The history of German watchmakers can be traced as far back as the 18th century when it got started in the southwest city of Pforzheim. While World War II brought about plenty of devastation, some of its more notable brands were able to rebuild during the aftermath and even more so after the collapse of the Berlin Wall. From there, it has since brought plenty of familiar names to the forefront of German watchmaking with the likes of Nomos Glashütte, A. Lange & Sohne, Junghans, and of course, Sinn.

Founded in 1961 by pilot and flight instructor Helmut Sinn, his eponymous brand is most well-known for creating pilot chronographs and navigation cockpit clocks. This was due to the founder's background and history in aviation, something the watchmaking industry already had a long-standing relationship with. Known for its signature Pilot collection of watches, Sinn has also specialised in diving watches, instrument chronographs, and even classical creations.

We had the opportunity to sit down with Sarah Michel, the Head of Sales for Sinn to talk about the German watchmaker, the technology it has acquired and utilised in its production and manufacturing process, and more.

Sarah Michel: I think we are a German watch brand that specialises in certain types of watches that are made for very specific purposes. Our line is, 'form follows function' and we have a very successful Pilots line and a very successful diving line. We have a lot of watches that were built for very specific purposes. And one of the interesting factors of Sinn, which maybe not many are aware, is that it's a single person owned company. We have one owner, Mr. Schmidt, who bought the company in 1994 from the founder Helmut Sinn personally, and he has been driving this direction into more technical advance advancements since his taking over the company. In fact, as you may be able to calculate, this year is his 30th anniversary.

SM: Absolutely, yes. I mean, he was a product manager at IWC before that, and some of the technologies that he brought in for us were developed there, but he developed them. And Sinn is where he decided that this is a good company that already has this focus and rather technical watches like pilot and diver watches. Here, he can continue perfecting those technologies or come up with new innovative strategies that we can build in our watches as a unique feature to make them better at their job.

SM: I think so, yes definitely. I mean, there are sometimes comparable technologies somewhere where you can see, "Oh, okay, they do something similar there." But usually, when you look at Sinn, then you see that it has very long history. It started as one thing, then it got developed into something else, and then it got further developed. We not only try to make something new, but also to improve it over time and to make it fit for the for the next generation. You can see that, for example, with the black coating.

In the beginning, it was just a chromatic coating that looked nice, but it would wear and tear very easily. Because of this, you sometimes get watches that barely had any black on the watches. Now, we have this PVD coating process that basically fuses with the Tegimented surface underneath it, so there is absolutely no way of it splintering off, and it's difficult to wear down over time. While there will still be some wear and tear, especially at the corners if you wear the watch daily and extensively, it's a far cry from the from where we started out.

SM: Actually, I'm not that involved in the production process. I assume that it mostly is probably true, just because it makes sense. The movements come from Switzerland anyway, so they are not assembled. if you already have a movement then you need to set the dial. You need to set the pointers. Those all depend on each other, so there are tolerances that need to work. If you set the dial first, and then somebody else sets the pointers on it, it's a little more difficult to get it all into balance perfectly. But I'm not so deep into in the production process that I was to say well, maybe there are some models where it is possible and it's no problem, and maybe there are some others where they say, "No, that's tricky. You can't do it here."

SM: It's a little much, (laughs) but as you probably already know, we pride ourselves in how we test our watches. And it's not after the standard diving watch regulation, but for the diving equipment regulations, which are much, much harsher basically. But because we see our watches as tools, it's only fair that we test them under the same circumstances that the tools divers use are being tested.

I know that the pressure chamber takes a long while just to build up the pressure and it's in our headquarters. Sometimes when we do tours like once a month, we try to have a tour for interested customers, and then they can have a look at the pressure chamber. And sometimes they see even the process of going through. But yeah, I know it's a little overdone to test our watches, but it's nice when we can say that, that it would withhold this kind of pressure.

SM: I mean, you have to do tests like this. If you just calculate it on the page, and you say, "Okay, with this thickness of glass and with this thickness of case, and in conjunction, it should be able to withstand to 1000 bars." Yeah, great. But if you never test it, you never know. And of course, nobody will go downwards and test it in the field and try to tell me, well it worked out or did not. So I think if you don't do the tests in reality, then all their calculations don't really make that much sense.

SM: I think there are some nice stories, but I don't really know which ones you already know. I think what I really like is that Sinn has such a commitment to keeping up the tradition of watchmaking. Since almost immediately after Mr. Schmidt took over, we've had apprentice watchmakers in our factory, and they often get graded after their tests. There are awards like 'Best of the of the Municipality', 'Best of the Country' etc. etc. and they also get honours and stuff like that. And our apprentices are very often within the best of the county or the country so we're very proud of that.

And right now, for example, we usually have a three-tier system because you need to have three years of the apprenticeship program and each year, we can hold three to four apprentices, so we have quite a lot right now. I think there are nine right now, because sometimes something shifts, somebody drops out early, or somebody comes in late. It can happen but right now, for example, we have a great bunch of apprentices who did a very, very specific project. They built a watch from scratch, building every tool and even the case, by themselves; they're very proud of that. And for the older apprentices, they are encouraged to get sales experience, so they can better understand the industry from a customer's perspective.

And they are such good young people that we would love to just keep them in our sales department. Of course, we need them to build watches, but they are really great with customers, which is not necessarily the norm. Sometimes, watchmakers tend to be like a little solitary. They want their peace and quiet to work with their hands but for some reason, those last bunch of young people, they were all very open, very friendly, very communicative and great with our customers as well. This is, of course, great if you can bring the love for watchmaking and the love for the craft back to the customer.

