The STOWA history

8 years later, the company moves to Pforzheim.

STOWA begins to build watches in the so-called Bauhaus style. The few watches from that time prove that not very many companies have implemented the for that time, new design. Today, however, the simple and timeless design has prevailed.

In Bismarckstraße 54 in Pforzheim, STOWA builds its own company building to accommodate the steady growth. In the same year STOWA presents some Bauhaus style watches, which are still continuated today in our Antea series. STOWA moves into its new building.

On February 23, 1945, the building in Bismarckstrasse is destroyed during the bombing of Pforzheim, and the watch production is relocated to Rheinfelden in the same year.

STOWA had its own (company) soccer team.

A new factory building is built in Rheinfelden, which is expanded and added to in 1954 and again in 1966. At the same time, the headquarters in Pforzheim were also rebuilt.

The STOWA building, built in 1938 and destroyed in 1945, was rebuilt. RUFA (Rheinfelder Uhrteilefabrik) was founded to produce shock absorbers for PUW and Durowe movements.

Ludwig Erhard visits the STOWA booth at the Hanover Fair and Walter Storz shows him the collection in the display window.

The son of the founder, Werner Storz, joins the company. He manages it very successfully until 1996, before selling it to Jörg Schauer ( due to lack of a successor).

The product name STOWA Seatime, a predecessor of our current Seatime series, is copyrighted in 1963.

Jörg Schauer takes over the STOWA brand from Werner Storz.

STOWA presents, for the 70th anniversary, its new pilot watch. In a 40 mm stainless steel case and a Unitas 6300 N movement (with indirectly operated central second hand). Limited to 70 watches. The model is still built almost unchanged today!

STOWA wins for the first time in the vote for the best watches in the world, a people's choice award from watchtime.net, UHREN-MAGAZIN, Focus as well as Focus Online. The chosen model: Antea Creme with automatic movement and glass back.

Begins the new construction of its own production building with attached STOWA museum. In 2008, a new edition of another historic STOWA watch is created. The special feature of this model from the 1930s is the fine dial scaling. The model name Partitio (lat.: division) was derived from this. The original has luminous hands and luminous numerals, as well as a mechanical handwound movement.

Completion of the new production building with STOWA Museum in Engelsbrand. The modern STOWA museum accommodates many well-preserved STOWA classics. A great source of inspiration and document of a long and uninterrupted company history.

STOWA TESTAF TO1 wins the Japanese Watch Grand Prix in the category "Military".

Conceptually new is the STOWA Rana and Antea 390 Dynadot - watches in the spirit of Bauhaus: technically intelligent, culturally inspiring and simple. The STOWA Flieger GMT reached the first place in the category up to 3.000.- Euro at the Munichtime in Munich. Once a year mechanics lovers meet there and choose their favorite watch in different categories.

STOWA's desire to modernize the classic Bauhaus watch inspired designer Hartmut Esslinger to take a look back into the history of the Bauhaus. He himself says about the design of the Antea back to bauhaus: "It had to be a cool interpretation of both the original design by Lange & Söhne (1937) and the Antea by STOWA (1937). I left the stainless steel case of the Antea Klassik. The dial with the modern Bauhaus STD type by Ed Benguiat and Victor Caruso creates a historical original with its sensitive aesthetics. The colors STOWA offers are a tribute to Josef Albers and Johannes Itten, because Bauhaus should not be seen only in black or white."

STOWA TO2 wins the Japanese Watch Grand Prix in the category "Military Pilot Watch". The design of this new pilot watch comes from Hartmut Esslinger, the founder of frog design. He worked very successfully for Wega, Apple, Sony and many others.

STOWA celebrates its 90th anniversary. There are some limited special series for this. For the fifth time in a row, the sports watch Prodiver "Olymp Bronze" wins the popular online vote at Watchtime (in the category up to 2.500.- Euro). We are not only pleased with the actual win, but also with the number of votes cast: No other watch (across all categories), received more individual votes in the entire election than STOWA: over 2200 readers voted for the Prodiver Olymp Bronze! A customer liked our Antea from 1938 so much that he asked us to rebuild this watch for him. Start of the STOWA Friends The STOWA book is printed. 272 pages. Not only the STOWA history was shown, the book was also dedicated in detail to the "face of the watch", the dial. With the help of numerous examples, the topic of (dial) design was worked through. Again, a handwound movement was available for almost all models: The beautifully finished ETA 2804-2 with golden STOWA letters, Geneva stripe finish and blued screws. For the second time, the STOWA Genusswanderung took place on Sunday, July 16, 2017 - an event for friends and customers of the house.

Once again, a classic STOWA watch has won the popular "Golden Balance 2018" election (in the category up to 2,500 euros). The limited and already sold out Marine Blue Limited with a collectible movement from German production (Durowe 7526-4) pleased the readers of the watch magazine and Focus Online the best. For the sixth time in a row, a STOWA diving watch wins the popular vote at watchtime.net, the leading online portal of the German watch industry. By a large margin, the readers choose our new Prodiver - this time equipped with a white dial.

