FineWatchesBerlin encapsulates family and design with Bauhaus inspiration

In 1987, not only was Wilfied Liefer’s daughter, Mia-Phyllis, born, so was the idea for his own watch brand.

It wasn’t until 30 years later though that the idea became a reality when FineWatchesBerlin came to fruition.

“Sometimes things take time. After some self-chosen private and professional reorientations, the time had come in 2017. I found the time and leisure to realize this old dream together with my daughter.” Wilfried Liefers recalls.

This dream was finally brought to life in 2019 when the first model, the Teufelsberg Schwarz 1, launched.

Since then there has been a clear division of labor at the family start-up.

Wilfried Liefer is responsible for designs that are based on the ideas of the Bauhaus school, while Mia-Phyllis Liefer takes care of marketing – while of course being the top assessor of her father’s designs.

In doing so, they emphasize that they are far from mimicking existing design concepts and simply adding their logo: “What I don’t like at all are these almost Rolex Divers, almost Max Bill, almost Nomos watches – copy and paste, there’s nothing more boring.

“Of course, the quality of the materials used must be right and valuable. The feel is also important to me, to feel the harmony of weight and processing quality in the hand. A good watch should inspire me to take the time to look at it again and again,” explains Mia-Phyllis Liefer.

The duo want to address people with a strong sense of good design, while another aspect with regard to the brand image is the German capital.

Mr Liefer explains: “The connection to Berlin is important for us. My daughter and I feel very connected to the city. I have lived here for almost 35 years and Mia-Phyllis was born here. A completely new perspective in my life opened up for me in Berlin and we try to implement this “everything is possible” in our watches.

And one mustn’t forget that Berlin is one of the most popular and well-known cities in the world, so it’s not uninteresting in terms of marketing.”

Adding: “Our customer has a sense, a sense of value; a new iPhone can inspire him just as much as his 30-year-old SR 500 or his handmade shoes. He gives in to the impulse to simply step out of the daily hustle and bustle, to take a moment for himself, to treat himself to something. Someone who sits down with a good cup of coffee, takes his FineWatchesBerlin off his wrist and calmly devotes himself to the many small details of the watch and enjoys it.”

The inclined watch lover now has the choice between three product lines: “Teufelsberg”, “HansaViertel” and “Valentina”.

What they have in common is the inner workings of Miyota in the form of the modified automatic movement 8218 or 8315 in the screwed 40.5 millimeter stainless steel case with a 42-hour or 60-hour power reserve, which is visible through the glass bottom.

Other properties include sapphire glass, solid, applied numerals and index, hands and dots lined with luminous material, and handcrafted leather straps with a quick-change mechanism.

The timepieces have been able to adorn themselves with their German-Made origin since 2022, because they have been produced in Ruhla ever since.

The watches retail between €698 and €749.