Sternglas is famed for its beautiful Bauhaus watch designs. Based in Germany, the brand has been on the rise in the industry for a while now. However, despite being a relatively young company, it has a touching origin story rooted in passion and dedication. Today, we will be discussing the History of Sternglas and how it rose to popularity in the contemporary watch market.
The History of Sternglas
2007 – 2011: The Seeds of Sternglas
A 16-year-old Dustin Fountaine, who would later become the founder of Sternglas, was looking for employment alongside his studies. He eventually took up a job working for a local watch manufactory in Münster, Germany. Although his responsibilities mainly included filing paperwork, packing boxes and changing straps, Fontaine cites this experience as being the catalyst for his watchmaking passion for watches. He became fixated by classical timepieces, analysing their movement, designs, and intricate details.
By the age of 21, Fontaine had accumulated lots of knowledge about different watches. Despite his ever-flourishing love for the industry, he couldn’t help noticing a big flaw within it. After all his years working in the business, Fontaine realised he still wasn’t able to afford the watches he was working with. Unable to shake this from his mind, this incited a determination within him to create watches of his own. This sowed the seeds for what would eventually become Sternglas.
2011 – 2016: First Steps Towards Sternglas
With the determination to create luxury watches at an affordable price, Fontaine began designing minimalist watches. Unfortunately, this first attempt at starting the brand was unsuccessful. Fontaine found himself preoccupied with worries, perfectionism, and high expectations of himself. Ultimately, this led to him giving up his dream.
In 2016, Fontaine decided to try again after entering an unfilling career in web design. This time, he vowed he would not let perfectionism get in the way. With the help of his family, friends, and everyone in between, he managed to motivate himself to complete a portfolio of Sternglas watch designs. Moreover, pushing his doubts aside, he designed the Sternglas logo, branding, and organised product photos and videos.
Later that year, Fontaine launched a Kickstarter campaign. Through Kickstarter, he managed to crowdfund over €16,000 to manufacture the first-ever line of Sternglas watches. The support he received was so monumental that he exceeded his original target by €6,000.
2017-2018: The First Sternglas Watches
In January 2017, an issue arose. Many customers from the first Sternglas shipment were reporting that the glass had broken on their watches. After heading back to the drawing board, it was apparent that the mineral glass on the watches had been constructed incorrectly. However, this small error inadvertently led Sternglas to adopt one of its now-core attributes: sapphire glass. As one of the hardest materials in the world, sapphire glass gives Sternglas watches the reputable quality they are known for today.
Continuing to find its feet in the industry, the Sternglas team began to grow. In 2018, the brand hired its first employees. Fontaine also appointed Henning Haberkamp as co-founder and CFO of Sternglas.
To honour its crowdfunded roots, Sternglas ensured that it maintained an open and interactive exchange with its customer base. Facebook reviews, surveys, and groups revealed that fans of the brand wanted an automatic Sternglas watch. Fulfilling the wishes of its customers, Sternglas announced its first automatic watch.
This automatic watch was very well received. By September 2018, the brand had expanded to accommodate a full collection of watches. At this point in time, the Sternglas portfolio consisted of three quartz and two automatic models. This original collection included the brand’s most popular range to date, the Naos. High-quality, honest, and quintessentially Sternglas, it’s no wonder the Naos remains a fan favourite even today.
2019 – present: Next Steps for Sternglas
After the success of the quartz movement Naos, the brand wanted to release a Naos Automatic. February 2019 saw the launch of the brand’s second-ever crowdfunding campaign to see if this could become a reality. Once again, the campaign was met with an overwhelming amount of support. The financing target of €30,000 was reached in just six hours. By the end of the campaign, the brand had collected over €163,000 in support.
Both the brand’s fanbase and portfolio have continued to proliferate ever since. In 2021, the brand celebrated its 5th birthday. Stronger than ever, today Sternglas is run by a small group of creatives who are equally as passionate about watchmaking as each other. As of 2023, its collection consists of nine men’s and three women’s lines.
Above all, Sternglas has remained true to its original core values. Its objective is not to become a luxury brand, nor has that ever been its intention. Equally, it also does not intend to keep up with trends as fashion brands do. The brand’s mission is to create timeless designs with high-quality materials at a fair price point. As such, in a once polarised market, the brand has paved a third branch for itself.
At First Class Watches, we are an authorised dealer of Sternglas watches. If this story has inspired you, be sure to check out our range of Sternglas watches here.
