# DuFa watches. Does anyone have some insight on these?



## jenya79 (Feb 15, 2013)

DuFa (Deutsche Uhrenfabrik). Just saw these for the first time and am pretty impressed with the designs. I also like their homage to the great architects and designers of the German Bauhaus movement. I know they have quartz and Japanese automatic movements and are assembled and/or headquartered in Germany. Does anyone know these watches well and give some insight?

Thanks in advance.


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## rationaltime (May 1, 2008)

I have not seen one of those watches. I also have not found any information
that the watches are assembled in Germany or that the company is based
in Germany.


Thanks,
rationaltime


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## StufflerMike (Mar 23, 2010)

From a former post



> Deutsche Uhrenfabrik suggests at least a tiny link to German watchmaking. But there's none as far as I can see. Trade mark is owned by Forthway Limited, Virgin Islands, as well as Klaus Kobec and AVI-8.
> 
> Domain of Deutsche-Uhrenwerke was owned by:SolarTime LTD, 15/F, Kowloon Center, 29-39 Ashley Road, Tsim Sha, 852 Kowloon, HK. Watches have been sold by Lufthansa on international flights and advertised as a product of german workmanship.


Another member posted this



> The company is registered to a UK company that is a clear front - the directors are all on the boards of about 200 companies each
> Although a German website, there isn't a word of German on the site.
> The only link on the site is in Chinese
> The website TOS is governed by UK law
> ...


Saw them at Munichtime last year and Ingorgenta this year. Nice but not convincing.


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## jenya79 (Feb 15, 2013)

All the above is interesting. This seems to be a common theme lately as people are trying to catch people with this "Made in Germany" gimmick. All that said, they do make a nice looking watch.


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## gangrel (Jun 25, 2015)

How much ya wanna bet that they're not nearly as nice in person? They're starting with, if not outright lies, fairly serious misreperesentations. 

And to be honest, when I see that many different models from a really small company...if no one here has heard of it, it's small...then "Chinese Mushroom" rather springs to mind immediately. PR, regulator, center seconds auto, center and subdial seconds quartz, 2 and 3 register chrono, 3 register chrono day-date, a poorly explained calendar, and a GMT? Who are we kidding here? And the pages about each model are long on pics, short on details about the movements.

Yeah, might as well call this a Barnum company.


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## LosAngelesTimer (Aug 24, 2017)

One gets a similar feeling from most of the watch brands under the Dartmouth umbrella. Watches of dubious origin and workmanship, like Spinnaker.


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## Sadhu (Apr 29, 2014)

Dufa was clock company then bought by KIENZLE (wrist watch brand) in 1930, after several bankrupt of KIENZLE only name was left.
Now name rights has owned by Solar time Ltd of Hong kong which founded in 1977 by Notan Tolani who immigrated from Pakistan (he is a naturalized British citizen born in 1946, his name is Hindi not Muslim)
Now Dufa is controlled by Paper company Dartmouth UK owned by Solar time (no physical address in UK)
Present director of Solar time is Vishal Tolani, son of Notan.
Original "Dufa" had a factory in Thuringen but new Dufa has only Hong kong based.

Dartmouth brands are those
pinnaker,AVI-8,DuFa,Fjord,Ballast,Giordano,Earnshaw ,James McCabe
In Japan, Dufa brand is sold by Ueni trading co as "Pure German made"

Early days Solar time's Dufa 
it has "Tongi" movement of China

BTW I'm new bee here so can't patch the link


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## Sadhu (Apr 29, 2014)




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## Sadhu (Apr 29, 2014)

Mr.Leo Chueung designed Dufa watch







Box and booklet are designed by Angela Ho


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## Sadhu (Apr 29, 2014)

At Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair 2018


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## sci (Aug 6, 2009)

But then how some models have "Made in Germany" on the dial, if they don't have any assembly facility in Germany?


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## Sadhu (Apr 29, 2014)

They have good factory in Shenzhen then set every local factory

for each brand?

I don't think it is possible.

Also German guys are writing "I'm from Thuringen, there's nothing found Dufa factory"

BTW Chinese Taobao shop has all Dufa models, some are not selling in other country, those are all imported from Germany.....


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## StufflerMike (Mar 23, 2010)

sci said:


> But then how some models have "Made in Germany" on the dial, if they don't have any assembly facility in Germany?


Good question. Ask DuFa (The DUFA brand has stood for the best of German watchmaking for almost a century) at [email protected] and ask them why their German reads like a bad google translation (their use of „riemen" instead of „Dornschliesse" (buckle) is nothing but amusing).

Watches have to be returned to

Mistal Time Services
Broseley House
116a Bradshawgate
Leigh
Lancashire
WN7 4NT,

that's not Thuringia.


