The village of Glashütte was first mentioned in a document in 1445 as Glasehutte. After the discovery of silver ore around 1490, a rapid economic upswing began and in 1506 it was granted to town charter by Duke Georg of Saxony.
In the eastern mountains of Saxony, lying in the Müglitztal valley, a first new era began in 1845. Ferdinand Adolph Lange laid the foundation stone for the Glashütte watch industry, which is famous throughout the world today, with start-up financing from the Royal Saxon government. Mr. Lange began with the training of the first watchmakers, and despite considerable initial difficulties, the watch and precision mechanics industry became the economic backbone of the city from around 1875. It was followed by Julius Assmann, Moritz Grossmann and many other gifted watchmakers, who achieved their aims in their profession and carried it into the 20th century.
After the bombing and looting at the end of the 2nd World War, the remaining companies were nationalized and combined in the VEB “Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe” – a hibernation that lasted until the fall of the Wall. Walter Lange founded “Lange Uhren GmbH” on 7 December 1990 – exactly 145 years to the day after its founding by his great-grandfather – and thus gave the second go-ahead for modern times, many old companies resumed operations and new ones settled down.
Today more than 1500 people work in the heart of the Müglitz valley, and we are three of them.
For us, building watches is not just business – it is an important part of our lives. To design, construct, manufacture and decorate them by ourselves, to know every single square millimetre in detail, this is the living claim of our manufactory.
Through many years of supplying local companies, we have acquired the knowledge and skills to manufacture our own products, which rightly bear the designation of source “Glashütte”. A small team of highly specialized watchmakers realizes the essential part of the activities in our company from the first pencil stroke to the finished watch.
Today we proudly regard ourselves as the smallest independent watch manufacturer from Glashütte.
Independent design – no Glashütte baroque!
Our first two models, ARES Racing and ARES Nightflight, are inspired by the love of motorsport, adding sporty design and modern colouring. Perfect readability at night, a unique sight by day – watches made in and for the 21st century.
Sturdy cases that don’t shy away from everyday life, reliable movements that emphasize their Glashütte origins – that’s what ARES watches stand for.
Who the heck are we? Three watchmakers, three friends:
Donat Kornagel, born 1977, owner, master watchmaker, designer, programmer, CNC specialist.
Eric Wolf, born 1987, watchmaker, specialist for watch assembly and CNC surface treatment.
Vincent Kuge, born in 1998, watchmaker, specialist for surface treatment and movement assembly.
In our manufactory we display a spectrum of activities that others perform with a multiple of employees. We do most of the construction, manufacturing, surface treatment, electroplating and assembly of our movements and watches ourselves, and what we are not yet able to do, we learn.
Why do we do this? Because we take our profession literally. Because we love it. Because we are not a manufacturer who tells you stories. We write our own history.
Assembly of complex mechanical assemblies and components
In the field of surface treatment, many activities are carried out by hand which require a high degree of patience and skills. Screws, levers, ratchets, springs, small plates, bridges or wheels are grinded or polished by hand. We have the skills to finish watch parts to the highest possible finish and combine traditional techniques with modern equipment. Patience and time are the hallmarks of all our parts, from the main plate to the gold chaton.
Our machinery currently consists of:
KERN MMT 3-axis CNC milling machine with 24 tool places, with 3R clamping systems
LUXTURN automatic lathe with turret for 8 tools
MITUTOYO Quickscope 3-axis CNC measuring machine
KOSY A3 CNC portal milling machine
KOSY A2 CNC portal milling machine with rotary table
various conventional watchmaker lathes for various activities
High-quality testing and measuring equipment in all production areas
We assemble all watch parts ourselves, from the first bearing jewel to the last screw.
In our assembly department we have 4 fully equipped workplaces with all necessary tools at our disposal.
High-quality, carefully treated and regularly maintained tools, self-made special tools and devices are the basis of a clean and accurate assembly. We do not take apart again what once works, as other manufacturers would have us believe… We do it right the first time!
