Fast fashion has ruined the pristine culture of tradition and artisanship for many fashion brands, yet thankfully, most of the horology industry has been spared from such occurrence. We have seen the rise of vintage timepieces and designs that continue to capture attention from global watch-lovers and collectors. While everything else in the fashion realm tends to be disposable, we continue to look for durable watches that are built to last. And if there’s a watch brand who can confidently say that this is exactly what they aim for, it’s the German luxury watch brand, Damasko.
From precision-engineering dream to watchmaking vocation
The special timepieces from Damasko aren’t owned by a lot. In fact, there are only a few pieces per model that makes any wearer somewhat an exclusive owner. But in every timepiece from the brand lies the history of the brand, especially from its founder, Konrad Damasko.
Konrad had a fascination for engineering from when he was a little boy. The high-precision, exceptional performance and beautiful exterior of things kept him occupied, eventually following a career path that has high-precision engineering at its core, and established Damasko Metallbearbeitung. The company dealt with special technology and materials, and produced more than 5 million of metal components, including piston rods, fountain pens, surgical instruments, and satellites.
Eventually, he ventured into watchmaking, establishing a separate business called Damasko Collection in 1994. Konrad’s wife, Petra, helped him manage and establish the luxury brand, upholding the values of profound watchmaking and innovative re-designing of timepieces.
At the core of the company
The entire company is founded on goals that pertain to solidity, functionality, longevity and reliability. It proudly produces each timepiece with its specialized machineries in its world-class production facility. Hard metals can even be easily used and manipulated by the brand, for use in its high quality watches and other components that it manufactures for other watch producers.
The brand also prides itself for producing most of its timepiece parts, including the bezels, bezel inserts, pushers, cases, ceramic bearings, crowns, and even some components of their watch movements. For an industry where it’s easily to just buy pieces from other brands to focus on assembly, Damasko stands out. In fact, they have their renowned ice hardened stainless steel that’s nickel-free, which was made from their own formula.
Damasko’s team are all master watchmakers that are on the younger end, all representative of a bright future of horology. They uphold the exceptional craftsmanship that the brand is all about, bring into the market high quality timepieces that are priced fairly.
Remarkable achievements
Among the numerous milestones of the brand include their development of two in-house movements with the ratchet winding system, as well as the EPS® balance spring from polycrystalline silicon. Another remarkable achievement include an escapement free from lubricants, through the use of Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) coat. Through such innovation, the winding requires minimal maintenance and has a longer lifespan.
Konrad himself has done many notable things that brought honor to the name of Damasko, including the earlier mentioned polycrystalline silicon escapement and spring to make the timepieces more accurate. He even tested oils against wide-range of temperatures, making sure that the watch has sufficient protection against shocks, gravitational and centrifugal forces.
By 2010, Damasko released its very first automatic movement that combined the best points of previous technologies: the A35-1. Following the A35-1, H35 was released, a testament to the expanding range of Damasko’s manufacture, as well as their expertise in adding intricate designs and finishing to make the pieces aesthetically pleasing.
Sustaining the gains
Currently, the business is called Damasko GmbH, as it went by the name to connote both Damasko Collection and Damasko Metallverarbeitung since 2013. “Damasko Uhrenmanufaktur” is the registered trademark of the brand, but just the term “Damasko” already resounds in the world of horology as a respectable and highly excellent manufacture and watch brand.
Damasko GmbH continues to develop its technologies and improving the professional process of watch and parts manufacture. Their production is combined with extensive research, a practice that ensures that the brand remains as one of the leading companies when it comes to innovative designs, advanced solutions and top notch processes in the watchmaking field.
