Dunhill Classic versus Mühle-Glashütte Teutonia Big Date – Take A Second Look
Recently the manifestation of two unrelated events provided the catalyst that triggered this article. Firstly, the arrival of my new weekend watch, the German made Vortex by Dievas courtesy of Gnomon Watches. And secondly, Ben Clymer, a good friend of The Watch Lounge, and the chief editor over at Hodinkee drawing my attention to the relatively new ‘Classic’ watch from Dunhill, which was announced earlier this year.
The purpose of this article, quite simply put, is to let you know about a brand that you may have possibly never heard of before and to subtlety hint at the benefits of looking past the fancy marketing campaigns to discover true value.
What Are You Buying?
Now before I get too carried away, I think it’s important to state that I am actually quite a fan of Dunhill as a brand and admire a lot of the products they have released. The new Classic watch is certainly no exception in this regard. Powered by an automatic Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 896 movement and blessed with timeless good looks it would make an exemplary addition to anyone’s collection. So far, so good, right?
The main problem I have is this: Dunhill is not a watchmaker.
Yes, the Classic is powered by a very respectable Swiss Made movement and it does look quite nice, but consider this; the stainless steel version will run you just over $5,000 and you can forget about getting change from $10,000 for the rose gold version. So what are you actually paying for? The brand or the watch?
Keep that in mind as you prepare to meet (possibly for the first time) German watch maker Mühle-Glashütte.
Take A Second Look
The watch I’ve chosen to introduce you to today is the Teutonia Big Date (pictured above), however, please be advised that this is simply one piece in a rather impressive range. This is not a new watch by any stretch of the imagination but thanks to its classic style you could be forgiven for thinking it was released to the market yesterday. Before I go into too much more detail though, I think a little background on the brand itself is required to help reinforce my above point about Dunhill not actually being a watchmaker.
Mühle-Glashütte’s watch making heritage can be traced back as far 135 years ago when the great-grandfather of the current owner Hans-Jürgen Mühle built and sold measuring instruments for the local clock manufacturers. Hans Mühle, his grandson, found his way back into measurement engineering after 1945, but was dispossessed as part of East German collectivisation. It was not until after the fall of the Wall, in 1994, that the company returned into the ownership of the family, who envisaged a promising market in the manufacture and marketing of ship’s clocks and ship’s clock systems – hence the name ‘Nautische Instrumente Mühle-Glashütte’.
The production of high-precision wrist-watches was added later. This decision proved extremely successful – in fact, so much so that this branch of business has turned into Mühle-Glashütte’s core business. Today Nautische Instrumente Mühle-Glashütte has been in business for over ten years.
In my opinion the value of this heritage cannot be discounted, you are not just buying a watch, you are buying a story.
Now, back to the actual watch itself. As the name suggests the Teutonia features a big date display just under 12 o’clock, as well as a seconds sub-dial at 6 o’clock similar to the Dunhill Classic. The watch is also powered by a reputable (albeit modified) Swiss Automatic Movement, the Mühle ETA 2892-A2.
As far as aesthetics go the Teutonia and the Classic are very similar. Mühle-Glashütte’s offering at 41mm is slightly larger than Dunhill’s 38mm, but still well within the realms of respectable sizing for a watch of this style. Both pieces feature beautifully finished dials, polished stainless steel cases and attractive leather straps.
Here’s the kicker, though. The Mühle-Glashütte Teutonia Big Date will only set you back $3,140 from Gnomon Watches.
Yes, arguably the Dunhill Classic does feature the more highly prized Calibre 896 from JLC but for the money they are asking you could actually just buy a very similar styled Jaeger Le-Coultre, which in my opinion would be a far better option.
The Final Word
The purpose of this article was not so much to single out Dunhill for criticism but rather to bring to your attention the fact that there a number of exceptional watch makers out there, who may not presently be on your radar, but definitely should be. I have personally dealt with Gnomon Watches several times before and the only thing I would rate higher than their service (which is outstanding by the way) is their surprisingly unique selection of brands.
