An Introduction of UMF Ruhla NVA Kampfschwimmer 1932-M

Have you ever asked yourself what the main reason for choosing a specific watch among the countless options available when buying a new one is? Did you buy it simply because you liked it, or perhaps because others consider it a "good" watch? Was the price the deciding factor? Did you carefully analyze comparable models and brands? Why did you choose a particular model?

I don’t have a single definitive answer for myself. One crucial criterion is that I must genuinely like the watch, where an added bonus is, if the watch is somewhat different or unusual. Only after that I assess also whether the watch is worth the price based on its technical specifications.

Why am I writing about this? Because this time, I bought a watch that took me back to my younger years—to the 1980s, when I first became interested in watches, growing up in an environment where UMF Ruhla watches from East Germany were everywhere. Just seeing the "UMF Ruhla" inscription on the dial was almost enough to seal the deal. And since the watch is also unique due to its size and reasonably priced for its quality, the decision was made. But I will talk about that later.

Before I continue, let me briefly summarize the history of Ruhla. Its story up until 1991 is fairly well-documented. It all began in 1862, with the founding of Gebrüder Thiel GmbH in the town of Ruhla. By 1892, the company had shifted its focus to mass production of simple and affordable pocket watches, having started their development in the 1880s. By 1897, the company was already producing nearly 1.5 million watches annually!

In 1908, Ruhla introduced its first wristwatch, and by the onset of World War II, wristwatches accounted for 45% of their total production.

After the war and the division of Germany, Ruhla became part of East Germany (DDR). Until 1952, the company operated under the control of the Soviet conglomerate "Avtovelo", and most of its production equipment was relocated to the Soviet Union. In 1952, the company was returned to German's people ownership and renamed to Uhren und Maschinenfabrik Ruhla—or UMF Ruhla for short. This marks the official start of UMF Ruhla as a brand.

By 1991, when East and West Germany reunited, Ruhla had become one of the world’s leading watch manufacturers, employing well over 8,000 workers. At least in my region Ruhla watches were considered to be  a cheap and relatively poor quality watches, but with some interesting models. 

The transition from a planned economy to a market economy led to the company’s collapse. What began as a temporary closure turned to a  permanent one, and most of the factory buildings were demolished, leaving only one standing (built in 1929 in Bauhaus style). This is a fate shared by many Eastern European watch brands, such as Poljot in Russia and Prim in the Czech Republic. As with these brands, Ruhla’s decline eventually led to a resurgence of various successor companies, each trying to build legitimacy based on the legacy of the original DDR-era Ruhla.

The first of these successor brands was established in 1991, when two former employees bought part of the production and continued making watches under the Garde Ruhla brand, with the company officially named UMR (Uhrenmanufaktur Ruhla – umr-ruhla.de). However, I found at least four other brands currently claiming the Ruhla name online:

• Ruhla since 1862 (ruhla-watch.com)
• TUW Ruhla (tuw-ruhla.com)
• Ruhla 1929 (part of the PointTec group, which also includes Zeppelin, Iron Annie, and Bauhaus) – ruhla-uhr.de
• UMF Ruhla (umf-ruhla.de)