Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date
The Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date has a wonderfully pure, almost chaste, character. The matte dial conveys a sense of innocence and youth, but behind its innocent smile, the movement is packed with age-old wisdom and traditional know-how.
The problem with ageing
The human skin is a large and complex organ that continuously changes throughout a person’s life. Look at a newborn baby and note its beautiful skin. No pollutants or UV-light have marred its appearance. Likewise, the effects of poor diet and excessive alcohol consumption have not sullied its pure visage. Sadly, with advancing years, things take a turn for worse.
Most teenagers suffer the curse of acne as puberty rears its ugly head. Later in life, wrinkles, liver spots, thinning, sagging, broken blood vessels and areas of dryness are all clues that the ageing process is well-advanced.
My reasoning for mentioning the human skin is that as a fiftysomething I yearn for a flawless complexion. Recently, I looked at the Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date and I couldn’t help but notice its pure and youthful face. However, while this product of Saxony appears fresh-faced, the movement located behind its innocent smile is packed with age-old wisdom.
Crafted in the epicentre of German watchmaking, the Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date is the embodiment of fine watchmaking and the manifestation of time-served know-how. Indeed, after only handling this watch for just a few seconds, I was able to recognise its greatness. What makes this a fascinating watch is that it exhibits a youthful innocence but is blessed with mature understanding.
Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date – dial
As its name implies, the German marque is located in Glashütte, however, it also has its own specialist dial facility based in Pforzheim. The quality of the dials produced at this site is exceptional, with an array of details imparted to every circular dial blank.
On this occasion, there is a notable absence of sunray finish or circular patterns. Likewise, the dial on this model lacks the dégradé effect or mother-of-pearl found on some of the brand’s other models. In fact, on the face of it, the dial gracing the Senator Excellence Panorama Date looks comparatively simple, just ‘varnish matt white’, however, I suspect making it proves incredibly challenging.
Purity is clearly the order of the day. Indeed, it is the apparent simplicity of the dial which confers charm. There is a welcome absence of blusher and concealer, just an immaculate face, free of defects.
Rhodium-plated hour and minute hands express time with notable efficiency. The lancine-shaped hands are also faceted and delightfully toy with light. A slender central sweep seconds hand is fitted with a counterweight presented in the form of the brand’s Double-G logo. Furthermore, both the minute and seconds hands reach the outer track, thereby facilitating ease of understanding. Lastly, white gold appliques, denoting the hours and small luminous dots, positioned adjacent, complete the list of dial details save for the brand’s Panorama Date, positioned at 4 o’clock.
This large date display uses two discs, one for the tens and a second for the units. This indication is technically more complex to realise than the customary one disc approach. By adopting a two-disc system, the date is presented in widescreen format, conferring effortless readability. While some brands use a frame to segregate the tens from the units, hiding the gap between both discs, Glashütte Original has chosen to present both discs together with a subtle arcing line delineating one disc from the other.
Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date – case
The case of the Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date measures 42 mm in diameter and has a height of 12.2 mm. The watch has presence but is not showy. Moreover, it’s not thin but will slip easily beneath a shirt cuff.
Consistent with the dial, the case has a wonderfully understated appearance. However, look again and you begin to spot some beautiful examples of considered design. The gleaming bezel is stepped and perfectly aligns with the caseband below, while the caseband itself is lightly brushed, delivering a tasteful quotient of contrast. Furthermore, the caseband features a neat recess that continues underneath the lugs.
The caseback surround is highly polished and retained with five screws. At its centre, a large pane of sapphire crystal affords sight of the self-winding Calibre 36-03.
Prospective customers can specify this model with a brown Louisiana alligator nubuck leather strap or a 3-rows stainless steel bracelet. Personally, I like the brown leather strap as it adds a dose of warmth to the composition. The German brand provides the wearer with a choice of a pin buckle or folding clasp. Furthermore, the folding clasp is available in two sizes ensuring all owners enjoy an optimal fit.
Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date – Calibre 36-03
Over the years, I have worn several watches made by Glashütte Original and I have always been impressed by the aesthetic charm of each movement as well as the brand’s ability to deliver mechanical virtuosity. The movement within the Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date reaffirms my admiration for the German marque.