The village of Glashütte was first mentioned in a document in 1445 as Glasehutte. After the discovery of silver ore around 1490, a rapid economic upswing began and in 1506 it was granted to town charter by Duke Georg of Saxony.
In the eastern mountains of Saxony, lying in the Müglitztal valley, a first new era began in 1845. Ferdinand Adolph Lange laid the foundation stone for the Glashütte watch industry, which is famous throughout the world today, with start-up financing from the Royal Saxon government. Mr. Lange began with the training of the first watchmakers, and despite considerable initial difficulties, the watch and precision mechanics industry became the economic backbone of the city from around 1875. It was followed by Julius Assmann, Moritz Grossmann and many other gifted watchmakers, who achieved their aims in their profession and carried it into the 20th century.
After the bombing and looting at the end of the 2nd World War, the remaining companies were nationalized and combined in the VEB “Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe” – a hibernation that lasted until the fall of the Wall. Walter Lange founded “Lange Uhren GmbH” on 7 December 1990 – exactly 145 years to the day after its founding by his great-grandfather – and thus gave the second go-ahead for modern times, many old companies resumed operations and new ones settled down.
Today more than 1500 people work in the heart of the Müglitz valley, and we are three of them.
For us, building watches is not just business – it is an important part of our lives. To design, construct, manufacture and decorate them by ourselves, to know every single square millimetre in detail, this is the living claim of our manufactory.
Through many years of supplying local companies, we have acquired the knowledge and skills to manufacture our own products, which rightly bear the designation of source “Glashütte”. A small team of highly specialized watchmakers realizes the essential part of the activities in our company from the first pencil stroke to the finished watch.
Today we proudly regard ourselves as the smallest independent watch manufacturer from Glashütte.
Independent design – no Glashütte baroque!
Our first two models, ARES Racing and ARES Nightflight, are inspired by the love of motorsport, adding sporty design and modern colouring. Perfect readability at night, a unique sight by day – watches made in and for the 21st century.
Sturdy cases that don’t shy away from everyday life, reliable movements that emphasize their Glashütte origins – that’s what ARES watches stand for.
Who the heck are we? Three watchmakers, three friends:
Donat Kornagel, born 1977, owner, master watchmaker, designer, programmer, CNC specialist.
Eric Wolf, born 1987, watchmaker, specialist for watch assembly and CNC surface treatment.
Vincent Kuge, born in 1998, watchmaker, specialist for surface treatment and movement assembly.
In our manufactory we display a spectrum of activities that others perform with a multiple of employees. We do most of the construction, manufacturing, surface treatment, electroplating and assembly of our movements and watches ourselves, and what we are not yet able to do, we learn.
Why do we do this? Because we take our profession literally. Because we love it. Because we are not a manufacturer who tells you stories. We write our own history.
In the field of surface treatment, many activities are carried out by hand which require a high degree of patience and skills. Screws, levers, ratchets, springs, small plates, bridges or wheels are grinded or polished by hand. We have the skills to finish watch parts to the highest possible finish and combine traditional techniques with modern equipment. Patience and time are the hallmarks of all our parts, from the main plate to the gold chaton.
Our machinery currently consists of:
KERN MMT 3-axis CNC milling machine with 24 tool places, with 3R clamping systems
LUXTURN automatic lathe with turret for 8 tools
MITUTOYO Quickscope 3-axis CNC measuring machine
KOSY A3 CNC portal milling machine
KOSY A2 CNC portal milling machine with rotary table
various conventional watchmaker lathes for various activities
High-quality testing and measuring equipment in all production areas
We assemble all watch parts ourselves, from the first bearing jewel to the last screw.
In our assembly department we have 4 fully equipped workplaces with all necessary tools at our disposal.
High-quality, carefully treated and regularly maintained tools, self-made special tools and devices are the basis of a clean and accurate assembly. We do not take apart again what once works, as other manufacturers would have us believe… We do it right the first time!
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