Table of Contents

Sinn Frankfurt Financial District

by Stephen Foskett (Grail Watch)

Sinn 6000 Frankfurt Financial District Watch (click to enlarge!)
Sinn 6000 Frankfurt Financial District Watch
© Sinn

Sinn created the Frankfurter Finanzplatz (“Frankfurt Financial District”) model in 1999. It has since expanded to a range of watches.

Overview

Sinn 6060 World Timer (click to enlarge!)
Sinn 6060 World Timer
© Sinn

Sinn launched the first Frankfurter Finanzplatzuhr, a 38.5 mm chronograph, in 1999. That model could show three timezones at once, thanks to a GMT hand and rotating inner bezel, and this has become a signature feature of the model. The time-only Model 6060 was added in 2001 and an alarm version in 2005. In 2007, the company launched an official “Frankfurter” line with the launch of three smaller 34 mm models. The chronograph and time-only model showed only two time zones, but Model 6036 had all three.

The range was upsized to 41.5 mm to keep with the times starting in 2012 with a large date version. But it was the 2014 launch of Model 6099 that finally delivered a larger alternative to the original chronograph. Sinn added a full calendar chronograph model in 2014 and similar moon phase chronograph in 2019. The world time was finally upsized in 2017 two years after a cheaper dual timezone in the original size was launched.

Today, the lineup consists of three 38.5 mm models (a chronograph, world time, and dual time), and four 41.5 mm models (chronograph, world time, calendar chronograph, and moon phase chronograph).

This model range is not as well-known as Sinn's instrument chronographs and pilot's watches but has found a market, especially among German businessmen. They exemplify the company's, and indeed the nation's, dedication to simplicity of design and useful technology. The “Frankfurter” watches have been celebrated, winning the prestigious Goldene Unruh award in 2006 and have been featured with special editions in precious metals.

History

In 1999, Sinn added a model to celebrate the company's home city of Frankfurt and to appeal to the business and finance professionals there. The Frankfurt Financial District Watch was designed to reflect the sensibilities of the German businessman, with clean utilitarian lines, a restrained black dial, and stainless steel case. And, reflecting the international appeal of Frankfurt, the Frankfurt Financial District Watch was designed to show the time in multiple timezones. The company suggested that it could keep track of the time in New York and Tokyo, two other major stock exchanges, while showing the local time in Frankfurt.

The original 38.5 mm Model 6000 uses a Valjoux 7750 automatic chronograph movement modified to add an independently adjustable hand for a second timezone. The third timezone is read using the internal rotating bezel. Both of these use a 12-hour scale rather than the 24-hour scale used on many other GMT watches. At launch, the Ref. 6000 Frankfurt Financial District Watch was part of the Sinn Classic line, along with other dress watches like the Sinn 6015, Sinn 6026, and Sinn 6100.

Sinn added a second “Frankfurter” watch in in December, 2001. The Model 6060 Frankfurter Weltzeiturh ("Frankfurt World Time Watch") did not initially use the “Financial District” name, and was part of the “Klassische Meisterwerke” line like the Model 6000. But the resemblance between the models was unmistakable The modern case, black dial, adjustable GMT hand, and inner rotating world time bezel were all similar. Thanks to the ETA 2893 ebauche, this model had a traditional 24-hour GMT hand instead of the 12-hour hand found on the original. The Model 6060 remains in the lineup as of 2019.

A third Frankfurt model was launched in August, 2004, the Model 6066 Frankfurter Finanzplatzwecker ("Frankfurt Financial District Alarm"). This watch strongly resembled the Model 6060 but added a third crown for an alarm capability using the Jaquet 5900 movement. The alarm time is set using a wide window at 6 00.

Sinn 6030 Frankfurt Financial District Watch IV (click to enlarge!)
Sinn 6030 Frankfurt Financial District Watch IV
© Sinn

In April 2007, Sinn officially split the Frankfurter Finanzplatzuhren (“Frankfurt Financial District Watch”) line from the Klassiche. This coincided with the launch of two more models The Model 6030 Finanzplatzuhr IV chronograph and Model 6033 Finanzplatzuhr V. Both watches measure 34 mm in diameter and can be thought of as ladies models in the Finanzplatzuhr line. Model 6030 uses an ETA 2094 automatic chronograph movement with a 3-6-9 subdial arrangement. Model 6033 uses the common ETA 2892-A2 movement and moves the inner bezel hand to 2 00. Both lack the GMT hand but retain the inner rotating 12-hour bezel. A third 34 mm model was added in December of that year, Model 6036, which regains the third timezone functionality thanks to the ETA 2893-2 movement. All three feature a “bull and bear” motif on the rotor.

The next addition to the line came in March, 2012. Model 6090 uses the ETA 2892-A2 with a module for big date and a second timezone subdial with minutes and indpendently-adjustable hour hand. It was also the first larger model, sporting a 41.5 mm case but still retains the classic adjustable inner bezel and crown at 10 00. In April, 2014 a larger version of the original Financial District chronograph was added Model 6099 has a 41.5 mm case but looks otherwise much like the original. Inside, a Sellita SW 500 ebauche is used instead of the ETA version. One month later, another 41.5 mm model was added. Model 6052 adds a full calendar display, with day and month in windows inside the chronograph 60 minutes counter at 12 00 and date by pointer taking the place of the traditional third-timezone inner bezel. A unique feature of this model is the week number indicator in the subdial at 6 00. This model features calibre SZ03, the first Frankfurter to use one of Sinn's own movements.

In April, 2015 a simpler version of the Model 6060 was added Model 6068 features the same 38.5 mm case but opts for a simpler SW 300-1 movement, relying only on the rotating bezel for second timezone support. The Sinn 6066 had been out of production since 2012 by this point, and the Sinn 6030, 6033, 6090, and 6036 would follow in the next few years.

The most recent additions to the lineup are the Model 6096 41.5 mm World Time and Model 6012 Moon Phase. Launched in November, 2017, the Model 6096 Frankfurt World Time is a large 41.5 mm watch with the ETA 2893-2 GMT movement. It can be seen as a belated “big brother” to the Model 6060, which had been in production for 16 years at that point. Baselworld 2019 saw the launch of the Model 6012 with a full calendar and moon phase indicator. Using Sinn's own SZ06 movement, this is an update to the 2014 Model 6052 with a 12-hour chronograph counter and moon phase replacing the week number display at 6 00.

Model Chronology

Sinn 6066 Finanzplatzwecker (click to enlarge!)
Sinn 6066 Finanzplatzwecker

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