Thursday, 22nd December 2005 (4440 views)

A renaissance for German gold watches is helping to re-build the watch-making industry in a Saxony town, Reuters reports.

Watch manufacturers in the German town of Glashuette have been enjoying a boom in recent years, with many insiders speculating that local producers could soon rival their Swiss competitors.

Brands such as A. Lange & Soehne and Glashuette Original have reinvigorated the town's tradition for intricate gold watch designs, with their specialist gold and platinum timepieces fetching up to £285,000 apiece.

The success of the old watchmakers has also encouraged new manufacturers to branch into gold jewellery. Nomos has established itself as a company specialising in less expensive watches, creating designs which pay homage to the 1920s Bauhaus school of design.

The town had a long tradition as a leading gold manufacturer, but the industry suffered during the last century; first by Russian bombers and then under 40 years of communism.

However, local watchmakers have been enjoying a resurgence in the past 15-years, an achievement that is particularly notable considering many other local industries have declined.

 

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