Today I have a special new limited edition piece from Glashütte Original. This exceptional timepiece, handmade in the firm’s manufactory and limited to 25 pieces, pays homage to the pioneering spirit of two extraordinary men, Julius Assmann and Roald Amundsen. Now, while paying homage to Julius Assmann is not surprising given that he is revered today as one of the founding fathers of watchmaking in Glashütte, I admit that seing the name Roald Amundsen tied to Glashütte Original definitely got my attention. After all, what could Amundsen — the famed Norweigan explorer who was first man to reach both the South Pole and the North Pole (among many other extreme exploration feats), Amundsen — have to do with Glashütte? Turns out there is a story here, and I’ll let the folks from Glashütte Original tell it to you, after the jump…
Before setting out on his historic voyage to the South Pole, Roald Amundsen acquired a number of Assmann observation watches, including one crafted by the young Glashütte watchmaker Paul Löwe in 1907/08. Löwe’s watch proved to be exceptionally precise, and he was urged to send it for testing to the German Naval Observatory in Hamburg, the institute officially responsible for testing and certifying the accuracy of navigational timekeepers made in Germany. It was there that Roald Amundsen saw the watch, and he purchased it in 1910. Shortly thereafter, on December 14th, 1911, the Norwegian polar explorer and his team became the first persons ever to reach the geographic South Pole.
Observation watches, also known as “deck watches” were used by navigation officers in conjunction with marine chronometers and other instruments to determine as precisely as possible a ship’s position at sea, and Amundsen will have made good use of his observation watches during his voyage to Antarctica on the polar ship, Fram.
Once he and his team set out from their base camp at Framheim on the Bay of Whales, however, the time kept by his observation watches became the only standard: one watch was set to a home time and assumed the function of the marine chronometer on a ship; a second watch was set to local time; measurement of the difference between the two was used to calculate, using spherical trigonometry, the team’s position during the trek to the South Pole; a compass and sextant were also used.
Thus, Amundsen’s observation watches were absolutely critical to his mission: without them, he could never have reached his destination, much less claimed victory for Norway. In Oslo today, the Fram Museum displays, along with many other artifacts documenting the historic trek, one of Amundsen’s Glashütte observation watches, complete with the inscription “J. Assmann – Glashütte” on the dial. Observation watches continued to be manufactured in Glashütte until 1971, a testament to the ongoing production of high quality timepieces even during challenging times.
Fast forward to today — the splendid timepiece you see here is presented in a limited edition of 25 pieces, bears the name “Senator Observer”, in honour of Julius Assmann’s observation watches and Amundsen’s achievement in reaching the South Pole. The Senator Observer 1911’s lacquered silver-grain dial is built up slowly from three separate layers of white lacquer, the third of which features a finely textured, silver-grain surface. The dial presents subsidiary seconds and power reserve displays at 9 and 3 o’clock respectively; Glashütte Original’s characteristic panorama date display at 6 o’clock; and blued and polished sweep minute and pear-shaped hour hands. A milled railroad chapter ring frames the black Arabic numerals.
The Senator Observer Limited Edition 1911 – Julius Assmann features a cylindrical case fashioned in white gold, complemented by a brown calfskin strap evocative of the age of pioneering adventurers and explorers epitomized by Amundsen.
The case back, engraved with the limited edition number (01/25), frames an antireflective sapphire crystal bearing the dates of Amundsen’s arrival at the South Pole and its centennial anniversary: 14 Dec. 1911 – 14 Dec 2011; the name Julius Assmann – Glashütte i/SA, and “Tribute to R. Amundsen”.
At the heart of the Senator Observer 1911 – Julius Assmann is the automatic caliber 100-14, an exquisitely finished self-winding movement. Traditional observation watches used hand-wound movements; Glashuette Original has chosen to outfit the Senator Observer 1911 – Julius Assmann with a contemporary automatic movement from our manufactory to maximize comfort for the wearer. Thus, the ‘Ab Auf’ indicator on the dial represents a true power reserve, rather than a simple indication of running time.
The base movement is outfitted with a reset mechanism, which makes for easier synchronization of the second hand with standard time. In contrast to other reset mechanisms, the second hand is not coupled with the winding stem or the crown. This results in the balance continuing to oscillate and the movement continuing to run despite the crown being pulled out, which considerably reduces wear and tear on materials. The reset mechanism is activated by pushing a separate corrector.
