Wagner – Original “RLM – Reichs-luftfahrt-ministerium” German WWII Military Luftwaffe Watch

Ernst Wagner – Uhrenfabrik Ernst Wagner, Pforzheim (founded 1933)

Ernst Wagner established the Uhrenfabrik Ernst Wagner in 1933 in Pforzheim, the city that had served as Germany’s principal centre for jewellery and watchmaking since the 18th century. Under the brand name Erwa — a contraction of Ernst Wagner — the firm began producing wristwatches and watch cases. The factory was located at Lindenstraße 38–42 in Pforzheim. Wagner’s enterprise was part of a broader network of Pforzheim-based watch manufacturers that had emerged during the 1920s and 1930s, a period in which the German wristwatch industry expanded rapidly. Firms such as Laco (founded 1925), Stowa (founded 1927), and Aeschbach (founded 1923) were active in the same city, many of them sourcing movements from German ébauche suppliers rather than relying exclusively on Swiss imports. Wagner was connected to this supply chain through UROFA (Uhren-Rohwerke-Fabrik Glashütte AG), the Glashütte-based movement manufacturer established in 1926 which supplied this UROFA Caliber 58, a Raumnutzwerk (space-saving movement) produced in Glashütte. Some of the Pforzheim watch factory owners, including Wagner, were also shareholders in UROFA. The UROFA Caliber 58 was one of a family of compact movements — alongside the Calibers 85 and 581 — developed specifically in the mid-to-late 1930s for large-scale production as part of Germany’s rearmament programme. These calibers were designed to meet military specifications for robustness and reliability in a compact format suitable for wrist-worn service watches. This watch was made for the « RLM » (Reichsluftfahrtministerium) for Luftwaffe, with the case left unsigned.

Their relative scarcity today — compared to more widely documented brands such as Laco or Stowa — reflects both their lower production volumes and the catastrophic destruction of Pforzheim on 23 February 1945, when an RAF bombing raid destroyed over 80% of the city’s buildings, killed approximately 17,600 people, and obliterated numerous watch factories along with their records, machinery, and stock. Wagner’s factory survived the war, and after the conflict the firm continued producing watch cases and civilian wristwatches into the late 1950s Today, Ernst Wagner Dienstuhren with UROFA 58 movements are regarded as collectible pieces of German military horological history.

Their scarcity, combined with their documented wartime provenance and the Pforzheim manufacturing context, places them among the less common but historically significant examples of Second World War German service watches.

Case material: Chromed metal

Back Style: pressure

Diameter: 35,5 mm

Caliber: UROFA 58

Rarity: *** rare

Condition: **** very good