Mine does say it in German at the bottom of dial

 

Yes, the thing is, some have that, but not all, that's what makes me wonder. The price difference is nonexistent, so, it's not like the "Maybe not made in Germany" ones are any cheaper.

 

France. This is French brand as far as I know, was located in France and Switzerland. Their gold plated, traditional watches are very attractive and go for 2000+ at auctions. The modern German incarnation is abominable marketing shtick.

 

You are sure you got the history of Guinand right ? To me it does not look that way. Since 2018 Mr. Klüh is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Montres Guinand S.A., in Biezwil, see Zefix, CHE-107.994.277.

History - Guinand Pilot Watches

www.guinand-uhren.de

 

Guinand Watches – Beans & Bezels

www.beansandbezels.com

In short: started in Switzerland, now produced in Germany (Frankfurt). Long version below.

Guinand was born in Switzerland (1865), and in 1881 they released their own chronograph. Over the next two decades they improved upon their chronograph movement and gradually switched from pocket watches to wrist watches. In the mid 1900s, the company remained family owned and run, producing intricate chronographs and worked as a supplier to bigger well established brands at the time. In 1960, things appear to get interesting when Helmut Sinn became one of their biggest accounts, and tasked Guinand with manufacturing watches for Sinn. H. Sinn founded Sinn in 1961 and was intent on direct sales of watches to the end customer, a practice that Guinand follows to this day. H. Sinn’s motto of making watches that were “as perfect as possible, but only as expensive as necessary” still echoes through Guinand’s design and pricing. Guinand manufactured watches for Sinn until the late 80s / early 90s, and after his retirement from Sinn, H. Sinn took over Guinand from the family and moved the company to Frankfurt (Germany). H. Sinn retired once again at the age of 90 but the company continued to operate until 2014. Guinand is currently owned (since 2015) and operated by Matthias Klüh, an engineer and avid watch collector.

 

So I'm not still sure about this. Is there anywhere where this can be checked legally? It could be another DuFa...

 

It is not another DuFa. It is a legit enterprise with Made in Germany products. Met with Guinand‘s CEO on a regulary basis (Baselworld, Munichtime, Watchtime Düsseldorf). Faithful to the brand’s motto ‘’Handmade in Frankfurt am Main’, all major production steps do happen in Germany: cases, hands are developed, constructed and produced in Germany. Assembly and regulation, as well as QC are done in-house in Frankfurt.
Before leaving the Guinand premises all watches have to pass a one-week performance test. Guinand is a fly-under-the-radar-brand and an alternative to Sinn watches. Imho Guinand watches offer an excellent vfm ratio, a microbrand worth a consideration if it comes to Flieger inspired chronographs.

You will find some information on Guinand on www.fliegerfriday.com. Bhanu Chopra added some bits to the bites and I am happy I could add some details. And there‘s the Guinand appreciation thread which is also a recommendation for Guinand: The Guinand Appreciation Thread

 

History - Guinand Pilot Watches

www.guinand-uhren.de

A Trip to Frankfurt: Visiting Guinand and Sinn

A w&w reader took a trip to Frankfurt and visited the Guinand and Sinn showrooms. Here is a recount of his trip.

wornandwound.com

GUINAND WATCHES - MasterHorologer

Guinand is a watch brand based in Frankfurt, Germany. The brand was originally founded in 1865 in Switzerland. Since the year 2000, the company has been operating from Germany. Since 1865, Guinand has been continuously building mechanical watches of the highest quality. It is not only one of the...

masterhorologer.com

Flieger Friday: Modern Fliegers and The History of Guinand – Flieger Friday

fliegerfriday.com

Guinand Fliegeruhren Frankfurt am Main | Frankfurt

Guinand Fliegeruhren Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt. 1,288 likes · 8 talking about this. Offizielle Facebook Seite der Guinand Uhren Frankfurt am Main

www.facebook.com

Guinand Frankfurt | Öffnungszeiten | Telefon | Adresse

Uhr, Uhrmacher & Feinmechanik | ⌚ Öffnungszeiten | ✉ Adresse | ☎ Telefonnummer | ✅ Angebot anfordern | ➤ Hausener Weg 61 - 60489 Frankfurt

www.11880.com

 

You seem to be laboring under the assumption that if a watch doesn’t say it was made in Germany it wasn’t. Simply a false assumption. My Sinn EZM3F doesn’t say Made in Germany anywhere on it, but I know for a fact it was made in Frankfurt at the Sinn factory.

 

 

I recently discovered the brand Guinand. I like the fact that they make watches smaller than 40mm and I like their designs too. I've been reading about them and it seems like they manufacture most of their watches in Germany, but then "Made in Germany" isn't anywhere to be seen at least in the models I'm interested in.

According to their About page:


So I assume other than those pilot watches, they're not made in Germany.

Not that a mostly Chinese made watch would deter me from buying, but I'm curious, where are they really made? I assume if "Made in Germany" isn't in their dials it's becaus ethy're not made there, as usually that's a selling point.

Thanks!

Back in the 50-70 Harry Steele and his brother Sidney Steele moved operations to México and created HASTE and SIDNEY watches. Both with Swiss and German componentes assembled in México. Great watches. All said Swiss Made. Factory closed in the 1980s.

 

How is that related to Guinand? If you have any hesitations, simply dont buy. We are a growing group of highly loyal followers of the brand. I personally own two of their chronos now, and is about to pull the trigger on their new Startfighter II. The support and dedication from Guinand, is above what I have ever experienced before.

 

To the OP and others who chimed in. Mr Klueh is pragmatic! Here is a partial quote from him in an email exchange I had with Guinand (late 2019) concerning this exact issue ... "Made in Germany"?:
"When I took over the company 5 years ago I decided to print "HERGESTELLT IN DEUTSCHLAND" on any new dial (if there was enough space for this long text) - as Made in Germany is a declaration that does not imply that the main components of the watch are made in Germany or even Europe. After a while lot of our customers expressed that they would like to see "Frankfurt" on the dial - instead of the long (and small size) "HERGESTELLT IN DEUTSCHLAND". So any new designed dial has "Frankfurt" on the dial.


I hope this background info helps you to decide for one of our watches.


Best Regards

Dipl. Ing. Matthias Klueh"

I was very impressed that the CEO reads potential customer inquiry and then personally responds, just don't see that in the USA.

As previously noted in this thread, Mr Klueh reiterated in our email that other than the clock hands and movement which are Swiss, the rest is of German origin and manufacture.

Petra went out of her way to spec a watch exactly as I wanted and one that was technically no longer offered! Guinand's customer service, transparency and product quality are all impeccable.