A bi-directional winding rotor delivers energy to a patented, stepped reduction gear, and then to two smaller, serially operating spring barrels. Large amounts of energy are transmitted to the mainspring, and the spring barrel is filled quickly.
Visible through the sapphire case back, the Caliber 100-14 is a fitting tribute to Julius Assmann. The movement features the characteristic Glashütte three-quarter plate, screw-mounted gold chatons, and a rotor with 21-carat gold oscillating weight and the gold-plated double-G mark that distinguishes high end mechanical watches from Glashütte Original.
At Baselworld this year, Glashütte Original introduced a new model in its “Senator Navigator” collection — the Glashütte Original Senator Navigator Worldview. My initial reaction to this watch was not one of great excitement, but as I have revisited it again and again over the last few weeks, the watch makes more sense to me and I am warming up to it. After all, adding a “world time” function to a “Navigator” watch makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? And, it is also easy to see that the core DNA of the watch remains wholly intact, which is a good thing, because the original Senator Navigator (Panorama Date) is such a great watch (in fact it would still be my preference of the two). But if you are looking for a slightly different take on a “world time” watch (as opposed to something like this Breguet or this Vacheron or this Jaeger-LeCoultre or this BALL), then this German-made timekeeper is worth considering. The Glashütte Original Senator Navigator Worldview price is $11,500 (7850 EUR) and will be available later this year.
Glashütte Original Senator Navigator Worldview
44mm stainless steel case, “panorama date”, luminous hour markers, inner-rotating Worldtimer city-ring, automatic mechanical GO Caliber 39-47 (display back)
The finishing on all Glashütte Original watches is of excellent quality — with a beautiful skeletonized rotor with 21K gold oscillation weight, swan-neck fine adjustment, and Glashütte three-quarter plate “Geneva” (Glashütte?) striping (if you want a closer look at these details, check the Senator Automatic I reviewed last year). And of course all Glashutte’s movements are “in-house” which is especially meaningful because it means “Made in Germany” as opposed to “Swiss Made”.
Partial Lume Shot
Baselworld 2011 – One of my favorite brands, Glashütte Original (pronounced: glass-shoo-ta) released a very nice and legible Perpetual Calendar in its flagship Senator collection. The reference 100-02-25-05-04 (or -05, depending on choice of strap) features a red gold case which pairs nicely against the black-dial with white Arabic numerals. The moon phase disc also fits onto the dial nicely and is adorned with silver stars and a radiant silver moon. A discreet leap year display presents a red dot to indicate a leap year, followed by white, black and yellow dots for successive years.
I’d be curious to hear any thoughts on the look of this watch on the black rubber strap, as pictured below.
Glashütte Original Senator Perpetual Calendar
42mm rose gold case
The heart of the Senator Perpetual Calendar, easily visible through the sapphire glass mounted in the case back, is the Glashütte Original Caliber 100-02. The Cal 100-02 has signature Glashütte touches such as the three-quarter plate with Glashütte ribbing, the skeletonized rotor with 21-ct gold oscillation weight, twin spring barrels and swan-neck fine adjustment.
Glashütte Original is also quick to point out that this particular model is equipped with a reset mechanism which allows for easy synchronization of the second hand with a time standard — unlike other reset mechanisms, the second hand is connected neither to the winding stem nor the crown. As a result, when the crown is pulled out, the balance remains in oscillation and the movement continues to run, significantly reducing material stress. Pressing a separate button on the side of the case at 8 o’clock activates the reset mechanism.
by Kyle Stults on February 17, 2011
Groovy, man!
You are in luck today as I have scooped a couple looks at another new 2011 model from Glashütte Original. The new watch is currently presented exclusively as a Basel preview in Berlin at the 61st Berlinale where Glashütte Original is the co-sponsor for the first time this year. Details are scant at the moment, but as you can see (and as the name implies) the watch takes its design cues from the 1970′s. I also know that the sunburst dial will come in color variations – black (picture below), silver, and blue. Stay tuned.
Glashütte Original Panorama Date Seventies
And here’s a look at the beautiful folding clasp with “Double G” engraving:
***
New color combo…
Elite “Made in Germany” watch brand Glashütte Original gives us a sneak peak of what is to come at Baselworld 2011 (March 2011). Unfortunately it is not a “new” model — but I’ll still take it 
The Glashutte Senator Diary made its world debut at Baselworld last year, and the watch seems to have been well received by Glashütte enthusiasts. Thus is makes sense this year to see Glashütte presenting the Senator Diary in a new, white gold version with a charcoal grey dial and matching grey Nubuk leather strap. This new color scheme looks great. The technical accomplishment of this watch is its mechanical alarm function that can be set up to 30 days in advance. Practical? Maybe. Horologically impressive? Definitely (the diary appointment module alone consists of 340 components). The price of this new Senator Diary will likely be in the $15,000-$20,000 range, which is about par for the course a brand as prestigious as Glashütte.
