In 1883, when Heinrich Carl Kroeplin set up shop as a master watchmaker in his hometown of Buetzow (situated in the once large county of Mecklenburg-Schwerin), none would have suspected that he was laying the foundations of a highly specialized corporation with an international clientele and reputation. Even at this early stage though, there was considerable international influence. H. C. Kroeplin was educated and influenced not only by his teachers in various German cities but by his experiences at the Swiss technical university well. Following his studies, he worked in firms near Lake Geneva and in the south of France.

In his own workshop, he quicky began to produce progressive new developments in the measurement instrumentation field. He gathered information about the needs of potential users of precision instruments. The Great Exhibition in Paris provided an excellent chance to survey the newest methods used worldwide. His first major successes were the Barometer along with the more specialized Spherometer and Vertex Refractometer for use by the optical industry.