BY JOVAN KRSTEVSKI
Glashütte Original has always had a strong focus on aesthetic harmony in all their lines of watches, but none so much as in the Pano collection. Based in Glashütte, which is in the eastern part of Germany, it is the birthplace and home to German watchmaking, and the band is proud to have their lineage from that town, so much so that they adopted the name of the town in their brand name. Backtracking to the Pano line of watches, they are without a doubt the most recognizable line of watches from Glashütte Original. The most striking design element of Pano models is the arrangement of the dial elements. More often than not, we’ve seen that watches from other brands have the dial elements based around the center, not in Pano models, where the off-center arrangement of all displays takes precedence.
This unusual off-center arrangement brings clarity to the design, and this acuteness is a product of the aesthetic standard known as the “Golden Ratio” that Glashütte Original strictly follows. For the uninitiated, the golden ratio is a simple ratio division with roots in mathematics and geometry. It has implications for a wide range of natural phenomena, from plant leaf and seed arrangements to the structure of crystals in some aluminum alloys, and from the arts to the stock market. As a result, it dictates the arrangements and symmetry of the dial elements in the Glashütte Original Pano models, resulting in a harmoniously beautiful proportion and balance.
PanoMaticLunar is the most popular model from the Pano line, if not the most popular model overall from Glashütte Original. The dial configuration follows the golden ratio, where the hour, minute and small second register are presented on the left side of the dial, while the Panorama Date and moon phase display are arranged on the right side. The intricately detailed and meticulously finished dials are made by genuine artisans in up to 40 steps. Intense blue, cold silver, fir green, and ominous black are just the right colors that can emerge from the technique. PanoMaticLunar is available in stainless steel or red gold.
PanoMatic Luna is inspired by the moon, hence the name, and features the same iconic off-centered layout and Panorama date as the Pano collection, but with female wrists and preferences in mind. The debutante watch is imbued with feminine touches, as they have mother-of-pearl dials encrusted with diamonds that sparkle like stars in the firmament. The feminine touches continue as the artfully formed silver-colored moon traces its path across a delicate mother-of-pearl dial. The crown is also not exempt from the feminine touches as it’s shaped with more refinements and delicacy than the PanoMaticLunar counterparts. A 3-millimeter brilliant-cut diamond encrusted on the crown adds to the glamor and charisma to PanoMatic Luna. The dial’s nine-rod indexes are delicately accentuated in brilliance by the addition of 18 brilliant-cut diamonds, and the case is made of highly polished stainless steel with a bezel set with 64 radiant-white brilliant-cut diamonds.
While it’s generally true that it is the dial on the face of a watch that gives it its distinct personality, regardless of what is going on underneath the case, but in the case of both PanoMaticLunar and PanoMatic Luna, the automatic movement is exquisitely finished with an off-center rotor and duplex swan-neck fine adjustment. There are various strap options available in the form of synthetic fabric, Louisiana alligator leather, and in the case of PanoMaticLunar, stainless steel bracelet as well.