For example, at the Römerberg boutique, every watchmaker who works there needs to be able to sell watches. Because it's such a small team, the watchmakers always have to be able to sell, and they do that very, very well. Of course, the customers are sometimes very happy if they have somebody with a white coat where they can ask them any question and they will be able to answer it. Even if it's something very specific that maybe the sales personnel - who are already very well trained - but it's maybe just a little too technical. And then they can answer that but whether that's a gain for the customer, whether they can really do something with this answer well, that they have to decide for themselves, but at least there's somebody there to answer them.

SM: I think it has always been like this actually, especially the people who bought their watches with the old owner, Mr. Sinn personally. They would often tell the story how they bought the watch there, because he was quite the eccentric character. It's usually a fun little anecdote, but they are usually very well informed. And of course, their passion for the technical aspects, for the brand, translates to the people they infect with that knowledge. And so formally, I think it was more like fathers who maybe gave their child, or their children, a watch for their 18th birthday or their confirmation, or something like that. And that's how they got inducted into the watch brand.

Then the second pillar was our catalogue, which is very extensive and with so much information, where you can just self-inform yourself very, very well, like the website as well. Nowadays, I think it's the same, but it comes from a different source like social media and YouTube. You have so many ways to get access to information, even if it's a very technical aspects of the watchmaking industry that formerly, were either trade secrets or just there was no easy way to access them unless you were buying maybe a manual or, like, a very specific book from the from the watchmaker.

And now you can just type in, "How does an anchor escapement work?" into YouTube and you will get a beautiful 3Drendering that will tell you exactly how it works and explain it in detail. So the people are still curious, and they can educate themselves very well, hence their questions will not get easier.

SM: (laughs) Exactly, exactly! That's why you need a fully media-trained watchmaker for the future.

SM: Well, you are lucky because I'm wearing it right now. I have a lot of favourites as I have to say, but the 903 does hold a special place in my heart, because it was the first watch that I got from Sinn when I started working there. So almost 10 years ago, and when I started, I thought, "Okay, you need a Sinn watch, of course." And I loved the black version. This is the blue, but I always loved the black one. And I was like, "Oh, but it's a man's watch. (laughs) Oh, well, so sad. I can't wear this. I have to look at the other ones." And my colleague, he was like, "What are you talking about? Just put the watch on and see how it looks." And I was like, "Are you sure?"

And then I put it on, and it was like, "That looks great! I want this watch." And he was like, "Of course, you want this was, this is the watch for you." And that was also the first time this dichotomy between ladies' and mens' watches was like broken open because I had never thought about this before that this is something that you don't have to adhere to. But of course, if you think more than two seconds about it, of course you can just break the rules, but it's still something that you don't necessarily do without thinking about it.

Every so often we get couples that come into the boutique, for example, often the husband wants to look at a watch and the wife is maybe also just looking around. And then she asked, "Do you have ladies watches?" And then I will say, "Every watch that a lady puts on is a ladies watch." So, it really doesn't matter. We have ladies who wear the biggest watches you can imagine, and their husbands wear smaller watches just because it looks really great; a big watch on a slim wrist that looks kind of like a statement piece. And yeah, and you don't have to be shy there. You can just go for what you like. Everything's permissible.

SM: Yes, indeed. You need to be comfortable with the watch and it doesn't matter. And usually if it works for the personality, it will look good. Even a big guy with a very small watch, where you would normally think, "Oh, that's much too small." If it's the right watch, it will work for you. And the same (can be said) with somebody with a very slim wrist who decided that the 717 is the watch for them and if that person is convinced that this is the watch, then yeah. This attitude and confidence will translate, and everybody else will also say, "Yeah, that's the right watch for you."

SM: I think my strong suit and my unique perspective is coming from years of being very, very close to the customer. Because I was working in our boutique at Römerberg and the city centre, I have seen all kinds of customers. I've heard all kinds of questions. I know what the customers ask after. I know what they want, and I know what they don't like. I know what a potential problem might be if we talk about something, and somebody might have an idea, and then I can say, "Okay, this will trigger the following questions of customers." And then we can talk about, "Can we answer them? Do we want to answer them? Or do we want to have that additional option, which will invariably be asked after." So, I think this is something that can help just make some customer-friendly decisions for the future.

SM: Well, on the one hand, I just love that anytime we do a collaboration with a good partner of us and if it's something that also looks so nice, that's a bonus (laughs). But I think a collaboration is always a sign of trust and a sign that we have worked well together in the past, because otherwise, those projects take time, and they are difficult. I know how work intensive they are. You need a lot of samples; you need a lot of discussions. The exact colour tone, the exact shade of blue. "Do we want the date wheels to be the same colour? Do we want a darker colour? Do we want them blue? Do we want them black? Do we save a little money here? Do we spend a little more there?"

There is a tonne of discussions with every special edition, and we already did so many collaborations with The Hour Glass, it is a sign that those that those usually tiring negotiations are something that is fun and that works well together. And this just makes me already more excited about the watch, and I really, really love the design. This lovely blue is just... yeah, I already feel a little cooler in the in the Singaporean humidity. If I look at that watch, I feel like, "Ah, there's a cool breeze just passing me by." And I think it looks great.

It was very nice seeing the watch as well because they are limited to The Hour Glass, of course. They were supposed to just go right to Singapore, and nobody but the watchmakers usually see those, and the people in sales who are readying them for you. But one colleague from our customer service department, she saw the watch and was immediately in love with it. She was like, "I need this watch. How can I get it? Is there a way?" And, yeah, well, we're still figuring it out.

SM: Exactly! Yeah, just take a little vacation here. I will tell her that.

SM: You're very welcome!

Want to know more about Sinn and its creations? Check out our catalogue to discover more about the Manufacture or drop us a message to enquire further.