Hands-On With Two Caliber 37 Glashütte Original Watches

This year at Baselworld 2014, German watchmaker Glashütte Original debuted new Seventies Chronograph Panoramic Date and Senator Chronograph Date collections. While they differ greatly in aesthetics, both are now powered by the new in-house manufactured caliber 37 chronograph movement, an engine which should increase the value proposition of each model.

The Re-Engineered Caliber

The new caliber 37 movement powers the Senator and Seventies lines, and increases their power reserve to a maximum of 70-hours. It features an integrated (as opposed to modular) chronograph with a column-wheel and lateral clutch coupling. The Glashütte three-quarter plate is decorated with familiar Glashütte stripes, along with blued screws and a central skeleton rotor with with a 21K gold perimeter weight. The rotor features the brand’s double-G logo and winds bidirectionally. The movement runs at 4Hz, features a screwed balance wheel that can be adjusted with the 4 screws that are horizontally fixed to the balance wheel rim. In addition to the chronograph functionality, which includes a complicated flyback function, the Panorama date and power reserve indication provide additional, useful complications.

Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date

The Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date comes in a 1970s vintage inspired 40 x 40 mm square (or rather cushion-shaped) steel case, and is available in three dial variations: blue, ruthenium or silver dial. The baton style hour and minute hands are polished with white luminous material and the polished seconds hand features the brand’s “GG” logo counterweight. Its  a subtle, but very popular detail, and it’s this focused approached that has made Glashütte Original so popular outside of Germany. At 12 o’clock is an aperture that counts the chronograph hours (up to 12), at 3 o’clock is the chronograph minute counter (up to 30 minutes), and at 9 o’clock is small seconds with an indicator, whose integration keeps the dial balanced and symmetrical. At 6 is the panoramic date display.

Facetted and polished triangle shaped applied indexes mark the hours and the minutes are marked with a white printed track, with luminous dots for every hour. The bezel is fixed and is fully polished. The case features mixture of satin brushing and polishing. The solid steel crown is protect by steel crown guards. The chronograph pushers are flat and have been polished. The caseback features a sapphire crystal to show off the movement. The Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date is available on a leather or rubber strap from $14,900, or on a steel bracelet from $16,400.

Senator Chronograph Panorama Date

The Senator Chronograph Panorama Date comes in round case that measures 42 by 14 mm, and is available in rose gold ($31,500) or platinum case ($55,600). The Senator has blued poire corps renflé style hands, and a seconds hand with a “GG” counterweight. Printed Roman numerals mark the hours, with a printed railroad style track for the minutes.

The subsidiary dial at 12 o’clock counts chronograph houses (up to 12), chronograph minutes are counted on the subsidiary dial at 3 o’clock. A continuous running dial at 9 o’clock displays small seconds, and inside this dial is a small retrograde power reserve indicator. The signature panoramic date is at 6 o’clock. The case has a fixed bezel, open caseback and is fully polished. The pushers are flat and the crown is in solid rose gold (signed “GG”) or platinum (the platinum version is set with a blue cabochon in the crown).

Photo Credit: Jason Pitsch. For more information, please visit the official Glashütte Original website.