Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The DUG Glashutte Purist Typ 2 Is Good-Old Honest Watchmaking
The latest brand to come out of the epicentre of German Watchmaking.
If there’s one epicentre of watchmaking outside of Switzerland that can measure itself with Le Locle or the Vallée du Joux, it’s Glashütte. This small region in the far east of Germany was once known for its rich iron ore deposits and very active mining culture. But as deposits ran dry and prosperity dwindled, people left the region in favour of new grounds. The turnaround happened in the mid-19th century, when the Saxon government to which Glashütte belongs challenged anyone to settle in the region and start a business. Among those who dared was Ferdinand Adolph Lange, who needs little introduction. He started a watchmaking tradition that, despite many trials and tribulations, remains one of the most active and intriguing in the industry. Spawning the likes of A. Lange & Söhne, Nomos, Moritz Grossmann, and more recently Kallinich Claeys, there’s something new brewing in the hills: Deutsche Uhrenmanufaktur Glashütte, or DUG Glashütte, for short. And if the brand’s Purist Typ 2 is anything to go by, they’re off to an impressive start!
DUG Glashütte’s approach to ‘Watchmaking á la Glashütte’ if you will, is a little different from others. The brand’s focus is very much on the Saxony or Glashütte way of watchmaking, so the dial is labelled with Glashütte/SA, and thus the watches meet the standards that grant a brand the right to bear the designation. The criteria are rather strict, and include that at least 50% of a watch’s value must be created locally and that key steps in its assembly must be carried out within the region as well. How this is achieved, though, is rather interesting, certainly when you consider the price of the watches they bring to the table.
Founded by Toni Brodführer, the brand made its debut last year with the Purist, a clean and honest watch with clean and modern proportions. The Purist comes in six configurations: the Purist Typ 1, with Baton markers all around, the Purist Typ 2 you see here, with a mix of Arabic numerals and baton markers, and the Purist Typ 2 California Dial, and each one can be with or without a date function (see below, from left to right). The entire collection uses the same stainless steel case of 40mm in width, 10.95mm in height and 47.5mm from lug to lug. On both sides, you’ll find a sapphire crystal, and the DUG-signed diamond-shaped crown is a particularly nice touch. The finishing is also quite good, with a sharp contrast between brushed and polished sections.
As mentioned, we’ve had the pleasure of spending some time with the Purist Typ 2, which has a grained dial with a mix of applied Arabic numerals and baton markers. In terms of colour, you have four options: Onyx Black, Morning White and Royal Blue, with the fourth and fifth colour being Granit Grey and Tonka brown (sold out currently). The large centre section has a grained structure, and in the blue and grey dials there’s a subtle gradient shift to black towards the black minute ring. Central hands are finished with Super-LumiNova inserts, and if you’ve opted for the date function, you can find it inside a bevelled window at the bottom of the dial. What struck me most is the clean, minimalist design and high degree of legibility as a direct result, without feeling flat or boring.
Where things get even more interesting is with the movement. DUG Glashütte has selected several local strategic partners, one of which is Malon, a sister company to Bruno Söhnle. Malon is a precision engineering company that can modify and finish Sellita movements. As a result, the Sellita SW400 that’s used as a base is reworked into the Calibre DUG 400 in the heart of Glashütte, meeting the Saxony requirements I spoke of earlier. The movement itself delivers similar specs as it’s Swiss made origins, so running at a 28,800vph frequency and offers 40 hours of power reserve, but is finished to DUG’s request. This includes perlage on the bridges and plates, blued screws, and a custom openworked rotor.
The DUG Glashütte Purist Typ 2, and the other models for that matter, are offered on either a Buffalo leather strap or a stainless steel bracelet. The bracelet comes at a premium of EUR 100 over the leather-strap versions, and if you opt-in the date, it’s again a EUR 100 premium on top of the base price of EUR 1,199. That means DUG Glashütte slots into a nice and spacious gap in terms of pricing. Nomos and Union Glashütte are a bit further up the ladder, and let’s not even mention Glashütte Original, Moritz Grossmann or A. Lange & Söhne. Given the Purist’s compelling design, versatility and excellent value-for-money offer, DUG Glashütte might have set itself up for a prosperous future!
For more information, please visit DUG-Glashütte.com.
1 response
First saw the DUGs a few years ago on WatchUSeek. If you don’t like the Purist? They’ve got more classic deck/field/pilot setups, all showing the same core aspects.