The new Antea 390 Dynadot combines a unique dial design, the so-called Dynadots, with a well-known STOWA case that has been built almost unchanged for decades. The sustainability of the Antea 390 Dynadot - the watch can be easily serviced worldwide due to the use of a mechanical movement and the simple case shape and surfaces - makes it usable for generations. The Flieger Verus 40 received the Red Dot, which the prestigious jury awards only to products that demonstrate excellence in design. The Flieger Verus 40 with its modern design and sustainability concept convinced the jury. Design quality unites excellent products "I warmly congratulate the award winners on their great success. The fact that their products were able to withstand the strict judgment of the jury is testimony to their excellent design quality. In this way, the winners set authoritative trends in the design industry and show where things can go in the future," said Professor Dr. Peter Zec, initiator and CEO of Red Dot, about the winners. Simple design, clear lines and impressive everyday quality - the classic wristwatch should be a companion for life, and the STOWA Partitio fulfills precisely these criteria in the eyes of the readers of ARMBANDUHREN, WELT am SONNTAG and ICON. Added to this is the modestly calculated sales price of the watch, which is only available through direct sales and, with a "wearable" diameter of 37 millimeters, does not play to the limelight under the shirt cuff. On the other hand, it was the center of attention in the eyes of the informed voting public and ensured that the brand from the Black Forest, which has always been well placed for years, can now climb the top podium for the first time (original text of Armbanduhren Magazin March 2019). For the seventh time in a row, our diving watch Prodiver "Grey Limited" wins the popular diving watch poll at watchtime.net (in the category "1,001 to 2,500 euros") With the most votes (3,324 out of approximately 7,000) across all categories, the poll has once again shown that the Prodiver is one of the most popular sports watches in the entire watch market! The Prodiver Grey Limited has a very stable ceramic bezel as a special feature.

UHREN-MAGAZIN readers have been selecting "the best watches in the world" with the "Golden Balance Wheel" award for more than 20 years. In the meantime, the Golden Balance has advanced to become the world's largest online election, expanded to include the readers and users of Watchtime.net, Focus and Focus online (original text Uhrenmagazin 2020). Sporty Watch of the Year 2020 was the STOWA FLIEGER KLASSIK SPORT, with a clear lead over the second-place Breitling Aviator 8 B01 "Mosquito" and the Borgward Big Forty-One Chronograph. Fourth place goes to the Anonimo Nautilo Vintage "Sunray Blue", while fifth place goes to the Clifton Club Automatic GMT by Baume & Mercier" (original text Armbanduhren Magazin 2020). For the eighth time in a row, our diving watch Prodiver wins the popular diving watch poll at watchtime.net (in the category "up to 1,500 euros"). Once again with the most votes (4,158 out of approx. 8,000) across all categories, it was confirmed that the Prodiver is one of the most popular sports watches in the entire watch market!

Flieger Bronze Vintage wins the Golden Balance 2021 - In the world's largest online election, the Golden Balance, UHREN-MAGAZIN readers (expanded to include readers and users of Watchtime.net, Focus and Focus online) have been selecting "the best watches in the world" with the "Golden Balance" award since 1988. This year, 202 candidates competed in five award categories. Only mechanical models were eligible. Verus GMT Chronograph wins reddot design award 2021 - The STOWA watch manufactory was honored in the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2021. The Verus GMT Chronograph received the Red Dot, which the prestigious jury awards only to products that demonstrate design excellence. "The modern wristwatch STOWA Flieger VERUS GMT Chronograph is equipped with a second time zone - widely referred to as GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). With the help of the central 24-hour hand, the time difference can be set and read via discreetly colored hands. On the puristically designed wristwatch, only the white hands and sans-serif numerals contrast sharply with the black dial. The fine matte case can be easily refurbished in a resource-friendly manner. With its modern aesthetics and useful additional function, the pilot's watch is an accessory that is as perfect in form as it is useful, especially for cosmopolitans," according to the jury's statement. Our Flieger Classic Silver was chosen as the winner in the category "Classic Watch of the Year 2021"! Achieving more together! - Since July 1, 2021 STOWA operates under the umbrella of Tempus Arte. Prodiver Mauritius wins diving watch vote 2021 - For the ninth time in a row, our diving watch Prodiver wins the popular diving watch vote at watchtime.net (the award in the category "1,501 Euro to 2,500 Euro"). Once again with the most votes (2,978 out of approx. 7,000) across all categories, it was confirmed that the Prodiver is one of the most popular sports watches in the entire watch market!

95 years of STOWA - STOWA celebrates its 95th anniversary. Verus GMT Chronograph wins the Golden Balance 2022. The first model for the 95th anniversary: the Flieger Verus 40 Vintage 95 Limited. The second model for the 95th anniversary: the Prodiver Vintage 95 Limited. Prodiver Vintage 95 Limited wins Diver's Watch Vote 2022 For the tenth time in a row, our Prodiver diving watch wins the popular diving watch vote at watchtime.net (the award in the category "1,501 euros to 2,500 euros"). Once again with the most votes (2.286 out of approx. 8.000) in this category, it was confirmed that the Prodiver is one of the most popular sports watches in the whole watch market!