Glashütte Senator Perpetual Calendar – Black Ceramic

At Baselworld my favourite German brand, Glashütte Original, introduced a stunningly simplistic variation of the Senator Perpetual Calendar. Clean, precise and subtle this is German engineering at its best. The watch is practical and sensible and yet at the same time visually alluring. There is no particular stand-out feature on the dial but still I can’t seem to drag my attention away from it! This is the beauty of a quality German watch, no fancy bells and whistles, just exceptional craftmanship.

Simplified Detail
In typical German style the watch is detailed and yet at the same time precise. What other watchmaker can tell you the time, day, date, month, moon phase and indication of a leap year all on the same dial without even looking remotely cluttered!?

Everything on the dial has its place and all information is displayed in the most simplistic way possible and in a font size that can easily read. The sensible color scheme also helps immensely in this area. The white contrasts well against the black for clear and legible reading and the subtle red highlight provides just enough color to draw the eye.

There is no question that this is a very subdued looking piece, however, at the same time the matt black ceramic case gives it a modern appearance, successfully combining tradition and innovation. The leap year display with jumping indicator located at 12 o’clock indicates a leap year when its red indicator points to the 4.

Quality Engineering
The 42 mm ceramic case houses an automatic manufacture Caliber 100-07, with a rather impressive power reserve of more than 55 hours (+/- 10%). This movement also features a unique reset mechanism that allows for easy synchronization of the second hand with a time standard.

Unlike other reset mechanisms, the second hand here is neither connected to the winding stem nor the crown. Therefore, when the crown is pulled out the balance remains in oscillation and the movement continues to run. This significantly reduces material stress consequently prolonging the life of the movement.

To activate the reset mechanism you press a separate button on the side of the case at 8 o’clock (cannot be seen in the photo above). The rotor winds in both directions, providing constant power to the movement.

Finishing off this stunning tribute to Geman know-how is a scratch-resistant black calfskin strap with tonal stitching and a ceramic buckle.

As I mentioned at the start of the article Glashütte Original is pretty much my favorite German watch brand so I am inclined to be quite biased in this regard. Having said that, this timepiece and its incredible craftmanship literally speaks for itself. Smooth, clean lines, uncluttered dial and yet at the same time providing an incredibly detailed level of information.

This is German ingenuity at its best.

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Glashütte Original Senator Chronometer – The Classic Watch

If you are looking for a classic dress watch you really cannot go past high-quality German watchmaker Glashütte Original. Combining exceptional craftsmanship with no nonsense German design, the brand continually produces highly desirable, ageless timepieces. Case in point: the Glashütte Original Senator Chronometer.

Classic Design
The Senator Chronometer features everything you’re looking for in the perfect dress watch. The silver dial provides a richly contrasting surface for the hand-polished, blued sweep minute and pear-shaped hour hands. Elegantly simplistic it features subsidiary seconds and power reserve displays along the central axis with the latter, located at 12 o’clock, displaying the energy remaining to the hour.

It’s worthwhile taking a bit of time to discuss this seemingly simplistic looking dial, as is often the case, appearances are deceiving. Although not immediately apparent, an extensive manufacturing process goes into making the dial’s seemingly simple surface. Despite the additional time and cost involved, the manufacturer has chosen to employ a vintage tradition: a technique known as l’argenture grainée, a frosted silver plating.

The first step in this complex process consists of machine-blasting the surface of the brass dial with a mixture of water, chalk, and wood. Then a paste containing silver powder and water is carefully applied by hand to the blasted surface. The end result is a truly captivating dial that draws the eye without being too flashy or shiny.

German Precision
It would not be a classic German watch, however, if the focus was purely aesthetic. As the name suggests, the movement is a highly accurate chronometer. In order to achieve this title the movement is required to satisfy a series of tests performed by official independent institutes. The focus of these tests is to determine the exacting level of rate precision of the timepiece utilizing standardized measuring procedures. Only with certification from an authorized institute is a timepiece allowed to be called a chronometer.

Whilst it goes without saying that at Glashütte Original all manually wound calibers are tested according to these strict criteria, the Senator Chronometer is the first timepiece with official confirmation in the form of a certificate.

Thanks to the redesigned Glashütte Original manual winding Caliber 58-01 which powers this masterpiece, precise synchronization of the minute and second hands has now been made possible. A stop-seconds / reset mechanism allows the wearer to set the precise time with ease. Pulling the crown stops the time display and causes the second hand to jump to the beginning position, where it remains; the minute hand moves simultaneously to the next full minute. When the crown is then turned to set the time, the minute hand stops only on the indication of the full minute, thus always guaranteeing the correct relationship between the minutes and seconds displayed.

Providing the perfect view of this finely finished movement is an anti-reflective sapphire crystal case back. Glashütte are well known for their ornate movements and this one is no exception. The owner has a privileged view of the three-quarter plate, screw-mounted gold chatons, and hand-engraved balance cock. Of special note are the newly developed planetary gears that control the display of the movement’s power reserve. When fully wound the Caliber 58-01 has a power reserve of 45 hours.

Available in either rose or white gold, and finished off by a black Louisiana alligator skin strap with a folding clasp for a secure and comfortable fit.

I think it’s fair to say that Glashütte Original make phenomenal watches. Of special note are the classic pieces such as the one shown above which provide the perfect blend of aesthetic and mechanical perfection to create truly timeless watches that can be worn on any occasion and showcase a level of sophistication not often seen.


thewatchlounge.com

Glashütte Original Senator Sixties Panorama Date

Glashütte Original previews the Senator Sixties Panorama Date which combines the Senator Sixties’ distinctive retro-modern design with GO’s trademark panorama date. This new model will be available in a stainless steel case measuring 42 mm x 12.4 mm, with a galvanized black or satin-finished silver dial. The GO Calibre 39-47 movement is visible through a sapphire display back

The black-dial version features silver Arabic numerals, white gold baton hour, minute and seconds hands and diamond-cut hour markers, and the date is presented in white numerals on a black ground. The satin-finished silver model features black Arabic numerals, rose gold hands, diamond-cut hour markers and the date in black on white.

The price and estimated delivery date are not available as this is posted. Technical data appears below the image, which you can enlarge with a click.

Technical Data

References: 39.47.01.02.04 with silver dial, 39.47.03.02.04 with black dial
Case Diameter: 42 mm
Height: 12.4 mm
Case Material: Stainless steel
Waterproof up to: 3 ATM
Glass: Sapphire crystal, on both sides anti-reflective
Bottom: Sapphire crystal, inside anti-reflective
Movement: Calibre 39-47
Dimensions: Diameter: 30.95 mm, Height: 5.9 mm
Balance: without regulate screws
Oscillating frequency: 28.800 A/h
Power reserve: 40 hours (+/- 5%)
Balance spring: flat spring
Shock protection: Incabloc

Additional details: Automatic movement, hour, minute, second central, panorama date at 6 o’clock, hands rose or white gold with luminous, luminous spots on the hours, beveled edges, polished steel parts, Glashütte three-quarter plate with stripe finish, skeletonized rotor with 21-ct gold oscillation weight, swan-neck fine adjustment.