The German watch brand Tutima has endured some of history’s most disastrous events. In turn, Tutima tells its fraught history through its watch designs by commemorating its milestones with significant releases or by paying homage to its original collections with refreshed designs, complete with reverse-engineered movements.

Here, we explore the Glashütte watchmaker’s most historically significant watches, from their original designs through their modern iterations and contemporary homages.

Tutima Military Chronograph ref. 798 (1985)

In 1985, Tutima was contracted by the German army to develop a military watch. Tutima, in turn, developed the Military Chronograph Ref. 798. Unlike the pilot’s watch from 1941, the Tutima Chronograph 798 had to be updated and modernized to withstand jet speeds and an acceleration of 7 Gs. The chronograph was quickly adopted as the standard equipment for German pilots (German Bundeswehr), a designation the Ref. 798 has held ever since.

Hommage (2011)
In 1945, mere hours before the official end of World War II, Glashutte was bombed, and Tutima’s employees immediately fled to West Germany. Here, the displaced Tutima brand began laying roots and resumed production. But, on May 12, 2011, 22 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Tutima finally returned to Glashütte.

To commemorate this historical moment, Tutima debuted the Hommage, the first minute repeater to be completely developed and produced in Glashütte. (The Hommage uses the German spelling of homage.) Given the celebratory mood, Tutima incorporated a “joyful” sounding chime into the Hommage’s design: activate the slide and the two gongs relay the precise time with this charming acoustic signal.

M2 (2013)
Tutima’s M2 model is an impressive update to the German watchmaker’s 1984 NATO chronograph—which, as you might surmise, was commissioned by NATO with a lengthy list of required specs. The original Tutima NATO needed to be pressure resistant for up to 15,00 meters above sea level and withstand acceleration up to 7 Gs.

The modern M2 surpassed even that high-reaching criteria. Its case is made of a nickel-iron alloy that prevents magnetic field streams from ever reaching the sensitive movement (a Tutima 521 caliber) housed inside. For all its professional-grade precision and durability, the sporty and rugged Tutima M2 is an ideal watch for the active wearer.

Tempostopp Flyback Chronograph (2017)
Following the late World War II air raid on Glashütte in 1945, any remaining military factories (including Tutima’s factories, which produced pilot watches) were dismantled and brought to the Soviet Union. In this takeover, the blueprints for Tutima’s Caliber 59 were lost.

The Caliber 59 was specially designed for Tutima’s pilot’s chronograph, which featured a flyback (or tempostopp) function. It was also the first German chronograph with that flyback function and, at its time, was the most popular and famous watch to come from Glashutte.

Following Tutima’s long-awaited return to Glashütte from West Germany in 2011, Tutima’s watchmakers set about devotedly reverse-engineering the Caliber 59. Without any plans to reference, the watchmakers had to dissect an original watch and rebuild the movement—albeit with some thoughtful updates to improve durability and precision. (Get a closer look at the original and modern Tempostopp in this fascinating video on TrueFacet Brand Boutique.)

The Tutima Tempostopp is steeped in history and is a remarkable representation of Tutima’s past and future as a leading watchmaker.