ReviewThe Dawn Of The Dress Watch For Tutima Glashütte: Introducing Their Patria Collection

In all of Europe, the 1920s signified the age of awakening. From technical innovation to cultural metamorphoses, the era of the ‘golden twenties’ was rife with transformation. Glashütte—a city well known for its timepieces since the 19th century—was a part of this awakening. During this time, two watchmaking companies were founded—Uhren-Rohwerke-Fabrik Glashütte AG (UROFA) and Uhrenfabrik Glashütte AG, known as UFAG. Both the companies were led by Dr Ernst Kurtz who immediately recognised the bright future of wristwatches. This led to the birth of the watch brand ‘Tutima’, a word derived from Latin, meaning ‘safe and secure’. Thanks to the incredible quality and superior technology, Tutima Glashütte watches quickly made a name for themselves. However, a devastating air raid before the end of the war destroyed the factory, which led to the company almost on the brink of extinction. But the entrepreneurial spirit of Dr Kurtz prevailed. The company moved to Ganderkesee, West Germany in the latter stages of World War II. Under the leadership of Dieter Delecate, the brand continued to develop and produce legendary timepieces renowned for its robust instrumental pilot and dive watches while trying to get back to its ancestral home in Glashütte. Among the modern-day offerings of Tutima Glashütte is the Patria collection of dress watches, in several variations. However, the dress genre is not what Tutima Glashütte was known for initially.

The Dawn Of the Dress Watch Era For Tutima Glashütte And The Patria

For the longest time, Tutima Glashütte as a brand was best known for its sporty and tool watches. From the professional timing instrument M2 to the Saxon One featuring a GPS tracker and the Grand Flieger—a reedition of the historical pilots chronograph from the 1940s—each timepiece has earned acclaim thanks to its reliability and functionality.

The former Uhrenfabrik Glashütte AG (UFAG) watch factory, with the Dr Ernst Kurtz administrative building in the foreground, before they were destroyed and dismantled in World War II

Jurist and entrepreneur Dr Ernst Kurtz, whose reliable and secure watches were christened ‘Tutima’, which is Latin for ‘safe, secure'

On May 12, 2011, the brand finally celebrated its return to Glashütte, with the opening of a new brand manufacture. This momentous occasion was commemorated with the unveiling of a minute repeater named the Tutima Glashütte Hommage Minute Repeater—the brand’s first formal or dress watch. This timepiece highlighted the brand’s strategy of moving from functional, professional watches to making formal watches powered by its own in-house movement.

Tutima Glashütte Patria: Masterful In Every Detail

The year was 2013 when Tutima Glashütte expanded their dress watch collection with the launch of the Patria line. This new collection features elegant timepieces with refined, hand-finished, in-house movements, which paid tribute to the deep-rooted horological Glashütte traditions. Noble, beautiful and precise, each timepiece in the Patria collection is a reminder of the brand’s long-standing relationship with superior manufacturing skill and centuries-old horological traditions.

The Tutima Glashütte Patria line was first introduced with two versions, each of which combined high-end construction in elegant aesthetics and accessible price points. The collection featured a strict three-hand version along with a dual-time edition. Each piece was powered by an exquisite in-house movement like the calibre 617—derived from the complicated movement of the Hommage, an opaline silver white dial and an 18-karat rose gold case. The Patria models come fitted with dials housing either baton hour markers or Arabic numeral hour markers. The minimalistic dial, with its recessed centre and a guilloche pattern for the small seconds sub-dial, offers a remarkable balance between elegance and legibility.

Tutima Glashütte Patria Shop The Collection

Over subsequent years, the German watch manufacturer has released additional versions within the Patria line. This includes some references in steel, a GMT version powered by Tutima’s calibre 619, a Patria Small Seconds edition featuring a three-hander with a small seconds counter at six o’clock, a Patria Dual Time housing a coaxial GMT hand inside the subsidiary seconds dial and finally an edition with a power reserve indicator.

The exquisite in-house movement like the calibre 617 is derived from the complicated movement of the Hommage

Available in either 18-karat gold or steel editions, the Tutima Glashütte Patria collection has also expanded into timepieces now available in different dial colours like the Patria admiral blue and grey versions. Most of the watches in the collection come in a fitting 43mm case structure with soft curves and signature guards hugging the fluted crown. The presence of the plunging lugs on the curved side of the case allows the watch to offer a snug fit on the wrist. Water-resistant to 50m, the case comes with see-through sapphire crystal on the caseback, increasing the timepiece’s appeal for a wider audience looking for a technically sound, robust and dressy timepiece.

The Tutima Glashütte Patria collection takes the watchmaking traditions of Glashütte and brings it to the forefront, thereby setting a higher standard which is welcomed by watch lovers across the globe.