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## Sadhu (Apr 29, 2014)

Mistal Time Service ? The UK?s Premier watch repairers since 1981

This company has contract of repair with all watches of Dartmouth distribution

That means all Solar time watches are thrown into same buckets for fixing, "German factory" is fantasy I guess


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## Sadhu (Apr 29, 2014)

Job offer of Solar time Ltd

They clearly wrote "The company fully owns Dartmouth brands ltd






"


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## Sadhu (Apr 29, 2014)

This is the registration record of Dartmouth, obviously just a paper company to hide the name of Solar time


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## Sadhu (Apr 29, 2014)

Now "Trade mark is owned by Forthway Limited, Virgin Islands" and past records are deleted from registration page.
I found it again from other page.


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## Sadhu (Apr 29, 2014)

Re-registered by "Fortway ltd" in 2015


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## rationaltime (May 1, 2008)

They may be concerned someone will make copies of their watches
and degrade the value of their brand. It seems prudent to register
their trade mark in the US.


Thanks,
rationaltime


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## Limbus (Jan 24, 2018)

Wow all that information was impressive.


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## lperezoramas (May 19, 2019)

Don't ever buy these watches! It is a poorly crafted time piece. I fell in their trap beacuse I did also like their design. However it is not only the absolutely bad quality -go to Timex and spend 100 dollars for a better watch- what struck me but also the 'design scam'. None of these watches was designed by the very famous names they abuse by referring to them in their advertising: they are just "inspired" in Bauhaus like watches. To my knowledge only Max Bill from Bauhaus designed a time piece and DUFA does not produce it. My watch stopped working less than a year after been bought. Even under warranty I had to pay 128 dollars to a third party repair company (IWSC) in California. The watch was returned yesterday and still it does not work! A total SCAM, both the brand and their repair system! AVOID.


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## joeabroad (Dec 23, 2016)

I'm resurrecting this thread because I got an email from Worn and Wound announcing this watch for sale in their shop, and I had no idea what is was. https://windupwatchshop.com/product...2&_sid=df339ebe2&_ss=r?variant=30903331323970

The dial pretty clearly reads "Made in Germany," but based on the info in this thread that's actually pretty hard to believe.


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## StufflerMike (Mar 23, 2010)

Dufa has most recently been loved by everyone.


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## Lelski750 (Dec 16, 2020)

Did some research and see similarities to other Chinese products like seagull, red star, etc. Concave case on dufa and seagull look suspiciously similar (but that's just my take)....


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## IstvanWolf (Sep 19, 2018)

I just thought I would point out that some of Spinnaker's latest offerings (such as the Piccard and the new Tesei) are pretty impressive. Could it not also be the case that the brands start off with cheap knock-off-style watches to establish their footprint/niche, but use that capital to then expand into more serious wristwear? FWIW, that appears to be what they have done with Spinnaker.

I'm not saying they're good/bad/whatever, just that the launch quality (back in 2013) may just be that and not fully represent where the brands end up.


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## john_marston (Aug 29, 2019)

All those Dartmouth brands market their fake heritage/origin. But Dufa's 'Made in Germany' actually feels like a scam. They did some swindling to get that on the dials. Made in China.


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## Leopan (Feb 29, 2012)

DUFA is not a german brand anymore, it belongs to (Dartmouth).

The owners live in Hong Kong and are from Pakistan.

This topic was also discussed in the german uhrforum.


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## Pongster (Jan 7, 2017)

Wat du fa?


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## e.s. patterson (Apr 1, 2021)

jenya79 said:


> All the above is interesting. This seems to be a common theme lately as people are trying to catch people with this "Made in Germany" gimmick. All that said, they do make a nice looking watch.


I don't care if they're made on the moon...I own one and appreciate its quality....Heaven for
bid you end up with a watch made in China....get a life Mr.Perfect.


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## Lelski750 (Dec 16, 2020)

Np with where they are made as long as it is transparent and sincere - small things like that matter, it's fair and not perfection snobbery.

Agreed: there are other brands that were bought merely for the brand name and started manufactoring from ground up (Blancpain). They were totally transparent from the start about it and are now one of the icons again.

Dufa should be allowed to do the same and we shouldn't judge without trying them first. They do look good.

My first advice to Dufa would be to put additional info about their recent history, manufacturing process etc to their website, so they don't look like a mushroom brand....


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## StufflerMike (Mar 23, 2010)

e.s. patterson said:


> I don't care if they're made on the moon...I own one and appreciate its quality....Heaven for
> bid you end up with a watch made in China....get a life Mr.Perfect.


Well, with Dartmouth's insincerity, the quality of the watch (if there is such) is irrelevant to me. For me as a watch aficionado DuFa is as far away as the moon, in fact. „Made on the moon" or „Made in Germany" is probably no difference for Dartmouth.

