Lang & Heyne Honor Glashütte's Clock Tower

The Dresden-based watch brand attracts attention with local heritage.

Few might suspect that Saxon watchmaking traditions can be traced back further than modern wristwatches or antique interior clocks. We can’t discuss the development of German watchmaking without mentioning the clock towers which once played an important role in the lives of townspeople.

The Dresden-based manufacturer Lang & Heyne decided to attract attention to its local heritage by transforming the clock on the protestant church of St. Wolfgang in Glashütte to create a wristwatch called Homage to the Glashütte Tower Clock.

Lang & Heyne’s geographical location isn't the only connection the company has with the tower clock on the church in Glashütte which dates back to 1521, built after Glashütte became recognized as a city in 1506. The church was renovated between the years 2007 and 2010 but the clock tower wasn't given any well-deserved TLC.

Lang & Heyne decided to take action when the company heard a memorial for Walter Lange would be erected in front of the church in September 2020 — another connection between the landmark and locality as a watchmaking hub. The watchmaker sponsored the Zachariä movement’s overhaul.

The work was carried out by a company called Uhrentechnik Vogler & Hippe GbR which was already familiar with the clock installed in the tower in 1936. The movement was created by Zachariä from Leipzig who studied at the local watchmaking school in Glashütte.

A German inscription above the clock’s dial reads "In Gott meine Arbeit und Zeit" (trans. "In God my work and time"). Lang & Heyne borrowed the sun- and moon-tipped hands for their Homage to the Glashütte Tower Clock from the tower clock  along with its dial.

The rose-gold base dial is set with deep-blue champlevé enamel. The shape of the numerals mirrors the Roman numerals on the historic dial of tower clock, which only appeared around the year 1840.

The clock didn't have a dial up until then, and had only chimed the time with bells. The dial is framed by a rose-gold case measuring 39.2 mm in diameter and 10.5 mm in height. Celestial bodies have been carried onto the movement's design as engravings.

The transparent caseback reveals the manually wound Caliber VI movement, which has a 55-hour power reserve. The three-hand movement created in adherence to the motto "back to our roots" continues the traditions of Caliber V, which also has a trigonal bridge.

The pivot for the balance wheel on the balance cock is topped with a diamond — one of the hallmarks of movements created by Lang & Heyne.