At BaselWorld this year, Glashütte Original presents sophisticated masterpieces of the German art of engineering. Innovation and tradition, reliability and timeless aesthetics are again the core themes of this year’s new products of the Saxon manufactory.
The Senator Excellence family sees its different lines enlarged. A limited edition of the Senator Excellence Perpetual Calendar features a skeletonized dial and a filigree guilloche pattern, additional dial colors and hand forms enhance the new models of the Senator Excellence Panorama Date and Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase.
Also, Glashütte Original launches a striking version of the successful Senator Chronograph Panorama Date while world travellers can look forward to a new stainless steel version of the Senator Cosmopolite. Last but not least, a fascinating addition to the Sixties line is another highlight this year.
Senator Excellence Perpetual Calendar
The latest addition to the Senator Excellence family reveals the beauty and refined character of the movement to its full extent. The skeletonized dial of the Senator Excellence Perpetual Calendar – Limited Edition offers deep insights into the mechanism within. From the moment it was launched in 2016, the innovative Calibre 36 set new standards in terms of precision, stability, running time and beauty. The new special edition takes up this central theme. Limited to 100 pieces, the new model lends the classic perpetual calendar a contemporary appearance.
Skeletonizing – the cutting of delicate openings in individual components – has long been a fixture of the repertoire of a master watchmaker. Now Glashütte Original has made use of this technique to implement a fresh, modern design. Finely cut out from within the generous dimensions of the matte grey dial ring are the Panorama Date, moon phase, weekday, month and leap year displays, each accented discreetly with a stepped frame.
There is good reason to consider the perpetual calendar one of the most challenging complications in the art of watchmaking. Thanks to its sophisticated mechanism it displays, along with hours, minutes and seconds, the day of the week, month, moon phase and leap year – all the while taking the lengths of the different months into account. In theory, at least, no manual correction will be required until the year 2100. Two characteristic complications have been added, the Panorama Date and the exquisitely crafted moon phase. The Panorama Date presents its large-format numerals on the same plane and without a vertical separation bar, while silver stars are set off against the moon phase display’s dark blue night sky.
In terms of colour, too, the Senator Excellence Perpetual Calendar – Limited Edition is anchored firmly in the 21st century. Set within a 42 mm white gold case, the matte grey dial ring with rhodium plated and polished index appliques and the galvanic grey module cover encounter blue accents. Among the latter are the dark blue Louisiana alligator leather strap, traditional blued hands, the moon phase display’s galvanic blue night sky, along with the printed blue minute numerals on the railroad chapter ring, and the leap year indicator. Through the sapphire crystal on the back of the watch, one can observe the finely finished 36-02 automatic movement, which features a power reserve of at least 100 hours.
All models in the Senator Excellence family feature exceptional quality with respect to precision, stability, running time and beauty. And all provide proof of this claim in the form of an exclusive certificate confirming that each Senator Excellence timepiece has been thoroughly tested for 24 days in Saxon manufactory. An exclusive online portal also provides each watch’s owner access to comprehensive information regarding the various testing procedures, together with comprehensive test results for the watch.
Senator Excellence Panorama Date
Glashütte Original premiered its integrated chronograph movement Calibre 37 at Baselworld four years ago. With initial appearances in platinum and red gold, the new column wheel chronograph’s functional design, exquisite precision and reliable performance earned it immediate acclaim. The debut versions of the Senator Chronograph Panorama Date were followed in 2017 by a stainless steel model featuring a deep black dial and luminous blue Super-LumiNova highlights.
For Baselworld 2018, the Saxon manufactory presents a new stainless steel version of the Senator Chronograph Panorama Date, sure to catch the eye of style-conscious men and women with the high-contrast elegance of its contemporary design: A clear white dial sets off fascinating details presented in deep black. Distinctive by day, the black hour, minute and stop seconds hands, indexes and Roman numerals at hours 6 and 12 become luminous in the dark: Super-LumiNova highlights emit a glowing green light, permitting excellent legibility during night hours.
Handcrafted by the watchmaker’s experts in Pforzheim, the dial speaks the language of contemporary design, made for the man of refined tastes and effortless style. The design reprises the Senator line’s characteristic symmetry, with 30-minute and 12-hour counters complemented by a small seconds dial. The harmonious arrangement of the three chronograph displays is enhanced by the power reserve indicator placed within the small seconds dial. The pure and legible design is enhanced by Glashütte Original’s signature Panorama Date, positioned below the chronograph counter and small seconds triad. In this characteristic feature, the two numeric date discs are mounted at the same level, rendering a central separation bar superfluous and enabling the smooth and impressive display of the date.
