STOWA has been acquired by Tempus Arte, home to fellow German watchmakers Lang & Heyne and Leinfelder along with luxury watch personalization specialist Blaken.
STOWA has been an independent brand for over 90 years, and is best known for its pilot watches, which are sold direct to consumer online.
It also produces minimalist automatics and a family of chronographs at prices typically in the £1,000 to £1,500 range.
“We are pleased to now be part of the Tempus Arte Group. It will further strengthen the stable foundation of the popular STOWA brand and also provide the opportunity for further growth. Our know-how in wide variety of areas will help the group to continue to develop positively. We see an exciting future ahead of us,” says Jörg Schauer, former main shareholder of STOWA.
Tempus Arte now has a portfolio of brands covering different segments of the market.
Lang & Heyne is arguably its most prestigious and best-known high end watchmaker outside of Germany, creating low volume prestige timepieces that sell for tens of thousands of pounds.
Leinfelder is also a low volume, prestige producer that sells almost exclusively within Germany.
Adding the volume of STOWA to the group may open new markets for Tempus Arte, which ways the acquisition creates a “sympathetic, agile German group with ambitions that responsibly faces the challenges of the future”.
Hope this will make Stowa jump in terms of popularity. IMHO better quality than Laco, but less market share.