Löbner Watches, “Vom Guten das Beste” or The Best of The Best

Swiss watchmaking captures all the attention. The most prestigious brands, trusted by the market, are “Swiss Made”, which acts as an absolute guarantee. The only one to dominate the watch landscape, historically, outside of Switzerland, is the great Japanese classic: Seiko. On closer inspection, however, watch-related know-how has developed outside of Switzerland, particularly in Eastern Germany. Many brands were active there, some until the Second World War, before being caught up in the conflict and disappearing – until the rebirth of some of the most famous ones, like A. Lange & Söhne and Glashütte Original. Others, famous in their time, now return to the stage. Take the case of Löbner, whose historical legacy is incredibly dense. This old German brand, characterised by a rich history linked to the measurement of short times, relives again today.

We’re talking to Emmanuel Dietrich, managing partner of a brand whose exclusive products are defined by a strong identity.

Pascal Brandt, MONOCHROME – How was the brand relaunched?

Emmanuel Dietrich – Matthias Düwel, our founder, expressed an interest in the history of German luxury and relaunched the brand. Having found that most of the suppliers of the Kaiser’s court had disappeared at the end of World War II, he started to collect old brands with an extremely rich past. So far, he has accumulated nearly 60 brands and created the holding “Jandorf”, whose mission is to redevelop these names and restore their past prestige. 

In the portfolio, there are two watch brands, Gerstenberger and Löbner; the latter was the first of the two to be relaunched. As an example, you can visit www.josephinen.com, which is a drinking glass factory that has already been re-launched with great success by the group.

The products are developed and manufactured in Germany and Switzerland. Which components/parts are used?

We are “Made in Germany” except for the movements, which come from La Joux-Perret in La Chaux-de-Fonds and are then customised in Germany. The dials are produced in the Black Forest, and the cases in Pforzheim, near Stuttgart, where our assembly workshop is also located.

Do you think “Made in Germany” is a powerful marketing argument?

Yes, we think so. As we’ve seen with LVMH’s recent investment in Rimowa and Birkenstock, the “Made in Germany” label is highly valued in several regions of the world, including Asia, and it’s based on a real and very strong culture of engineering and quality. This is the tradition we follow at Löbner. As an Airbus specialist said when asked about the difference between France and Germany in terms of production (Airbus is located between Toulouse and Hamburg), he replied: “In France, we do things as well as necessary; in Germany, we do them as well as possible. This sometimes leads to over-quality, but it’s precisely this obsession with mechanical and functional perfection that makes the difference in the perception of products and on the market.”

How is the brand positioned? 

The brand is positioned at the top of the range because it’s the only position that allows us to meet our quality standards. The medium-term goal is to develop a “Made in Germany” movement and move upmarket. This is our vision, and we intend to achieve it!

Do you wish to remain exclusive? What is your production volume and average price?

Yes, we are an exclusive brand aimed at cultured collectors who do not want to have a watch that can be seen on every wrist. At the moment, we produce only 200 to 300 pieces per year, and we are giving ourselves time to grow before slowly increasing the cadence. Our average price is between EUR 8,000 and 14,000, VAT included. So, an average of  EUR 11,000.

How does a brand like Löbner find its place in the market (overcrowded with brands/products, extremely competitive)?

First, of course, by relying on the very rich history of the brand, which is atypical and really arouses curiosity. Rather than a traditional watchmaker as we know it, Löbner was more of a high-tech innovator at the beginning of the last century. This is a little-known facet of the history of time measurement. With the arrival of quartz and then processors, we have forgotten what an incredible dose of inventiveness it took a hundred years ago to measure time accurately enough to meet the needs of industry and sports. Löbner was at the forefront and one of the market leaders. 

And then, of course, by the design and consistency of the image. We have a very strong range that respects the aesthetic principles of the Bauhaus and which is distinguished by a crown protector (which also protects the movement of the chronograph by preventing the triggering of it during the setting of the time), which has become a signature and is liked a lot.

What is your strategy in terms of expansion (1. Products, 2. distribution), knowing that you are distributed exclusively via Bucherer?

We are not exclusive to Bucherer; we only launched the parts exclusively at their Maison. We are slowly expanding distribution, starting with Japan. Asia is our priority after Europe, but here too, we are taking the time to do things right. We also hold a lot of events with the watch clubs to explain the brand, its history, and its design. It is through enthusiasts that the rebirth of a name like ours occurs.

What is the profile of the Löbner client?

He is a collector who already has many classics and is interested in the history of watchmaking. A collector who wants to have pieces that he does not find on everyone’s wrist; somebody who is thirsty for learning and owning “talking pieces”.

Why should I buy a Löbner watch?

Because you like it. After all the rational justifications of the world, I remain convinced that any purchase – even in a collection – must be supported by real emotion when encountering the object.

A Pioneer of modern sports timekeeping

Franz Ludwig Löbner founded the Löbner watch factory in Berlin in 1862. Early in his career, the future court watchmaker began specialising in a demanding field – chronographs and measuring instruments for military, sport and industrial applications. Driven by the inventive spirit and innovative strength of its founder, Löbner’s company pioneered innovations in mobile short-time measurement throughout the 82 years of its existence and gained customers all over the world through its unequivocal commitment to the highest standards.

Complex tertiary counters were once among LÖBNER’s outstanding products: highly precise stopwatches with which the company was already capable of mechanically measuring time intervals down to the 1/100th of a second by 1881. In 1892, LÖBNER developed an impressive, three-meter-tall military clock that could measure time intervals accurately to 1/1000th of a second.

In addition to particularly precise chronoscopes that measured time intervals accurate to 1/1000th of a second, LÖBNER supplied the German Reichstag a clock system with a perpetual calendar in 1894. With its large clocks, LÖBNER also became an important timekeeper at Europe’s renowned horse racetracks. From the mid-1920s, LÖBNER entered new territory and became a pioneer in modern sports timekeeping.

The world’s first timekeeping system with a time printer was developed by LÖBNER in Berlin. These electromechanical systems were used at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam, Lake Placid, and finally in Berlin in 1936. In the 1930s, LÖBNER documented, among other things, the legendary world record set by Rudolf Caracciola, who reached a record speed of 432.7 km/h on the highway connecting Frankfurt to Darmstadt in 1938.

“LÖBNER created clocks that scientifically performed what was expected of them: precisely measuring fifths, tenths, hundredths, and thousandths of a second”, says Thomas Schraven, author of the reference book on the brand.

More details at lbnr.com.