Glashutte Original Senator Diary 2011
42mm white gold case, Glashütte Original manufacture Caliber 100-13, comes on an integrated Louisiana alligator Nubuk leather strap
close-up look at the calendar alarm sub-dial:
As an aside, I do wonder if this new color combination is at all related to last year’s intro of a similarly colored Glashutte Panoinverse XL, which was also lauded by renowned watch world opinion makers, **ahem**, myself and my good friends at Hodinkee. As I discussed here, the original Panoinverse XL, while technically admirable, was not the most eye-pleasing, but the color scheme introduced in 2010 really made the concept work. Is Glashütte making a similar move with the new Senator Diary?
One final note — Your loyal Editors (Sir James Bond and myself) are getting our Baselworld 2011 Forum fired up and ready to go. Pre-releases are coming in as we speak, so be sure to keep an eye on it between now and March 24 when Baselworld 2011 begins.
Click here to view Perpetuelle.com’s Official Baselworld 2011 News Feed.
by Kyle Stults on October 17, 2010
“Made in Germany” Glashütte Original recently announced that it will be producing a special platinum version of its exceptional Senator Chronometer watch, a model that I first wrote about this time last year. The watch will be limited to 13 pieces, each of which is paired with a marine chronometer that was recovered and restored by Glashütte master watchmakers. It looks like a fantastic collector’s set, particularly if you are a fan of Glashütte Original like I am (a proud owner of a Senator Navigator Automatic — check out my review if interested). Price for the set may be close to $50,000 (the ‘standard’ Senator Chronometer watch alone lists for $28,000).
Glashütte Original Senator Chronometer Platinum
Limited Edition of 13 (numbered on the dial), 42mm platinum case (12.3mm thick)
Caseback – Glashütte Original Caliber 58-01
The two timepieces come set in a handmade oak case:
Here’s a step-by-step look at one of the marine chronometers being assembled — note the substantial size:
And here’s where a typical “marine chronometer” might have been used before the advent of modern electronics:
Did You Know?
The Glashütte Original Marine Chronometer
Construction and development of mechanical marine chronometers began in the 19th century. Over the course of more than a century, some 13,000 were manufactured in Glashütte. Thirteen of these historic instruments, manufactured during the final years of production in Glashütte, were discovered during preparations for the opening of the German Watch Museum Glashütte.
It was an astonishing find, and each has been carefully restored and lavishly finished: the entire chronometer housing has been carefully polished and given a sophisticated rhodium finish, as have the fittings and screws. Glashütte Original’s restoration experts built new gimbal mountings for each of the chronometers, and highly skilled artisans crafted thirteen wooden cases in matt black oak. In addition to the technical t
esting and adjustment of all components, restorative work performed on the chronometer movement includes extensive finishing. All plates, bridges, screws and pillars have been finely ground, polished and finished with hard gilding. The balance rim, weights and adjustment screws have also been carefully examined, re-worked and polished. The dial has been restored too: the sophisticated frosted silver plating has been refurbished in such a way as to retain the original milled, black inlay numerals and indexes. New fonts and the numbering of each unit complete the unique style of this distinctive nautical timepiece. Source: Glashütte Original.
The perfect blend of color and materials finally make this concept work…
The Glashütte Original PanoInverse XL was first introduced at Basel 2008. The concept behind this watch is a good one, which is to engineer and design the watch so that there is a minimalistic dial (at least not in the traditional sense of a dial) and the bridge (beautifully engraved) and balance wheel are visible through the front of the watch (normally features that appear on the back of a watch). As I say while the concept is a good one, I never liked the color scheme of the first watches GO released (pictured below). When I first personally handled the watch, I found that the black rings with applied gold numerals indicating the hours and minutes just did not seem to find harmony with the rest of the watch — in fact I think they drew the eye’s attention away from from the most visually compelling element of the watch, the engraved bridge and related components.
The first generation PanoInverse XL watches (2008) were not attractive to me
This year, however, is a different story. At Baselworld 2010, Glashutte Original introduced a new variation of the PanoInverse XL in stainless steel case with a subtle graphite/gray finish on the dial. Everything about this watch works. As you can see, the use of stainless steel numerals and accents looks so much better and more refined that the prior gold-accented versions. The watch looks amazing!