Remember, just because you’ve never heard of a brand before doesn’t mean that it’s not worth a second look. You never know what you might discover when you look past the big marketing budgets.
*Note: This article was written without the endorsement or express request of Gnomon Watches. All views expressed above are my own.
Category: Watch Reviews
Woohoo! Congratulations on your new watch
This essence of this post actually answered few questions i have had about pricing. More post/topics of this category would be great!
Thank you Forrest, I am glad you enjoyed the article. I will definitely take your suggestion on board and try to give you a few more posts on this topic!
Thanks
That’s great and thanks Tom!
Pricing elements (is it due branding? craftsmanship? limited run?) always sparks great thinking to me personally as some of the watches could easily buy you 3 bungalows in Malaysia.
How do you like the Vortex?
Hi Neil, thanks for your comment. I am very happy with the Vortex (I’ll be writing a review on it in the new year so keep an eye out for that) and if you’re looking to get one yourself I’d highly recommend it. Very comfortable to wear and easy to read, plus it draws a lot of compliments
It really is a top quality “week-end watch” for when you want something a bit more casual.
I’d also recommend spending the extra $30 to get the deployant clasp as opposed to the standard buckle. Makes it just that much nicer and more comfortable.
Hope that helps, happy to talk some more about it if your like. Just drop me an email through the ‘contact’ link up the top of this page.
Cheers,
Tom
Thanks Tom,
In fact, I did a little more research on the Vortex and liked what I saw so I went ahead and ordered one. I should get it in February. I can’t wait.
So now I have a somewhat casual watch coming, and hope to add a slightly more formal one in the next year or so. I do like the look of the Teutonia Big Date. Not quite sure what the difference between Muhle Glashütte and plain Glashütte is. There are some attractive Sinn options too: the 103 is tempting at $1860 with a leather (my preference) strap.
I think the hardest part of getting the M-G would be persuading myself to spend $3140 on a watch – not that I’m disputing its value. It’s just way beyond what I’ve spent before. Mind you, so was the Vortex!
Hello Tom and congratulations on your web site. While I’ve always had a latent interest in all things time-keeping, I’m a neophyte to the aficionado club. While I’ve had assorted Timex and Seikos over the years, this was the year to take the proverbial plunge so to speak. In fact, in doing my DD for my new timepiece, I was glad to come across your site which I’ve bookmarked and consult on a regular basis. Indeed, I was pleased to come across your article on Mühle which, truth be told, was a the last “shove” I needed to go ahead with my purchase of what I consider to be my very first high-end wristwatch. I’m glad to report that I have no regrets with my 29er Big (ref.: M1-25-30) and I can attest to your comments that from a “value-for-money” perspective, I haven’t found one that can compete. Indeed, when one considers that the raw ETA 2824-2 élaboré version movement is then modified by Mühle to a “top” grade, one could do worse than to acquire a MG timepiece.
Again, congrats on your web site and all the best for the future.
Dave
Canada
Hi Dave,
Thanks for your comment and congratulations on your excellent purchase! It sounds like you are really pleased with the Mühle (no surprise really, they make excellent watches) and we are really happy we were able to provide some assistance in helping you make your decision!
We hope you continue to enjoy the content we publish and who knows what we might help you find next!?
Thanks again,
Tom
hi tom
first at all i like ur article
and u right this mühle is something specile also for me .i born in east germany and no engl. in scool so forgive me my mistakes. i have sevral good watch and one breitling crosswind steel/gold and ther is a movement in u find in mühle upgrade as one caliber.so i got myself one teutonia two chronho
and a big date in black 017/500 and i like the brand so much that i got my wife one quadrat lady
best regards from uganda manfred
would be nice to see some pics of the dunhill besides the kind of standard advertising pics. Like maybe a picture of the watch on someone’s wrist – its so hard to get a feel for the dimesions of the dunhill watch when you can’t get a proper picture of it. I’m interested in it and its a beautiful, simple watch, but you can’t pull the trigger based on a few standard pics on the internet. that would be awesome, thanks.