Wristwatch Review: Glashutte Original Senator Chronometer
Just recently, I spent just about two weeks wearing the Glashütte Original Senator Chronometer watch that was unveiled earlier this year and is in stores now. Inspired by marine chronometers, the new piece is a bold extension of the Senator chronometers the brand first released in 2009.
The new version is a slimmer and more elegant timepiece. Crafted in 18-karat white gold with a stunning finely grained blue dial, the watch will steal your heart. It did mine. In fact, when the box arrived, the very first thing I was struck with was the extraordinary blue of the granular dial. Every way you turn this watch, the dial shimmers differently and catches the eye – more about that shortly.
The second thing I noticed —and the factor that captured my heart – was the winding. As I took the watch out of the box and began to set it, you could feel the beauty of the Caliber 58-01 manually wound movement. Not only does the movement feature a stop-seconds mechanism (that stops the seconds hand when the crown is pulled out) that enables the wearer to set the time with greater accuracy, but also it offers incredible feel and sound upon winding that is synonymous with a true luxury timepiece. In fact, the minute hand moves with tiny clicks – 60 – for incredibly precise time setting. If the dial didn’t get me, the winding did, I admit it.
However, other features of this new 18-karat 42mm white gold slimmed down Senator Chronometer also stirred my heart. The dial is incredibly readable – from the small subsidiary seconds dial at 6:00, to the power reserve indicator at 12:00. On that power reserve subdial, there is also a very clear am/pm indicator that is dark when it is pm and is white when it is am. After all, Glashütte Original wouldn’t go to all the trouble of a highly precise movement with stop-seconds setting and not give you an am/pm indicator.
The date at 3:00 is the much-loved Glashütte Original Panorama Date that is incredibly easy to read. All of the indications on the rich blue dial are in white – including the minute track that runs around the circumference of the dial.
The movement, with 44 hours of power reserve, operates at 4 Hz and is just 65.mm thick. In typical Glashütte style, the caliber uses a large three-quarter plate and is meticulously finished with the GO beveling, patterning and more. All of that German beauty is visible via a sapphire case back, and I found myself taking the watch off on multiple occasions to show to admirers and to point out the craftsmanship visible through the back.
The Senator Chronometer is tested after cased for precision chronometry by the German Calibration Service – with German testing adding one more step than Swiss COSC certification. The 42mm watch is finished with a blue alligator leather strap with a white gold clasp. Because of its slimmed down profile it looks great on a woman, as well as a man.
The Senator Chronometer retails for $32,200. While it is a price well above a journalist’s means, it is a steal for this package of artistic craftsmanship and technical mastery. Try as I wanted, I just couldn’t find anything not to like about this watch.
