A sporty chronograph with distinctive vintage appealBASELWORLD 2014: The Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date
Glashütte Original introduces the new Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date, the most recent addition to its popular 20th Century Vintage Collection, featuring an entirely new chronograph movement designed and built in the German watchmaker’s manufactory in Glashütte.
The Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date debuts at Baselworld 2014 in three versions with dials in galvanised ruthenium, galvanized silver or blue. All three timepieces feature the Seventies collection’s characteristic soft-cornered square stainless steel case and bezel complemented by a range of bracelets in stainless steel, leather and rubber.
The art of the chronograph
Glashütte Original embodies the historic tradition of fine mechanical watchmaking dating back to 1845 in the Saxon town. The manufactory is renowned for a number of extraordinary complications, among them exquisitely engineered chronographs; the new Calibre 37-02 is conceived and built specifically as an integrated chronograph movement. The manufactory’s inhouse design team has implemented a unique combination of features: central stop seconds hand, 30 minute and 12 hour counters with flyback mechanism; small seconds counter with power reserve indicator (70 hours), and Glashütte Original’s compelling implementation of the Panorama Date display.
In contrast to more complex constructions, the automatic 4 Hz column wheel Calibre 37-02 has been designed to be as simple and compact as possible. Mounted within the Seventies Collection’s 40 x 40 mm stainless steel case, its moderate size and essential simplicity enhance its stability and render the movement less susceptible to interference, resulting in superior performance over time.
A stylish, elegant vintage look
Glashütte Original created the Seventies Panorama Date with the 1970s in mind, an era of exciting new shapes and developments in design. The Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date renews the spirit of the collection, presenting essential, elegant dial visuals: the small seconds dial with black and white power reserve indicator appears at 9 o’clock, the 30 minute counter at 3 o’clock. A somewhat smaller, very stylish hour counter shows Arabic numerals from 1 to 12 in a window centred just below 12 o'clock, harmoniously counter-balanced on the lower half of the dial by the Saxon watchmaker’s signature Panorama Date display.
Three dial versions present refined variations of understated elegance in galvanised blue, ruthenium or silver with sunburst finished surfaces. The indexes are in white gold, the hour and minute hands in white gold with Super-LumiNova highlights for improved legibility. The dials are framed by a polished, soft-cornered square bezel and satin brushed case in stainless steel that underscores the distinctive, vintage Seventies look and feel.
A simplified column wheel mechanism
The new chronograph movement presents a simplified column wheel mechanism with fewer individual parts. The oscillation system features a bi-directional rotor; the 70-hour power reserve is managed by a single spring barrel. Regulation is performed using four gold screws on the balance rim; the absence of a regulator on the spring allows the movement to run continuously over a much longer period of time, resulting in increased precision.
The chronograph start and stop functions are activated by the pusher at the upper right side of the case, the flyback mechanism by the pusher at the lower right. Pressing the flyback pusher halts the on-going chronographic time measurement; the 12-hour chronograph disc and the chronograph minute and second hands “fly” back to zero. The time measurement does not stop, however, but rather begins immediately a new measurement as soon as the flyback pusher is released.
Emblematic finishings
The new manufactory chronograph from Glashütte Original presents characteristic features and finishing for which the Saxon watchmaker is famous. A sapphire crystal, antireflective on both sides, protects the dial side, while a second sapphire crystal set in the case back opens up the automatic movement for closer inspection. Among the exquisite features on view are the rotor and chronograph bridges mounted on the Glashütte three-quarter plate; Glashütte stripe finish on the automatic bridge, blued screws, and the central skeletonized 21-ct gold rotor with double-G logo. Also of interest to connoisseurs is the novel oscillation system regulated by four gold screws, easily visible through the case back’s sapphire crystal.
The Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date models are available with a choice of straps: blue, grey and black Louisiana Alligator leather straps complement the blue, ruthenium and silver dial models respectively; a functional black rubber strap is available for all three, as is the sporty stainless steel link bracelet.