Stowa
STOWA is a German luxury watchmaker based in Engelsbrand. The name is a portmanteau of the founder's name, Storz Walter. STOWA is owned by Jörg Schauer, who also owns the Schauer watch brand and the DUROWE watch movement brand.
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| Privately held company | |
| Industry | Watch manufacturing |
| Founded | 1927 by Walter Storz |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Jörg Schauer (CEO) |
| Products | Wristwatches, accessories |
| Website | www.stowa.com |
Timeline
1927: Foundation of STOWA by Walter Storz in Hornberg/Kinzigtal, Germany. The name derives from "STO," for Storz and "WA," for Walter.
1935: Move to a new rented building in Pforzheim, Germany.
1938: Construction of own STOWA building in Bismarckstraße 54 in Pforzheim, Germany.
1938: Presentation of Bauhaus watches (on which today's Antea line is based).
1938: AbwehrZeitArbeit ausf.b developed.
1939: Production launch of STOWA Marine Beobachtungsuhr ("Observation Watch") and the big pilot B-watches (55mm). Both basic designs can be found in several variations within the current line.
1945: On February 23, 1945 the STOWA building destroyed by the great bombardment on Pforzheim.
1945: Start of STOWA's new watch factory in Rheinfelden, Germany, near Basle.
1947: Walter Storz becomes founding member of the Watch Industry Association.
1951: Construction of STOWA's new factory in Rheinfelden. Head office in Pforzheim is rebuilt in parallel.
1954: Foundation of the RUFA (Rheinfelder Uhrteilefabrik). Leads to production of RUFA-Anti-Shocks for PUW and DUROWE movements. Rheinfelden factory is extended.
1960: Werner Storz, son of Walter Storz, joins the company and is in charge of sales overseas.
1963: Protection of trademarks for STOWA Seatime (prototype for present-day Seatime collection).
1966: Rheinfelden factory is extended.
1970: STOWA launches the "smallest alarm clock of the world" at the Hannover watch fair. Collection comprises approximately 1,000 different watch models ("Rheinfelder Anzeiger". April 29, 1970.).
1974: Walter Storz dies. STOWA becomes partner and member of the German watch cooperation Pallas, which has the primary goal of supplying specialized dealers and retailers with a collection of market-conform and trend-setting watches, concentrated advertising, and the maximum service.
1996: Jörg Schauer takes over STOWA and all trademark rights from Werner Storz.
1998: Werner Storz dies.
1997: STOWA's 70th anniversary. Presentation of a limited Fliegeruhr ("Pilot Watch") with Unitas 6300 N.
2002: STOWA's 75th company anniversary. Presentation of the limited Fliegeruhr "Bremen D 1167." This limited edition is a tribute to the airplane called "Bremen," the first airplane to make a nonstop flight across Atlantic Ocean from East to West in 1928. (The flight from East to West was the more difficult path than the flight of Charles Lindbergh in 1927 from West to East.)
2007: STOWA's 80th anniversary. Presentation of limited flieger watches: Flieger Automatic and Flieger Original.
2008/2009: Move to the newly constructed production building, including the STOWA in-house museum
2010: Presentation of the STOWA Chronograph, which is based in detail on a former pocket watch. Launch of the Flieger Baumuster B with B-Dial. (Only 42 pieces of the original 55mm Pilot B-Dial watch have been produced during WW2, making the original Pilot B-Uhr is one of the rarest big pilot watches ever.)
Watch models
At present, Stowa has several model lines:
- Antea: Replica of an original STOWA design from the 1930s.
- Chronograph: Chronograph models based on historic pocket watch designs.
- Flieger (Pilot): Homage to the original Beobachtungsuhren (B-Uhr) design.
- Marine: Based on the marine chronometers used in navigation.
- Partitio: Bauhaus design inspired watch sold exclusively through Manufactum retail stores. This is also a replica of a STOWA design from the 1930s.
- Prodiver/Seatime: Sports diving watches that are water resistant to 1000m/300m. The dial and hand design of these are inspired by vintage STOWA Seatimes.
The movements in STOWA's watches are mostly ETA movements with significant decoration and, in the case of the Airman Original, mechanical modifications. Since Jörg Schauer owns the DUROWE (Deutsche Uhrenrohwerke) movement brand, it is anticipated that Durowe movements will be used in STOWA watches in the future.
Distribution
Since around 2001/02, STOWA has sold the majority of its watches directly to the customer, through its website or from its factory in Engelsbrand. STOWA claim [1] this allows them to keep their distribution costs down, thereby keeping prices lower than if their watches were sold through a wholesale & retail network. Manufactum stores sell a range of Stowa watches with one model, the Partitio, available exclusively.