Tutima
- Founded
- 1927
- Based in
- Glashütte, Germany
- In our catalog
- 3 watches from $1,650 to $4,600
Tutima is a German maker of serious tool watches. Its name comes from the Latin "tutus", meaning safe, and its best-known watches are pilot chronographs and rugged titanium sports watches. It also has a small but impressive line of fine watches made in Glashütte.
History
Tutima's roots go back to Glashütte in the late 1920s, when the town's watch companies were reorganised. In 1941 it produced a flyback chronograph for German pilots that is still prized by collectors. After the war, Glashütte fell into East Germany and the company's founder rebuilt the business in western Germany, in Ganderkesee near Bremen.
In 1984 Tutima won the contract for the German Air Force's NATO chronograph, which it still references in its M2 models. In 2011 the brand moved back to Glashütte and opened its own manufacture, where it now makes calibres for its top models such as the Patria and the Hommage minute repeater.
Signature models
- Flieger Automatic: A 41 mm pilot watch with a clean black dial, a date and 10 bar water resistance.
- M2 Seven Seas: A 44 mm titanium diver rated to 500 m with a day-date display.
- Grand Flieger Airport Chronograph: A chronometer-certified automatic chronograph with a rotating bezel, in 43 mm steel.
What it's known for
Tough, readable watches with a German, function-first attitude. The M2 line uses titanium cases, and the pilot watches lean on that 1941 and 1984 history. Calibres in the sports models are Swiss-based and finished by Tutima. The Patria and Hommage are hand-wound Glashütte movements at a much higher level.
Price and positioning
Pilot and dive models run roughly $1,600 to $5,000. That is close to Sinn, Damasko and Mühle Glashütte, with the Glashütte name and a long military story as its selling points. The manufacture models start around $15,000.
Tutima watches in our library
- Tutima Flieger Automatic ($1,650 to $2,000)
- Tutima M2 Seven Seas ($1,900 to $2,300)
- Tutima Grand Flieger Airport Chronograph ($3,900 to $4,600)