# history of Steinhart?



## tomee

hey guys,

just made my first purchase then of a Nav-B Uhr

and was just thinking is there any history/story of how the steinhart watch company came today?

i know that the owner is Gunter Steinhart, but would like to know more about the company.

also is the Unitas movement modified at all? or is it bought from ETA as is?
how many grades are there?

any info appreciated
thanks!


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## Triton

Hi tomee,

Steinhart Timepieces has not been around for a long time, maybe six years, I'm not exactely sure. It is basically a one man show, run by the architect Günter Steinhart, who turned his passion for watches into a business, with a little help from a few other passionate people.
Sorry, no 100 year old watchmaking tradition involved here, just a guy who loves watches. Hope you're not disappointed now.

As for the Unitas movements, they are not bought as is from ETA. A highly specialized firm in Switzerland gets Ebauches (the un-assembled movt) from ETA and adds their own, better parts and gives it a soigné finish, which includes Geneva stripes and blued screws. These are the standard Unitas movements used by Steinhart. The LEs usually have some extra complications, an even higher grade of finish or some other special features like PVD-coating.

Hope you'll enjoy your Nav.B, although I'm sure you will ;-)


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## tomee

thanks for the info Triton,

im not at all dissapointed about not having 100 year history etc... just want to know the story on the company so when friends ask about the watch i know what to reply with lol

Gunter is very quick with his repsonses for a one man show, which is great!
i thanked him for offering an affordable quality made timepiece.


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## Riker

Some complain about a watch company with not much history. That certainly doesn't mean the quality isn't any good. Look at Raymond Weil for example. They haven't been around for that long but make some good watches & have a pretty good reputation.

Steinhart doesn't pretend to be any more than what it is. A newish company with great quality watches at a brilliant price point plus fantastic customer service. These are things that give a company like Steinhart a good well earned reputation. 

Congrats tomee, you'll love the Nav.B :-!


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## tomee

ok just another question in regards to debaufre name i read that they are the same company, but are they operated separately, can anyone explain this better for me?*
*


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## Riker

tomee said:


> ok just another question in regards to debaufre name i read that they are the same company, but are they operated separately, can anyone explain this better for me?


OK here is the brief version...............

Steinhart & Debaufre are essentially the same company product wise in that Steinhart is the parent or originating company. The business models however, have changed a bit from what I can tell.

Steinhart operations in the U.S.A changed their name to Debaufre after legal steps, under name copyright infringement laws were taken or threatened by a pre existing company with a similar name to Steinhart. To ward off possible liability issues, Steinhart U.S.A renamed & registered themselves as Debaufre.

Debaufre operates as a seperate entity I believe, however they are more or less the U.S arm of Steinhart.

I think I got that mostly right without getting right into it. ;-)


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## brainless

.....and NOW it is time for history:
http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2007/8/emw544171.htm

Debaufre's roots are in the beginning of 18.centuryb-)

brainless


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## kavayah

History about the origins of the name


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## Triton

kavayah said:


> History about the origins of the name


That's easy .... name of the founder and owner of the company/brand is Günter Steinhart.

But if you wanna know the history of the name Débaufré, you gotta ask at their forum ... :-x


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## High Flight

Hello !

OK with debaufre...but there is obviously some few little things similar beetween Steinhart and Debaufre, somes watches for instance no ? ;-)

If you could tell us more about those similarities and explain what is common beetween the two brands...if would be very kind ! :think:

:thanks


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## Zarith

High Flight said:


> Hello !
> 
> OK with debaufre...but there is obviously some few little things similar beetween Steinhart and Debaufre, somes watches for instance no ? ;-)
> 
> If you could tell us more about those similarities and explain what is common beetween the two brands...if would be very kind ! :think:
> 
> :thanks


Hi,

There is nothing more to explain. Steinhart watches are sold in the US under the name "Débaufré". These are exactly the same watches. The only difference is the logo. "Débaufré" is not a watch company, just a distributor/label.

Triton will surely give you the same answer ;-)


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## Triton

Nowadays I prefer only answering questions regarding Steinhart ....


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## Silent Speaker

I've always been confused about the whole Stein/Deb distinction, thank you very much you guys for clearing that up (and thanks to the OP for actually asking )

One thing remains however, if the product is the same, merely renamed as you say, why are there two separate forums here on WUS? Shouldn't just the parent company that actually produces the watches have a forum? I just don't see the point of it, even if it was called "Steinhart/Debaufre" or something like that, this may be better and alleviate any possible future confusion. 

The fact that there are two forums here made me think that there were two distinct companies even after I'd read here and there that they were essentially the same


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## Riker

Both the Steinhart & Debaufre forums were joined up until a couple of months ago. ;-)



Silent Speaker said:


> I've always been confused about the whole Stein/Deb distinction, thank you very much you guys for clearing that up (and thanks to the OP for actually asking )
> 
> One thing remains however, if the product is the same, merely renamed as you say, why are there two separate forums here on WUS? Shouldn't just the parent company that actually produces the watches have a forum? I just don't see the point of it, even if it was called "Steinhart/Debaufre" or something like that, this may be better and alleviate any possible future confusion.
> 
> The fact that there are two forums here made me think that there were two distinct companies even after I'd read here and there that they were essentially the same


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## Silent Speaker

Riker said:


> Both the Steinhart & Debaufre forums were joined up until a couple of months ago. ;-)


What was the reason for the split?


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## Riker

Silent Speaker said:


> What was the reason for the split?


I honestly couldn't tell you for sure, but at a guess brand identity differentiation. Debaufre may have come from Steinhart & source their watches & associated bits from Steinhart but they are moving ahead in the America's with their own identity therefor possibly giving admin the reason & means in which to split the two forums. Maybe it was requested........

:-!


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