Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Wristwatch, Germany, 1975
- Maker / attribution
- Unrecorded in source
- Date
- 1975
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Germany
- Place
- Ruhla
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Holding institution
- German Clock Museum
- Accession / object no.
- Museu_ProvidedCHO_museum_digital_65319__technical_number_
- Catalogue title (original)
- Armbanduhr, VEB Uhrenkombinat Ruhla, DDR, um 1975 (German)
Record summary
Held and catalogued by German Clock Museum (object number Museu_ProvidedCHO_museum_digital_65319__technical_number_), this is a wristwatch, made in Ruhla, Germany, dated 1975. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. The record is illustrated with 1 photograph.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Catalogue description from German Clock Museum (German)
Armbanduhren mit Stoppfunktion, sogenannte Chronographen, sind nicht nur Stoppuhren, mit ihnen kann man nicht nur eine Zeitspanne messen, sie zeigen daneben auch weiterhin die Tageszeit an. Das Starten und Stoppen der Stoppfunktion erfolgt ohne Störung des laufenden Uhrwerks. Entsprechend kompliziert und teuer sind die Chronographenwerke. Zwar gab es schon lange auch billige Chronographen mit Stoppfunktion, bei diesen wurde jedoch das ganze Uhrwerk gestoppt und damit auch die Anzeige der Tageszeit. 1969 präsentierte der VEB Uhrenkombinat in Ruhla (DDR) einen echten Chronographen mit einer verblüffend simplen Mechanik. Das westdeutsche Versandhaus Quelle bot diese Uhr als Preisknüller für DM 45.- an. Das billigste Modell eines anderen Herstellers kostete demgegenüber DM 159.-, also mehr als dreimal so viel. (Deutsches Uhrenmuseum Furtwangen)
Shown in the original language of the source catalogue. An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
Atlas type guide
Wristwatches
Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.
After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.
What to look for
- The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
- The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
- Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
- Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
- Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
- Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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