Watch of the Week: Glashütte Original Sixties Annual Edition

Glashütte Original shows us what a difference a color can make with the new Sixties Annual Edition; with bright orange that spreads out over the dial and turns almost black at the edges. As if the color is not eye-catching enough already, the texture of the dial, which looks like raindrops hitting your windshield while driving on the highway, adds even more to it. To create this effect, Glashütte Original is using original equipment from the 1960s in their dial manufacture. Here a 60-tonne press gives each dial blank its low-relief pattern.

Of course, this is nothing new, as Glashütte Original has already done this with a green dial, yet the orange version feels like a completely new watch. The brand has launched it as regular Sixties model, but also as larger and thicker Panorama Date. Both feature automatic movements which are made at their manufacture in Glashütte, Germany. The main difference with its Swiss counterparts is the movement architecture and finishing for which Glashütte has its own traditions.

Glashütte Original really knows how to capture the spirit of the decade in the design of these Sixties models. Not only through the color and texture of the dial, but also with the thin hands, and the shape of the Arabic numerals on the dial. The crystal is nicely domed, but not made from hesalite as it would have been in the past, but of more modern and scratch-resistant sapphire. The finishing touch is brought by the strap made from brown Louisiana alligator. Glashütte Original resisted the temptation of going for the popular large scales but opted for the smaller ones instead. The result in combination with the orange dial is stunning, and they even went so far as to fit it with a nice pin buckle to stay completely in theme.