Japanese whiskey, British cuisine: There is something bracingly refreshing about the non-obvious.

So it is with the German watch. Fine Teutonic timepieces have the dubious fate of being produced on the “wrong” side of the Swiss border.

But as watch snobs know, German watchmakers are anything but also-rans. The tiny Saxon town of Glashütte alone (population: about 5,000) is home to the headquarters of venerable watchmakers like A. Lange & Söhne and Glashütte Original, making it Germany’s answer to Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux, home to Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe.

While German engineering needs no introduction, many of the country’s distinctive timepieces are unknown outside of watch-geek circles. Here are six worth a look.

A. Lange & Söhne
Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase Lumen

Founded Glashütte, 1845 (re-established in 1990 after German reunification).

Design cues: A lunar-themed variant of the iconic Lange 1. It features an etched glass lunar disc, oversize date, a 72-hour power reserve and a moonphase function that needs to be corrected only once every 122.6 years.

Snob appeal: The equivalent of a Tesla Model S next to Patek Philippe’s Mercedes, this boundary-pushing Teutonic stunner has become a favorite of Silicon Valley venture capitalists.

Muhle-Glashütte
S.A.R. Rescue-Timer

Founded Glashütte, 1869.

Design cues This go-to watch of the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service features an oh-soAudi-looking rounded stainlesssteel case and a go-anywhere rubber bezel, and is water-resistant to 1,020 meters. It’s a bathyscaphe for the wrist.

Snob appeal It may be the height of watch-geek vanity to call this fourfigure timepiece a “tool.” That would be akin to a brushed-titanium hammer designed by Dieter Rams.

Nomos Glashütte
Ludwig Neomatik Champagner

Founded Glashütte, 1990.

Design cues The Neomatik’s retrofuturistic minimalism somehow conjures the year 2230 as well as 1930. Beneath the pretty face is groundbreaking engineering that delivers a full-rotor self-winding movement in a superthin 3.2 millimeters.

Snob appeal The perfect choice for architects and Abstract Expressionists. It’s an art-world accessory that pairs well with black suits and angular buffalo-horn eyeglasses, and anyone heading to the Venice Biennale.

Junghans
Max Bill Chronoscope

Founded Schramberg, 1861.

Design cues Bauhaus minimalism lives on. With a design that harks back to 1961, courtesy of Max Bill, the influential Bauhaus designer, the watch captures all that is timeless yet pioneering in German horology.

Snob appeal The Eames lounge chair, the Saarinen table, the gin martini mixed at four to one: Judging by these classics, the “Mad Men” era never ended. Judging by the Junghans Max Bill, it never ought to.

Glashütte Original
Senator Chronograph Panorama Date

Founded Glashütte, 1951.

Design cues If God is in the details, the finish on this timepiece may be considered holy. The platinum version features a heavily grained dial with a base of gold, which is then laser engraved, with a black lacquer added, and then fired in an oven, leaving only the inlay of the engraved areas; the dial is then “silver plated by friction” (a process called Anreibeversilberung, for those who really want to impress friends).

Snob appeal If Rolex is Beethoven, this is Scriabin. The cognoscenti will give a knowing nod if you show up to cocktails wearing this.

Sinn
EZM 7 Mission Timer

Founded Frankfurt am Main, 1961, by a former World War II pilot.

Design cues Made for firefighters using breathing-protection equipment, it features a hardened stainless-steel case, antifogging technology, magnetic-field protection and G.M.T. displays for two time zones.

Snob appeal Any he-man can wear a pilot’s watch, and many do. To go high style with a firefighter’s watch? Well, that’s next-level in terms of macho style.