The new version of the Senator Chronograph Panorama Date presents an alternately polished and satin-brushed 42 mm stainless steel case, enhancing the cool and sporty elegance of this latest addition to the Senator line. A selection of refined straps allows the owner to reveal yet another facet of his personal style: the brown calfskin model is sewn with off-white thread. A second strap in black rubber is adorned with a lightly textured, laser-cut decoration; both calfskin and rubber versions are available with fold-over clasp or traditional pin buckle closures. A third bracelet, fashioned in polished and satin-brushed stainless steel, is easily adjusted for optimal comfort using the patented, innovative closure, which offers eight separate settings across eight millimetres. A double security mechanism with two buttons on either side prevents accidental opening of the clasp.
The heart of the Senator Chronograph Panorama Date is the Calibre 37-01 chronograph movement with flyback mechanism and 12-hour chronograph counter. The robust build of the column-wheel chronograph makes for exceptional reliability in day-to-day use. Easy to operate, its excellent rate performance guarantees remarkable precision. With a power reserve of 70 hours, this automatic movement is an exemplary addition to a series of outstanding chronographs from Glashütte Original.
Senator Excellence Panorama Date and Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase
Two iconic timepieces from Glashütte Original step out in Basel with a striking new look: This spring the Saxon manufactory presents the Senator Excellence Panorama Date and the Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase in three new versions apiece. Following the debut of initial versions in a classic style, the watches are now available in blue, silver grey and white, mounted in slightly bigger 42 mm stainless steel cases. With this contemporary, elegant design the brand extends its successful Senator Excellence line, which is based on the award-winning Calibre 36 automatic movement.
The new models underscore once again the Saxon watchmaker’s exceptional dial competencies. After all, each colourful new face is the product of an elaborate galvanisation and finishing process performed in Glashütte Original’s in-house dial manufactory in Pforzheim. The galvanic blue dial features a refined sunray decoration, the galvanic silver-grey dial is enhanced by a delicate vertically brushed finish and the smooth matte surface of the lacquered white dial version makes a splendid impression.
In Pforzheim, superb craft skill and dedication to detail also guide the integration of the moon phase and Glashütte Original Panorama Date in the dial. And last, but not least, the Pforzheim experts mount the characteristic appliques, contributing in the process to the lasting impression made by this watch – despite having been stripped down to pure essentials. Striking white gold indexes and colour matched, clear and dynamic sword-shaped hour and minute hands complete the harmonious appearance of the new timepieces, forming an elegant unity.
Thus, while the Senator Excellence Panorama Date and the Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase appear in a new outfit, continuity reigns within. And for good reason: The Calibre 36 – here in versions 36-03 with the Panorama Date and 36-04 with the Panorama Date and moon phase – has already made a name for itself as the epitome of excellence in watchmaking. Introduced in 2016, the manufactory made movement, reduced to the essentials, forms the heart of the entire line. The Calibre 36 has set new standards with respect to ease of use, particularly evident in these characteristic Glashütte Original complications. Both the Glashütte Original Panorama Date and the moon phase are set using the crown, which makes an additional corrector on the case unnecessary.
Senator Cosmopolite
This timepiece is at home all over the world: thanks to its sophisticated time zone mechanism, since its premiere in 2015 the watch has provided genuinely borderless precision. In 2018 Glashütte Original presents the sequel to this success story; thenew Senator Cosmopolite debuts in stainless steel and with a minimalistic design. It is the ideal companion for all who travel frequently or maintain international contacts – and of course for all friends of the renowned German art of watchmaking.
The origin of this mechanical masterpiece is unmistakable: the latest interpretation of the “Cosmopolitan” is executed in the characteristically clear style of Glashütte Original, and is presented here with a particularly contemporary look and feel. Dark blue and white form the predominant impression, with black detail providing visual accents. The clear design also makes reading the individual displays a pleasure.
The 44-mm stainless steel case features both satin-brushed and brilliantly polished surfaces. Dark blue printed Arabic minute numerals and blue appliques are set off against the matte white lacquered dial. A small second at 6 o’clock and the Panorama Date at 4 o’clock complement blued central minute and hour hands. The separate home time display at 12 o’clock is combined with an exceptionally helpful day/night indicator and a power reserve indicator. The two auxiliary dials are circumscribed by a slim, brilliant silver ring.
At 8 o’clock two narrow display windows fit snugly into the curve of the dial and present the destination as an IATA international airport code in one of three colours, and separate displays for Daylight Saving and Standard Time. Positioned at 9 o’clock is the newly designed day/night indicator with a small sun and stylised night sky. The elegant appearance of this timepiece is enhanced and completed by a dark blue Louisiana alligator leather strap with pin buckle or fold-over clasp.
