Uhrenfabrik Union

Movement: gilt movement, signed Glashütte Uhrenfabrik Union, bi-metallic compensation balance, Breguet over-coil blued steel balance spring, engraved and typical Glashütte form balance cock, diamond end-stone, precision regulator, highly polished striking and repeating hammers sounding on two coiled gongs, tandem winding for two trains, chronograph and split seconds mechanism visible on the back plate with matt ground and highly polished bevelled edges, movement stamped under the dial Dürrstein & Co. Glashütte and Dresden.



Dial: white enamel dial, arabic numerals, outer scale calibrated in red for 5ths of a second, sunken centre section signed Dürrstein & Co and Dresden & Glashütte i, Sa, four more sunken subsidiary dials, the first divided into 4 years and further divided into months for perpetual calendar and 30 minute register, signed Schaltjahr Wte Imerwährend, the second for date, the third for day and the fourth for constant seconds, constant 5ths of a second and further sunken section with aperture for moon-phases, blue enamel sky highlighted with gold moon and stars, blued steel and gold hands.



Case: 18k, polished cuvette, heavy pink gold case, stepped bezel, heavy hinge, back with coat of arms, heavy pendant ring, button for case front through winding crown, chronograph and split seconds buttons through band at 12 and 1.30, repeating trip slide at 7 in band, switches for strike/silent, grande/petite sonnerie, date, moon-phases, month and day under front bezel.



Complications: Grande and Petite sonnerie, mean time, chronograph, split seconds, perpetual calendar, day, date moon-phases, constant 5ths of a second, trip minute repeating.



Accompanied by:   Original red leather box with applied bronze coat of arms and glazed medallion.



 

THE UHRENFABRIK "UNION" SUPER COMPLICATION NO.41.313

The present lot is highly important in the history of Glashütte watchmaking and one of the most significant watches ever manufactured in Germany. Made in 1893, it was the first “Grande Complication" to be finished in the newly founded Glashütte Uhrenfabrik "Union" and the first ever manufactured with these complications. Even A. Lange & Söhne had not, at that date, constructed a watch as complex as this. Apart from the possible financial rewards such a project presented, two other factors motivated "Dürrstein" and "Union" to complete the challenge of producing this watch. Firstly, Union, as a new company, wanted to be taken seriously as a competitor to the long established and highly respected flagship Glashütte watchmaker, A. Lange & Söhne. Secondly, Union had two of the most talented Glashütte watchmakers in their employ: their director Julius Bergter and master watchmaker Martin Simmchen. With these two men, Union had the means to produce a truly exceptional watch and Bergter and Simmchen were put in charge of this “Grande Complication” project. Bergter worked also for Strasser and Rohde and taught in the Glashütte watch school. After Union’s bankruptcy, Simmchen became  a watchmaker for Lange & Söhne and, interestingly, worked on the last Tourbillon they made.

It is important to note that the signature stamp under the dial: "Dürrstein & Co." Glashütte and Dresden and the signature on the backplate: Uhrenfabrik "Union" Glashütte in Sachsen, combined with the exceptional finishing of the movement, underlines this watch as a Glashütte manufactured watch.

CHICAGO WORLD EXHIBITION 1893

The "Deutsche Uhrmacherzeitung", from 15^th March 1893, mentions the World Exhibition to take place the same autumn in Chicago and the fact that this watch would be presented as the masterpiece by “Union”. In the same article, it mentions that the watch took two years to complete. "Union" and "Dürrstein" won four gold medals for this watch at the Chicago Exhibition. The watch was sold at the Exhibition for 5,000 Reichsmarks, the value of a villa in Dresden at the same date.

PROVENANCE

The arms to the case back are those of Csáky de Kereszteg of Hungary. The watch was reputedly given to Pope Pius XI by a Csáky family member. Indeed, a medallion sold with the watch would seem to support this tradition.

A similar watch by Union with the same complications, is published in: Meis, R., A. Lange & Söhne, The Watchmakers of Dresden, 1997, p.274-275.

We are greatly indebted to Mr Schaarschmidt for his kind and scholarly assistance with the research of this watch. Mr Bernd Schaarschmidt, born in Thuringia in former East Germany, moved to West Germany after the country’s separation in 1953. Being an auto-mechanics specialist and having his childhood roots not far away from Glashütte, he became very interested at an early age in the history and techniques of the Glashütte watch industry. After the fall of the Berlin wall, he started his own 15 year intensive research on Glashütte and especially Dürrstein and Union. Owning workbooks and archives for these companies, he is regarded by many as the leading expert on "Union" and "Dürrstein". We would also like to thank Dr. Helmut Crott for his expertise and advice with our research.