Glashutte Original Senator Chronometer
Unveiled at the beginning of the year in Basel, the Glashutte Original Senator Chronometer watch remains the most interesting model from the resurrected German brand.
Delivered in a mirror-polished rose gold case of 42 millimeters in diameter, thankfully, the chronometer is smaller than the majority of Swiss made complication watches. However, it is still rather large for a dressy timekeeper.
Giving Glashütte Original its due, I must admit that the extra volume is not wasted: it is almost completely consumed by the pocket watch-style caliber that powers it. Also, thanks to increased diameter, the watch looks more slender, better proportioned with its approximate height of 12.3 millimeters.
While the watch indeed looks absolutely stunning, the selling point of this beauty is in its in-house Caliber 58-01 hand-wound movement. This is, to my knowledge, the only mechanical movement that allows for such a precise setting of time.
As you can see on the pictures, the timekeeper obediently follows the design language set with the beautifully, yet discreetly decorated movement and sports a definitely vintage layout of its dial.
Although I would be completely stunned with a Grand Feu enameling on it, the sandblasted silver with contrasting blued hands and finely printed block Roman numerals the railway minute track and both sub-dial scales (small seconds at 6 o’clock and a power reserve indicator at 12 hours,) too, look absolutely gorgeous.
As usual for the German brand, the watch won’t come cheap: Glashutte Original plans to charge as much as $30,000 apiece. However, from where I sit, the watch is worth every penny the Germans ask for it.
In a recently released video, Glashutte Original demonstrated the process of setting up the watch. Pulling the crown, you automatically reset the small seconds counter to zero and, by turning the minute hand precisely by 6-degree increments, you can easily set the watch to the desired time with an unprecedented accuracy.
Enjoy.
Photos and video: Glashutte Original
Glashutte Original Senator Chronometer watch specification
Price range: $30,000
Movement: Caliber 58-01, hand-wound, in-house, certified chronometer
Complications: Jumping date, power reserve, day/night indicator
Power reserve: 45 hours
Case material: Rose gold
Bezel material: Rose gold
Case shape: Round
Transparent case back: Yes, sapphire crystal
Case size: 42 mm
Case height: 12.3 mm
Dial: Silvered
Hands: Heat-blued
Water resistance: 50 meters
Strap: Alligator leather strap
Crystal: Sapphire
Evgueni Matoussevitch in German watchesTags: 42 mm, Caliber 58-01, chronometer, Glashutte Original, manual, Senator, Senator Chronometer
October 14th, 2011 at 8:49 pm
GO are made in Germany hence couldn’t be COSC-certified.
GO Senator Chronometers were certified by Glashutte region’s independent testing/measuring institute. Which created a “certificate” as proof (thus to aid competitive marketing purpose), similar to that of Swiss COSC certification.