250px, Sinn Modell 356 Flieger II Sinn is a German

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or Production (economics), production of goods with the help of equipment, Work (human activity), labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary se ...

of mechanical and quartz wristwatches based in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. The company was founded in 1961 by

flight instructor A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to operate aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate ...

and

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

(1916–2018) under the name ‘Helmut Sinn Spezialuhren’.

History

Following its foundation in 1961, the company focused on the manufacture of navigation cockpit clocks and pilot chronographs and sold these through

direct selling Direct selling is a business model that involves a party of people buying products from a parent organization and selling them directly to customers. It can take the form of either single-level marketing (in which a direct seller makes money pu ...

, bypassing retailers. The clocks and watches were produced according to pilot Helmut Sinn's specifications in the private label sector in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. In the 1960’ and 1970s Sinn manufactured cases for military and consumer purposes, most notably the Heuer/Sinn Bundeswehr, of which there were two general configurations of Sinn-branded dials that included the Heuer logo: the "3H-only" - a red 3H-symbol appears just below the center, and the "clean" - no markings beyond the "Heuer" logo, and two with only the Sinn logo. In 1985, the Sinn 140 S chronograph was among the first automatic chronographs to be used in space. In 1994, Helmut Sinn sold the company to Lothar Schmidt. Following the sale, he acquired Swiss watchmaker Guinand in 1996. In 1998, he set up a new company in Frankfurt am Main. With this company, he offered brand watches from Jubilar, Chronosport and the newly acquired Guinand. In 2006, he retired from business activity. After handing over the management of the business to his long-standing employee Horst Hassler, he acted as an advisor to the company. On 3 September 2016 Helmut Sinn celebrated his 100th birthday. His death at age 102 was announced in February 2018. Mission timers (in German: "Einsatzzeitmesser") for professional users also play an important role. These include special forces such as the marine unit of the German federal police

GSG 9 , formerly , is the police tactical unit of the German Federal Police (Bundespolizei). The unit is responsible for combatting terrorism and violent crime, including organized crime. In addition to its headquarters location in Sankt Augustin-H ...

, the fire service, divers and pilots. German physicist and astronaut

Reinhard Furrer Reinhard Alfred Furrer (25 November 1940 – 9 September 1995) was a German physicist and astronaut. Furrer was born in Wörgl, Ostmark (now Austria). After the end of World War II, his father was expelled from Austria. The family found a ne ...

wore the 140 S on his wrist during the Spacelab D1 mission in 1985, thus proving that a mechanical SINN watch with automatic movement also works with zero gravity. During the

Mir ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...

’92 mission in 1992, astronaut Klaus-Dietrich Flade flew into space with a 142 S from Sinn Spezialuhren on his wrist. In 1993, it was the 142 from Sinn Spezialuhren that was on board the Columbia on Mission D2.

Awards

Sinn watches won first place at the awards in the following years: * 1998: 103 Ti Ar (watches up to 2,000 Marks) * 2006: Frankfurt Financial District Watch in white gold (watches up to 10,000 euros) * 2008: 6100 REGULATEUR rose gold * 2010: 900 PILOT * 2010: 6100 REGULATEUR rose gold * 2012: Frankfurt Financial District Watch in platinum

Watches

Standard models are mechanical watches like the Sinn Pilot Chronograph 103 or the Space Chronograph 140. Usually technical details include pressure-resistant up to 20 bar and more, as well as anti-magnetic functionality according

DIN DIN or Din or din may refer to: People and language * Din (name), people with the name * Dīn, an Arabic word with three general senses: judgment, custom, and religion from which the name originates * Dinka language (ISO 639 code: din), spoken ...

8309. Furthermore, the Pilot Chronograph EZM 10 TESTAF ensures a reliable functionality from minus 45 degree Celsius up to plus 80 degree

Celsius The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius temperature scale "Celsius temperature scale, also called centigrade temperature scale, scale based on 0 ° for the melting point of water and 100 ° for the boiling point ...

. The Sinn 144 GMT was designed around a Porsche Design Orfina/Prestige Watch International. The diving watch for special operation forces of the navy like the Sinn Diving watch U2 for example has the following specifications: * completely made with high-strength seawater-resistant German submarine steel * clock work: self-winding mechanism by mechanical movement or manually by winding the crown of the watch * Sapphire crystal glass in front, anti-reflective on both sides * functionally reliable from - 45 degree Celsius up to +80 degree

* pressure-resistant to 2000 meter (m) diving depth * anti-magnetic as per

8309 The German special forces unit of the federal police

uses the Sinn UX watch for its maritime forces.

References

External links

Official PL Distributor

Official Website

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{{Authority control Watch manufacturing companies of Germany Manufacturing companies based in Frankfurt German brands Watch brands Manufacturing companies established in 1961

History

Awards

Watches

See also

References

Further reading

External links