The Calibre 36-03 upholds Glashütte tradition by shunning the customary multi-bridge construction widely seen on Swiss watches, favouring a three-quarter plate. The rationale for a three-quarter plate is that it confers superior stability.
Similar to Côtes de Genève motif, the bridges are adorned with a stripe decoration, sometimes referred to as ‘Glashütte ribbing’ or ‘Glashütte stripe finish’. The screws are polished and thermally blued. Various steel parts are polished and several wheels are enlivened with snailing, while the jewels sit in polished sinks. Everything looks wonderfully refined.
The rotor is openworked and sports the aforementioned Double-G logo. It features a 21-carat weight affixed to the rim which runs in a channel, termed a ‘trottoir’, helping to mitigate the overall thickness of the movement.
Glashütte Original has also incorporated a ‘swan neck’, a detail often seen on watches made in this region. However, this swan neck does not alter the rate of the watch, rather it is designed to adjust the ‘anchor symmetry’ and thereby address any ‘beat error’. It’s a lovely detail that is likely to warm the heart of any watchmaker.
Unlike the majority of movements which are fitted with an index-adjuster, the Calibre 36-03 is fitted with a free-sprung balance. The effective length of the hairspring is fixed and the rate is altered by tightening/loosening the four timing screws set within the rim of the balance wheel. By adopting this approach, the hairspring breathes better, delivering superior isochronism. Furthermore, a movement equipped with a free-sprung balance is less susceptible to positional errors.
Many aspects of the watch are traditional, however, the German marque has also embraced modernity by choosing to equip the balance with a silicon hairspring. This glass-like material is not influenced by magnetism or changes in temperature. Furthermore, it is not liable to corrosion and proves incredibly light.
The frequency of the balance is 28,800 vph (4 Hz) and the movement contains 41 jewels. The Calibre 36-03 has a prodigious power reserve of 100 hours.
Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date – closing remarks
My admiration for this watch is clear, it does everything a watch should do with reassuring efficiency. The case is sumptuously appointed and its dimensions should suit many would-be wearers. Furthermore, the movement is beautifully finished and furnished with numerous refinements. The swan neck, the free-sprung balance and the silicon hairspring all conspire to seduce the purist.
Arguably, it’s the appearance of the dial which is the star of the show. It doesn’t overwhelm the onlooker with numerous complications. Indeed, the inventory of functions is comparatively short, namely hours, minutes, seconds and date. However, it is the way this dial looks and behaves which makes it special.
In some light conditions, the faceted hands juxtapose a slither of brilliance with a strip of darkness. They proclaim the time with extraordinary lucidity but with an incredible dose of style. The central sweep seconds hand doesn’t require a counterweight, but its presence augments eye appeal without marring legibility.
The Panorama Date is the German brand’s delightful take on the grand-date complication. The expansive aperture reveals the date with just a subtle curving line separating the two discs. Like many elements of this watch, the design proffers practicality, but it also makes the watch wonderful to behold. Lastly, while I often wax lyrical about dial symmetry the idiosyncratic positioning of the Panorama Date serves to heighten the overall charm of this sublime timepiece.
Quite simply, the Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date has a pure complexion, free of imperfections and is destined to remain fresh-faced for many years to come. Indeed, based on the evidence, the German Manufactory has discovered the elixir of life!
Acknowledgement
I wish to thank Watches of Switzerland, 439-441 Oxford Street, London, W1C 2PN for kindly providing a sample of the watch for review.
Further reading
https://www.glashuette-original.com/
Technical specifications
- Model: Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date
- Reference: 1-36-03-05-02-31
- Case: stainless steel; diameter 42mm; height 12.2mm; water resistance 5ATM (50m); sapphire crystal to the front and exhibition case back.
- Functions: hours, minutes; central sweep seconds; Panorama Date
- Movement: Calibre 36-03; self-winding movement; frequency 28,800 vph (4Hz); 41 jewels; power reserve = 100 hours
- Strap: brown Louisiana Alligator nubuck leather strap with folding clasp
- Price: £9,100 (RRP as of 19.9.2023)