Colorful is my favorite color - Walter Gropius
Walter Gropius (1883-1969) was a pioneering German architect and founder of the Bauhaus school, which continues to have a major influence on architecture, art and design to this day. For some years now, his idea of the harmony of aesthetics and functionality has been taking shape in expressive wristwatches created under the aegis of product designer Daniel Eltner. Their originality encourages us to consciously perceive and shape time.
Bauhaus meets timekeeping
For lovers of minimalist design in line with the philosophy »Form Follows Function«, the Walter Gropius brand brings the essence of the Bauhaus school to the wrist. The minimalist timepieces, which are fully in keeping with the tradition of the important 20th century style epoch, impress with their straightforward, architecturally influenced style, dedication to detail and choice of tasteful colors. They are not only a tribute to the great pioneer of modern design, but also a statement for contemporary design with the Carpe Diem message of consciously perceiving and shaping time in the here and now.
Product design: Daniel Eltner
The design comes from the pen of the well-known object and industrial designer Daniel Eltner. Through his family, he came into contact with art, crafts, design and architecture at an early age and was thus strongly influenced by the Bauhaus. After graduating from high school, he studied Industrial Design in Munich. While still a student, he founded his own design studio »destudio eltner« and worked together with the Italian designer and silversmith Lino Sabattini. The design label »M.A.D.E.« was created in collaboration with the famous Italian architect and designer Alessandro Mendini. Daniel Eltner is mainly dedicated to the areas of object design, tableware and furniture design. His designs have won several prestigious national and international design awards. This includes his designs for the Walter Gropius watch brand, which has twice won the Good Design Award, the oldest design prize in the world, and once the New York Product Design Award in silver. The award went to the »Atrium« model, the brand's first automatic watch. The »Atrium« offers an insight into Bauhaus architecture in two ways. Through the glass back of the watch, you can look through a metal construction directly into the heart of the watch: the automatic movement. The construction is based on the window bars at the Bauhaus in Dessau and emphasizes the light-flooded glass and steel architecture of Walter Gropius. The famous window front is repeated on the black dial. The colored windows suggest that the viewer is standing in the atrium. They are also modeled on the mystical incidence of light through the stained glass windows in the chapel of Notre-Dame-du-Haut in Ronchamp. Using this example of industrial and sacred architecture, Walter Gropius symbolizes the necessary coexistence of rationality and function as well as subjective sensations and emotions in an industrial product.
Watches Made in Germany
All watches are manufactured in the Franconian town of Würzburg with high quality standards in line with the »Made in Germany« label. Only first-class materials are used, such as scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, high-quality leather and Milanese straps and 316L stainless steel cases. By integrating production, sales and customer service in-house, Walter Gropius guarantees a first-class brand experience.