As we all know, Dufa has not much in common with the former German watch factory in Thuringia. London multi-brand group Dartmouth Brands Ltd. revived the Thuringian patient who had actually been declared dead in 2016 after multiple crashes.
Unfortunately, Dufa is intransparent at the moment, which creates question marks rather than „aha" effects in the German watch community.

The current Dufa website is not exactly helpful in counteracting this: background information on the history and the current minds behind the brand are missing.

The minds behind Dufa definitely have to invest a lot of time here to give the brand a face (again). Who is acting in the background of the revived brand? Where are the watches assembled in order to achieve the necessary added value to comply with „Made in Germany"? What's the real history, where is the connection to Etzold & Popitz, Kienzle, Haller and Hott (_Dufa Deutsche Uhrenfabrik GmbH. & Co. KG)? _There's none as far as I can see, just clever marketing.


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## jenya79 (Feb 15, 2013)

e.s. patterson said:


> I don't care if they're made on the moon...I own one and appreciate its quality....Heaven for
> bid you end up with a watch made in China....get a life Mr.Perfect.


😱 Such venom! I was referring to marketing technique not any kind of pretension. I own several chinese made watches, well, that and most watches have components made in China these days anyway. But furthermore heaven forbid a person chooses to base their collection on watches made in one specific country... Take a chill pill Mr. Social Media Activist


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## Buramu (Oct 19, 2015)

jenya79 said:


> 😱 Such venom! I was referring to marketing technique not any kind of pretension. I own several chinese made watches, well, that and most watches have components made in China these days anyway. But furthermore heaven forbid a person chooses to base their collection on watches made in one specific country... Take a chill pill Mr. Social Media Activist


Interesting that e.s.patterson seemingly signed up over here just to make that reply and never bothered to post anything else. DuFa astroturf squad?


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## jenya79 (Feb 15, 2013)

Buramu said:


> Interesting that e.s.patterson seemingly signed up over here just to make that reply and never bothered to post anything else. DuFa astroturf squad?


To be fair, I have gotten my panties in a bunch and replied to some random comment, on a random forum that I had randomly stumbled onto from the Great Mother Google. Still though, indignation met with sarcasm is never wrong in my book... As long as we keep things civil 😊


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## nozydog (12 mo ago)

LosAngelesTimer said:


> One gets a similar feeling from most of the watch brands under the Dartmouth umbrella. Watches of dubious origin and workmanship, like Spinnaker.


i have a beautiful Spinnaker watch! Fully aware they fall under a Chinese umbrella company and are Chinese made! That said mine has a Seiko auto movement and very high build quality and I'm fussy! At the end of the day and at this price point, if you like the design and build, and it has a decent movement then I don't see a problem!


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## LosAngelesTimer (Aug 24, 2017)

nozydog said:


> i have a beautiful Spinnaker watch! Fully aware they fall under a Chinese umbrella company and are Chinese made! That said mine has a Seiko auto movement and very high build quality and I'm fussy! At the end of the day and at this price point, if you like the design and build, and it has a decent movement then I don't see a problem!


Thanks! 
For! 
That! 
Ultra! 
Enthusiastic! 
Reply!!!


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## nozydog (12 mo ago)

john_marston said:


> All those Dartmouth brands market their fake heritage/origin. But Dufa's 'Made in Germany' actually feels like a scam. They did some swindling to get that on the dials. Made in China.


That would absolutely be fraud if no assembly whatsoever happened in Germany! The fact that DuFa are part of Solar Time, a very large company, suggests to me that they wouldn’t risk telling outright lies on a product which could cause pretty major issues for them legally! I’m not saying they are made in Germany but when it clearly says this on the case back and the face then if it’s a lie surely they should be reported for fraud!?


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## StufflerMike (Mar 23, 2010)

nozydog said:


> That would absolutely be fraud if no assembly whatsoever happened in Germany! The fact that DuFa are part of Solar Time, a very large company, suggests to me that they wouldn’t risk telling outright lies on a product which could cause pretty major issues for them legally! I’m not saying they are made in Germany but when it clearly says this on the case back and the face then if it’s a lie surely they should be reported for fraud!?


According to German criminal law it is not a fraud. However, Solar Time is dancing on the edge. DuFa isn‘t a threat to German watch manufacturers and this might be the reason nobody filed a civil justice claim. Simply not worth the hassle.
Deutsche-Uhrenfabrik.de ? And no German on their website ? C‘mon. 
de.-website ? In Germany, a website has to have an impressum. §5 Telemedia Act (TMG) if your website serves business purposes, it must contain an imprint. Accordingly, the imprint obligation applies to all online stores, corporate websites, sites of self-employed and freelancers as well as websites where advertising is being presented or products presented. Does DuFa follow the German Telemedia Act ? C‘mon.


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