The displays of the Senator Cosmopolite have been designed for easy legibility, but the mechanism behind them is complex. In developing it, the Glashütte engineers have enriched the product line with a complication as ambitious as it is contemporary – while placing particular emphasis on ease of use. With the Senator Cosmopolite one can set the time in two time zones at once, without the wearer having to think twice about it. A time zone ring offers a selection of the 36 world time zones currently in use. Each of them is displayed using an official IATA location code representing an international airport in the relevant time zone.
Not all time zones are offset from the Greenwich Mean Time reference time in intervals of one hour: for this reason, the 24 time zones that do show a full-hour deviation are indicated using a black IATA code; a further nine time zones with half-hour offsets are shown in blue, and the remaining three IATA codes appear in red. The two windows a 8 o’clock allow the wearer to set summer and standard time (Daylight Saving Time – DST / Standard Time – STD); an easily read Day/Night indicator for both home and destination offers additional orientation. Any necessary adjustments of the date while traveling forwards or back in time are handled by the movement’s intricate mechanics.
Setting the displays could not be simpler: the home time can be set using a crown at 2 o’clock, and the current time zone is selected using the crown at 8 o’clock. When traveling east (forward in time), one turns the crown at 4 o’clock clockwise until the IATA code for the destination time zone appears in the corresponding DST or STD window. When traveling west (back in time) one turns the crown counter-clockwise. In both cases the central hour and minute hands shift forwards or back in 15-minute steps, so that the IATA code for the destination time zone can be seen in the DST or STD window.
At this point the traveller needs to make no further changes: the central hour and minute hands indicate the correct time at the destination, enhanced by the correct day/night indication at 9 o’clock – and by the correct date at the destination. If, when setting the destination time, one advances past midnight, the Panorama Date shows the corresponding change of date, backwards or forwards as the case may be.
The intelligent mechanics are hidden within the 4 Hertz manufactory Calibre 89-02, provided with energy by an off-centre rotor. Its power reserve is a minimum of 72 hours. The regulator-free regulating system with swan-neck spring can be adjusted using the four tiny screws on the balance wheel, which ensures a high degree of rate precision. The finely finished surfaces and numerous details of the automatic movement with its typical Glashütte three-quarter plate can be observed through the anti-reflective sapphire crystal case back.
Sixties and Sixties Panorama Date (Annual Edition)
The 1960s have inspired this year’s annual edition – two dazzling, desirable additions to the Sixties Collection from Glashütte Original: the new Sixties and Sixties Panorama Date, with stunning green dégradé dials crafted in the watchmaker’s own dial manufactory, which will only be available for a limited period of one year.
The domed sapphire crystals, curved hands and idiosyncratic Arabic numerals are signature features of the Sixties and Sixties Panorama Date. What most strikes the eye is the dazzling, seductive, retro-cool green of the dial. Its unusual “dégradé effect” sees the colour shade from a lighter centre to the darker, domed periphery of the dial.
As a further example of exceptional authenticity: the Sixties and Sixties Panorama Date dials feature a finely textured surface achieved with the use of original tools and methods. With the help of a 60-tonne press the dial blank is imprinted with the intricate pattern of a guilloche stamp.
Known as “dies”, the originals are held in the dial manufactory archives in Pforzheim. As for the dégradé effect, the process begins with the application of a galvanic base coat, followed by layers of coloured lacquer.
In a final step, black lacquer is carefully applied using a special spray gun, which produces – depending on the angle at which the gun is held – an individual colour gradient that renders each dial unique. The lacquered dials are then fired at high temperature to burn in the colour. Connoisseurs of the Saxon watchmaker’s Sixties Iconic and Sixties Iconic Square Collections and their striking coloured dials will doubtless savour this latest addition to the spectrum.
Despite the fact that life in Glashütte in the 1960s was something of a challenge, such exceptional creations as the iconic “Spezimatic” series of mechanical watches saw the light of day. First introduced in 1964, a number of Spezimatic models made use of dials manufactured in Pforzheim. The relationship with Pforzheim, which began more than 50 years ago, was reinforced in 2006 with the purchase of the dialmaker by Swatch Group, and strengthened again when Glashütte Original assumed direct ownership. Today, full integration of the dialmaker’s expertise allows Glashütte Original to develop exclusive, contemporary dial designs that meet the watchmaker’s extremely high standards of quality.
The new Sixties and Sixties Panorama Date are powered by manufactory designed and built automatic movements, the 39-47 and the 39-52, respectively. The signature Glashütte Original Panorama Date is positioned on the central vertical axis in the lower half of the dial. The three-hand model is housed in a polished 39 mm stainless steel case whereas the mode with Panorama Date comes in a 42 mm stainless steel case. A black calf-skin strap and pin buckle complete the design. Both timepieces are available in Glashütte Original Boutiques and from selected retailers worldwide only for the limited time of one year.
