As a first-grader, Daniel Malchert was already taking apart alarm clocks. It’s not hard to imagine that he has wanted to be a watchmaker ever since. Malchert, now 32, represents the fourth generation of watchmakers in his family, continuing almost a century of tradition that began with his great-grandfather Georg in 1919 in Quedlinburg, Germany.

In case you’re not familiar with Quedlinburg, don’t worry. Not many people are. A relatively small town populated by about 20,000 people, it is located just north of the Harz mountains in the state of Saxony-Anhalt – a good couple hundred kilometers from Glashütte, the buzzing horological center of German watchmaking. Picturesque Quedlinburg is a UNESCO world heritage site and its townscape is characterized by historical red-roofed, half-timbered buildings. And it is here that Georg Malchert founded what surely would have become a flourishing dynasty of proud watchmakers, had World War II not upset the flow. Fortunately though, the Malcherts survived both the devastating war time and the ensuing iron curtain government with business intact. No small feat, indeed.