Introducing Bruno Söhnle to the Windup Watch Shop
Blake Malin
Windup Watch Shop | July 9th, 2024
Over 175 years ago, Ferdinand Adolph Lange laid the cornerstone of watchmaking in the small Saxon town of Glashütte. After a 45-year hiatus under the East German socialist regime, his great-grandson kickstarted the revival of Glashütte's fine watchmaking industry. Over 30 years later, several other brands, including Bruno Söhnle, joined them. However, merely being in that area is insufficient for the name Glashütte to be displayed on the dial. Since 1906, the binding convention has been that more than 50 percent of the added value must be achieved in Glashütte in all essential manufacturing stages, with specific manufacturing steps required in Glashütte.
Founded in 2000, Bruno Söhnle is located in the heart of what is now considered the German horological equivalent of France's Champagne region. The brand's vision is to blend functional aesthetics with traditional craftsmanship seamlessly. Nearly a quarter century since its inception, Bruno Söhnle has become a gateway to the captivating world of traditional Glashütte watchmaking art. Their success is attributed to their design language, high-quality materials, and accessible price point. To welcome Bruno Söhnle to the Windup Watch Shop, we are starting with three collections: the Hamburg (two sizes), the slim Rondo, and the Turin in multiple colors.
The Hamburg collection is available in 42mm and 36mm diameters. These elegant timepieces are inspired by Glashütte's heritage and feature legible dials with delicate hands and refined details. Both sizes have fully polished stainless steel cases that are less than 11mm thick and have sapphire display case backs, allowing the automatic Sellita SW200-1 movement and its custom rotor to be admired. Furthermore, to meet Glashütte standards, Bruno Söhnle applies hand-finished perlage to the base plate, gear train, and automatic bridges, and the components are assembled with in-house thermally blued screws. Along with the two size choices, there are two available colors: flat white with fine contrasting black printing and sunburst black with fine white printing. All models are water-resistant to 100m and come with croc-embossed calfskin straps featuring folding clasps.
STARTING AT $1,810MORE FROM BRUNO SÖHNLE
The Rondo collection is Bruno Söhnle’s interpretation of a classic Bauhaus design with a twist. The seconds subdial is off-center at 7 o’clock, and the oversized date aperture is set at 2 o’clock to offset this unorthodox placement. The 38mm stainless steel cases are fully polished, and due to the ultra-thin Ronda 6004 quartz movement inside, the watch is only 6.2mm thick. Making this one supremely cuff-friendly and just like their mechanical watches, to meet Glashütte standards, these Swiss-made quartz movements have been decorated and assembled in-house with heat-blued screws. Two dial colors are available: a light brown with fine black printing that comes on a smooth black leather strap with a pin buckle and a white cream dial with the same black printing but on a matching 7-link steel bracelet.
SHOP NOW $720Everyone needs a proper Go Anywhere, Do Anything (GADA) watch, and the Turin collection from Bruno Söhnle meets all the criteria. These sporty and elegant watches measure 39.5mm in diameter and 11.8mm in thickness, suitable for wrists of all sizes. They are ideal for an evening out or any sporting activities, including swimming, as they are water-resistant to 100m. The watch's case back includes a viewing portal for admiring the Sellita SW200-1 movement and its custom rotor. To meet Glashütte standards, additional refinements include hand-finished perlage applied to the base plate, gear train, and automatic bridges. Furthermore, the components are assembled using in-house thermally blued screws. There are four available colors: black, grey, dark green, and, for the adventurous, lime green. All watches come with a matching 5-link stainless steel bracelet.
SHOP NOW $1,800