Helmut Sinn
1916-2018
On February 14, 2018, Helmut Sinn, the founder of Sinn and current president of Ginan, passed away. I never met him, but I have fond memories of him and the watches he created. I would like to share my memories of him in a prosaic but unrelated way below.
The first watch I bought while I was in college was the Sinn "103." It had a manual-winding ETA7760 movement and, for some reason, it had a date and day display. I believe I bought it in 1993, so it was probably the last model that Helmut Sinn was involved with. In 94, he left Sinn, the company he founded.
Born in 1916, Sinn earned his pilot's license in 39 and served in a bomber squadron during World War II. After being wounded in battle, he became an instructor and continued as a pilot until the 90s. After the war, he became a rally driver and became fascinated with motorsport instruments. In 1961, Sinn founded Sinn Special Instruments Co., Ltd. The high quality of the watches he made eventually led to them being used by the West German military and other NATO forces.
In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper, Sinn explained the reason for starting the company: "I had no work, so I was looking for something that didn't take up a lot of space and materials." Indeed, a wristwatch, which doesn't take up much space, was surely a good choice for starting a business.
Sinn's business model was the same as that of other companies making similar watches: they purchased high-quality ébauches and fitted them with well-made cases. However, the reason Sinn's watches gained the trust of the military and pilots was because they were different from other companies in one respect. Specifically, despite being the company's president, he inspected every watch that was shipped. Sinn's character, which favored discipline and precision, earned its watches the reputation of "Sinn watches never break." In fact, my 103 never broke, no matter how roughly I used it. It's no wonder that Japanese watch stores, which are so particular about quality, were happy to stock Sinn watches.
However, Sinn was not blessed with a successor. In fact, his daughter lives in Vancouver and his son lives in Switzerland. He regretted that none of his family members were interested in aviation or watchmaking. However, the business he started was eventually expanded by Lothar Schmidt, who had previously worked for IWC.
Sinn described himself as "too casual and straightforward." It's not hard to imagine that this attitude was a contributing factor in driving his family away from the business. However, his strictness also earned him many fans around the world, especially in France. Two such fans were Carlos Rosillo and Bruno Belamich, founders of Bell & Ross. Sinn was captivated by Sinn and would go on to found a watch manufacturer, and Sinn continued to give them careful and thoughtful advice. Sure enough, Bell & Ross watches, like Sinn's, achieved such high quality that they were even used by the French military. Rosillo once said of his "creator," Sinn, "I always talk with Helmut Sinn on the first day of Baselworld. Every year."
As a watch fan, I am truly saddened by the passing of Helmut Sinn. However, his legacy will surely be carried on by Lothar Schmidt, Rosillo, Bellamisch, and others. If I have the opportunity, I would like to hear directly from Bellamisch about the legacy of Sinn. (Masamasa Hirota)
