Our region in Thuringia has been a center of metal processing and precision mechanics for centuries. The watch industry in Ruhla was launched in 1892 by the Thiel brothers. In their metal goods factory they started the production of pocket watches. In order to make their purchase possible also for broad, not so wealthy customers, they developed and built parallel tools and machines for the clock production. This marked the birth of industrial watch production in Thuringia.
The company expanded steadily and distinguished itself as one of the largest and most important watch manufacturers in Germany. From its beginnings to the present day, standards were set here and trends were set in motion. Innovative products and ideas were constantly coming out of Ruhla. These include, for example, in the development of pocket watches, a version with a numerical display based on an 18-inch movement in 1922, watches for Junkers machines in the 1930s and later the patented contact-controlled electronic wristwatch, the development of the LCD display, patented electric wristwatches in 1963, the analog quartz wristwatches in 1976 and the first LCD wristwatches in 1979. Watches from Ruhla flew with the "Soyuz" to special measurements in space and in 1995 a new generation of radio-controlled wristwatches was developed, which are still in demand around the world.
