Explore D. Dornbluth & Sohn

In Kalbe, in Germany’s Altmark region, D. Dornbluth & Sohn makes watches with the measured character of old marine chronometers. Founded in 2001, the family workshop grew from the shared mechanical interests of watchmakers Dieter Dornblüth and his son Dirk Dornblüth. The watches remain refreshingly direct: clear Arabic numerals, blued hands, generously spaced dials, and cases that give the movement room to breathe.

The 99 family is the natural starting point. Its hand-wound movements begin with Unitas architecture, but extensive workshop-made components and finishing give them a distinctly different identity. Broad plates, engraved details, and blued screws reward a look through the back. The 99.1 puts particular emphasis on its large subsidiary seconds display; the 99.2 adds a power-reserve indication without abandoning that instrument-like clarity.

The Quintus collection takes the workshop’s ambitions further with its own movement architecture. It is the mechanical counterpoint to the familiar 99 models, retaining the same restrained dial language while giving the curious owner a different construction to study.