Luftwaffe Chronograph
 

Recently I was going through some things I got when my Grandfather passed away and I found this watch.
Grandpa was an avid metal detector enthusiast and I suspect he dug this up one day somewhere.

As far as I can tell it's a Tutima Glashutte Luftwaffe Chronograph circa 1941. Inside the back its signed with
Wassergeschutz, Boden Edelstahl, *
Uhrenfabrik AG Glashutte
Which I guess means waterproof/shock resistant watch factory AG Glashutte.

Sadly, it appears the mainspring is broken but the internals look good otherwise. I spoke with a local watch shop and they estimated it would cost around $1K to repair if they could get parts. The local shop didn't know much about it but they did make me a surprisingly reasonable offer for the condition based on blue book value.
Looking around the internet I can see that these watches are apparently quite valuable (although prices vary wildly) but there is little information beyond that.

Anybody out there a watch collector who might have some more information about these watches?
Here's another example:
http://www.farfo.com/menswatches/Pag...ronograph.html

Hanhart of Switzerland, Lange & Sohne and Tutima, located in Glashutte, Germany made official Luftwaffe wrist watches. They are valuable today. An average example can fetch $2,000-$3,000. Having the original riveted wrist band would have helped value tremendously. You can contact Tutima Glashutte and ask them if they can repair the watch for you, (you will recognize their "Gran Flieger" in the collection)! http://tutima.com/watch/grand-flieger-6402-01/

http://tutima.com/watches/

Another option is to look for vintage repair and restoration shops like the Old Time Watch shop, who tend to have more expertise and the parts for these old mechanical movements.

http://oldtimewatchclockshop.com/

Probably the best help you will get is the guys over at Military Watch Buyer. They will help value, sell or repair the watch for you.

http://militarywatchbuyer.com/blog/l...-wristwatches/

Wow!
Great find. I love the old chronograph watches. IMHO I would have it restored and wear it with pride.It is like wearing a piece of history. The feel and workmanship of these mechanical devices is amazing.I have my dads wrist watches,my grandpas pocket watch and my great granddads pocket watch.:thumbup:
Based on personal experience,I wouldn't take it your local shop to have it worked on. They have probably never even seen a Tutima. You need to send it to a specialist.
Doug gave some good advice. My thought is to post your request at the Heuer Forum.
I like to mess about with the old Heuer watches. Great quality and lots of history.
The website is http://www.onthedash.com/
The knowledgeable folks there could give you some ideas on where to send it for a quality service. It wont be cheap,but it will be a worthwhile investment.
Bob

Sent you 2 PM since you like Heuer watches.

Thanks for the replies and the web links.
It was my thought as well that this watch would require specialist attention.
I have some other high-end watches so I know this kind of work does cost money.
Ideally it can be repaired/refurbished for a reasonable (based on the value of the watch) price and I could actually wear it once in a while. :)

I found this website:
http://www.glashuetteuhren.de/kalibe...fa/kaliber-59/
Tons of information about German Glashutte watches!

I contacted the owner and sent him some photos and he kindly provided this information:

"According the details of the movement and the number I would say your watch was manufactued at the end of 1943 or beginning of 1944. From the missing signet of the company "Uhrenfabrik AG Glashütte (Tutima)" I can see that the watch was not manufactured directly in Glashütte but at an outpost of the company somewhere else. At the moment I know the outposts in Dresden, Stuttgart (both in Germany), and Besancon (today belonging to France)."