Despite the fact that the watch industry loves to beat the drum of tradition, the fact is that it can have a shockingly short collective memory when it comes to anything that doesn't grab the attention of customers and help sell watches. Unfortunately this means that an awful lot of important companies, watches, and people get swept under the rug. It also means that customers often form views about watches and brands that lack grounding in actual ?as opposed to brand-curated ?history. Today we've found a must-read story about one such person, who all real watch lovers should know and remember.
Günter Blümlein passed away fifteen years ago today, and our friend Peter Chong ?the internationally known Lange collector and historian (among other things) ?has put together a biography of this remarkable individual. It's not too much to say that without Blümlein, modern watchmaking would look very different.
Mr. Günter Blümlein passed away fifteen years ago today.
Blümlein was responsible, along with Walter Lange, for resurrecting A. Lange & Söhne; he also built Jaeger-LeCoultre and IWC into post-Quartz Crisis powerhouses and put all three companies under joint management of the firm Les Manufactures Horlogères, which, in 2000, he sold to the Richemont Group for over 3 billion CHF.
ADVERTISEMENTOn July 21, 2000, the Richemont Group released the following statement:
"Richemont is pleased to announce that it has agreed to acquire Les Manufactures Horlogères SA ("LMH") from Mannesmann AG. LMH owns three luxury watch businesses, namely 60 per cent of Jaeger-LeCoultre, 100 per cent of International Watch Co. ("IWC") and 90 per cent of A. Lange & Söhne."
"Richemont also announces that it has acquired from the Audemars Piguet group the 40 per cent interest in Jaeger-LeCoultre not already owned by LMH. Richemont intends to transfer this shareholding to LMH."
"The combined cost of the acquisitions on a debt free basis is CHF 3,080 million in cash, comprising CHF 2,800 million for LMH and CHF 280 million for the 40 per cent interest in Jaeger-LeCoultre."
A selection of photos shot during the re-launch of A. Lange & Söhne in 1994. Blümlein is seen in close-up in t top right image.
Blümlein had agreed to oversee all the Richemont Group watch brands, but he passed away unexpectedly in 2001, after a short illness, at the age of 58. It's safe to say (and should be obvious from the Richemont statement above) that without Blümlein, the landscape of modern watchmaking would be very different today and it would be entirely possible that some of our favorite manufactures might not even be open for business.
About Blümlein, Walter Lange had this to say: ""He was a universal genius. There have been two luminary experts in the Swiss watchmaking industry (of the modern age): one was Nicolas G. Hayek (Founder of the Swatch Group), and the other was Günther Blümlein."
Read Peter Chong's full story on Deployant.com here.
A-lange-sohne Iwc Jaeger-lecoultre A Transitional Jean Richard Airstar A Big Bubbleback Replica Rolex ref 6106 A Military Heuer Carrera ref 7753 And More 1230