The staff list reads like that of an average agricultural business: one painter's assistant, twelve straw-weavers, four hirelings, one farm-hand, one quarry worker and one vineyard assistant. But that is far from the truth. The list refers to the first group of apprentices to learn the trade of watchmaker in Glashütte, Saxony, in 1845. The aim was to alleviate some of the poverty and unemployment in the poorly developed Erz mountain region. Over the decades that followed, a watchmaking industry of international renown evolved from these modest beginnings. Finely crafted, precision pocket-watches delighted affluent connoisseurs and enthusiasts from all over the world.
On the outbreak of World War I, the market for expensive precision watches collapsed virtually overnight. A decade of turbulence and upheaval was to follow. In 1926, the situation in Glashütte was desolate. December 1926 saw the foundation of a group of companies which, it was hoped, would put an end to the structural crisis. Uhren-Rohwerke-Fabrik Glashütte AG - UROFA - and Uhrenfabrik Glashütte AG - UFAG were set up, headed by jurist Dr. Ernst Kurtz. Apart from the initial production of superior quality pocket-watches, under the management of Dr. Ernst Kurtz and a few competent associates, the companies developed and produced their own ebauches for wristwatches. This led to a series of movements that could easily stand comparison with the competition from Switzerland. The top quality models were entitled "Tutima", a brand name chosen not without good reason. The founders had derived the name from t he Latin adjective "tutus", which translates as "safe" or "protected". The product quality and the distribution exclusively through selected stockists soon earned Tutima an excellent reputation. Some 1000 employees enjoyed a secure livelihood.
One of the undoubted highlights of the early Tutima watches was the last and arguably most sophisticated development by UROFA-UFAG, the Tutima Classic Flieger Chronograph. This wrist chronograph set new aesthetic and functional standards and is regarded as the model for many subsequent developments.
