Interview and text by Masayuki Hirota (Chronos-Japan)
The diver's chronograph 206.ARKTIS.II, which shows the ageing of Sinn
Sinn has grown from a niche watch manufacturer favored by a select few enthusiasts to one of Germany's leading watch manufacturers. While 55% of its watches are still sold in Germany, its annual production of 14,000 watches is too large to befit the name "Sinn Special Watch Company." However, its business stance remains the same.
Born in Germany in 1949, he was president of the Sinn Special Watch Company. After working for Bosch and other companies, he joined IWC. After working on the development of the Ocean 2000 and other watches, he acquired IWC's management rights from Helmut Sinn in 1994. Since then, as an engineer, he has released numerous masterpieces and unique mechanisms. In 99, he acquired SUG, a case manufacturer in Glashütte, and began to emphasize the Made in Germany brand.
"We don't advertise in Germany at all, and our main customers are watch enthusiasts. We mainly make practical watches." However, as the company expands, Sinn is also changing. Symbolic of this is its new headquarters and factory.
"As our business expanded, we built a new headquarters and factory in Frankfurt. Until then, we had been renting land, but by chance we came across a 7000m3 plot of land, which we purchased, and built the building in 2017. However, the construction company went bankrupt, so we ended up creating the design plans ourselves. As a result, the construction was delayed by three months."
In addition, most models have been switched to SUG cases, which has significantly improved the quality of the watches. This is probably one of the reasons why Sinn has become more popular among people other than hardcore watch enthusiasts in recent years.
"After acquiring a majority stake in SUG in 1999, we gained case manufacturing know-how. One example is the D3 system, which allows chronographs to be operated underwater." The D3 system was also used in the 1000m water-resistant chronograph "U1000." However, this model was discontinued and was a limited edition model at Kamashima Watch Shop. In 2019, Sinn added the D3 system to its new diver's chronograph, the "206 ARKTIS II." This is a direct successor to the masterpiece "203 ARKTIS." While it looks almost identical to the model from 20 years ago, the watch's level of perfection has been greatly improved.
"There was a lot of demand for the 203 to be revived. So we enlarged the case diameter to improve water resistance and added the D3 system, which allows the chronograph to be used underwater."
The new "1800 DAMASZENER" is also a watch born from SUG's technology. "No watch has ever been made using Damascus steel before, so we thought we'd give it a try. However, Damascus steel is the most expensive steel we've ever used, and it was costly to manufacture." The watch is made of Damascus steel laminated with stainless steel, and the case, including the dial, is molded as a single piece (the back cover is a separate part), so perhaps the price of 140 million yen is unavoidable.
"I'm more interested in technology than watches," says Schmidt. Although the company has grown in size and the quality of its watches has changed dramatically, the truth is that nothing has changed at Sinn.
Successor to the 203.ARKTIS. It's water resistant to 30 bar and temperature resistant from -45°C to +80°C, but it also features the D3 system, which allows the chronograph to be used underwater, and a special coupling makes the rotating bezel less likely to come off. The pushers are not screw-down. Automatic (Cal. ETA7750). 25 jewels. 28,800 vph. Power reserve approximately 46 hours. Stainless steel (diameter 43mm). Water resistant to 30 bar. Price: 590,000 yen.
