Union Glashütte was founded by Johannes Dürrstein in 1893 and initially named Glashütter Uhrenfabrik Union. The goal was to produce affordable watches within the more expensive Glashütte market, not by compromising quality, but by keeping movements relatively simple and removing precious metals. Working with master watchmaker Julius Bergter, Dürrstein also produced more premium and complicated pocket watches in limited numbers.
The company was successful for several decades, but things declined in the late 1920s and by 1933, Dürrstein closed its doors for good. Fast forward to 1996 and the Union Glashütte brand was revived as a subsidiary of Glashütte Original. Just a few years later in 2000, it became a subsidiary of The Swatch Group and was positioned as an attainable luxury watchmaker with prices generally between CHF 1,500 and 3,500. This maintained the original ethos of quality yet affordability within Glashütte.
Although a German brand, The Swatch Group provides Swiss ETA movements for the watches, but in 2008 a proper manufacturing facility was opened in Glashütte. Many German parts are now made in-house such as rotors, bridges and so on. German law states that a minimum of 50% of components by value must be produced in Glashütte to be designated as a Glashütte watchmaker, similar to Swiss laws for a “Swiss Made” designation. There are currently seven diverse collections in the brand’s portfolio and all are officially designated as Glashütte production.
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