Taking a closer look (below), you can see the hand-engraved duplex swan-neck bridge is visually impressive. The duplex swan-neck fine adjustment introduced by Glahütte Original in 2002 is the epitome of demanding haute horlogerie and innovative and aesthetic movement design. This is a feature rarely seen in watches today. Functionally, what this mechanism allows is for the timekeeping rate of the watch to be finely adjusted (for example, if it is running somewhat too fast or too slow).
Glashütte Original always pays great attention to the finest details, and this watch is no exception. For example, notice below that the applied numerals and hour markers are curved/shaped to add to the depth of the watch. Impressive.
In summary, I think that this unique “inverse” concept has finally been masterfully executed, primarily as a result of some improvements in the color tones of the watch, and I would be proud to own such a fine timepiece.
I would consider using it for my golf game, but it only counts to 99…
Well, this concept is almost so simple you wouldn’t think it has any value. But for some reason the Glashütte Original PanoMatic Counter XL has made the prospect of “counting” quite enticing. As GO says, “One. Two. Three….that’s a start. Now use your imagination” 
Red numerals appear on a black ground in a double-digit window positioned at 9 o’clock. The wearer activates the counter using three pushers positioned on the left side of the stainless steel case. The plus pusher at 9 o’clock moves the count forward, one unit at a time, from 00 to 99; the minus pusher at 8 o’clock counts down, and the zero pusher at 10 o’clock resets to zero (00). Counter aside, this is one sharp looking watch:
Technical triumph – a mechanical alarm that can be set up to 30 days in advance…
Well, it looks like it will be another great year for perhaps my favorite brand, Glashütte Original, “Made in Germany”. While I do not see any “Senator Chronometer’s” in the mix (a particular model that GO introduced last year that was a huge hit for the brand), I can say that the master watchmakers in Glashütte, Germany managed to maintain the high standards of the brand again this year with a very solid lineup of new watches. Design-wise, they did not go far from the brand’s core look and feel or push the envelope too hard, but instead came up with several solid new watches that are elegant and beautiful. Technically/mechanically, they are putting forth at least one or two interesting new complications, and the first that I would like to highlight comes from the new Senator Diary. This watch has a mechanical alarm function that can be set up to 30 days in advance. This is a world first, and for a mechanical watch is quite impressive if you think about it. This watch also looks beautiful and is perhaps my favorite from Glashütte Original this year.
The Senator Diary is available as described above and in a version featuring a rose gold
case, rose gold hour, minute and sweep second hands and applied rose gold hour
markers on a galvanized silver dial. The date indicator on the diary alarm subdial is in blue,
as is the small arrow indicating the diary alarm time aperture at 6 o’clock. Both versions
feature a finely worked black Louisiana alligator leather strap.
by Kyle Stults on January 28, 2010
The Senator Sixties Gets A Date Function, But Does it Fit?
This is a new model in renowned German watch manufacture Glashütte Orignal – the Senator Sixties Panorama Date. It is one of 2 Baselworld 2010 pre-releases from Glashütte Original (I wrote about the PanoMaticLunar XL earlier today, which you can see here). The Senator Sixties collection was first launched in 2007, and I’ve always liked the 1960′s-insipred design elements of this watch, specifically the stylized “3″ “6″ “9″ and “12″ numerals that mark the hours and the domed sapphire crystal. Last year, GO introduced this model in a square case with chrongraph, also a neat design.
This year, however, I think something is off with the new design. It is the new function – the “Panorama Date” – that they added onto the dial, and unfortunately, something just doesn’t look right about this design combination. Odd as it may sound, I think that the font type on the panorama date is completely inconsistent with the rest of the watch. I don’t like it. Being a big Glashütte Original fan (and owner of one of their watches myself), I’m hoping they will reconsider this design with another font style, because this one just does not seem to fit and I don’t see this watch being a big hit in its current form. What do you think?
Glashütte Original Caliber 39-47 – automatic movement with 21k gold oscillation weight
Reference 39-47-01-02-04 with silver dial (above)
with 42mm stainless steel case on both
Reference 39-47-0302-04 with black dial (below)
On a related note, if you want to see the other Glashütte Original watches when they are announced at Baselworld 2010, stay tuned to Perpetuelle.com’s Official Baselworld 2010 forum (click here to view).
