Hamburg
In the right place at the right time: Wempe in Glashütte.
In the traditional watchmaking city of Glashütte, Wempe has proven since September 2005 that tradition not only unites, but can also set new standards. In the erstwhile ruins of the observatory, which has now been fully restored, Wempe collaborates with the Thuringian and Saxon State Offices for Weights and Measures to operate a chronometer-testing facility in accord with the German DIN standard. Furthermore, Wempe laid the cornerstone here for the production of the brand’s first line of its own wristwatches. |
