He was a simple watchmaker, and his start-up capital amounted to exactly 80 marks. But Gerhard Diedrich Wilhelm Wempe also had a number of good ideas when he opened his first modest shop on 5 May 1878 in the town of Elsfleth an der Weser. This was a small watch workshop that also sold watches, and it was located in the house owned by his Aunt Caroline. Nothing like this had ever been seen before in Elsfleth. That’s because Wempe was aligning his business with the special needs of his customers. At that time, the local economy was stagnating. The main industry in Elsfleth had been the construction of sailing ships, but now the era of steamships was beginning. As a result, Wempe initially focused his business on the trade in used watches. His approach was successful, and it wasn’t long before the locals were calling him “Gülden Gerd” (Golden Gerd). He invested his profits immediately — and this innovation was to become a hallmark of his family-owned company. Gerhard Diedrich Wempe also spent a great deal of time and money on the design of his shop windows. No other shop had such appealing displays, and no other shop attracted so many customers. Wempe was defining the formula that would carry the company through the severe crises of the following decades: his shops offered the best quality, the broadest range of products and the highest level of customer care.

The small business established in 1878 in the sleepy German town of “Elsfleth an der Weser” has today become an international company with 32 branches. Wempe showrooms can be found today in seven different countries and on all the world’s oceans on board the magnificent cruise liners, the MS Europa and MS Europa 2.   Our Customers appreciate the individual items presented in our jewellery and watch collections, and value them as precious envoys – envoys which convey a deeply personal message and which, over time, grow into symbols of special events and the emotions experienced in the course of a whole lifetime.  This demanding standard we set ourselves at wempe implies a high degree of responsibility and a very special relationship with our Customers: for you alone, we are privileged to share and to help shape the wonderful experience of giving and receiving gifts. In full knowledge of this privilege, we maintain a culture of the highest level of Expertise and service dedicated to such moments, a culture which continually asks itself not merely what needs to be done – but what is truly possible. This brochure documents our company’s promise: that you can place your trust in us and in our staff before, during and after you purchase from wempe. Our entire firm is dedicated to the most beautiful moments of your life: you may rest assured that we are fully committed to honouring such important occasions.