BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
You know, not much screams the 1970s as much as wild colours. I wasn’t there, to be clear, but whenever I look up things from that period, or I ask my parents about it, the one thing that comes through more than anything else is the colour palette. Well, that and a love/hate relationship with ABBA, depending on which parent I asked. Glashütte Original’s newest additions to the range aren’t worn by the Swedish pop supergroup, as far as I know, but they definitely would be, given the borderline outrageous colours we have. The base model for these new colourations is the Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date, one of the most unique and best-looking models in the range, in my view.
The most unique part of the appearance is the square-ish case with a squared-off bezel, which, at 40mm x 40mm x 14.1mm, is sizeable and wearable. A combination of brushing and polishing gives it a modern and refined look, and it’s available with either a stainless steel multi-link bracelet with micro-adjustment or a flexible rubber strap with a stainless steel folding clasp. Whichever model you go for, the water resistance is 100m.
Of course, the real draw to both watches is the choice of dial colours. We have a light and airy blue, called “Swimming pool” or a suitably vivacious orange called “Watermelon”. Both dials have a fuzzy velvet appearance accented by sunray finishing in the chronograph subdials. The layout of the dials is simple: on the left, we have the running seconds with a power reserve indicator tucked inside it; on the right, we have a 30-minute counter for the chronograph. Underneath the Glashütte Original logo, we have an hours counter for the chronograph, and at 6 o’clock, we have their iconic Panorama date window.
Inside both watches is the self-winding calibre 37-02. This in-house movement, visible through the sapphire crystal caseback, mixes high-end hand finishing, such as hand bevelling and broad stripes over the three-quarter plate, with modern technology. It features a 4Hz beat rate with a lengthy 70-hour power reserve. Of course, the main draw is the column wheel chronograph, which, in this model, comes complete with a flyback function whereby depressing the reset pusher when the chronograph is running resets it without damage, allowing for precision timing.
Overall, the new Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date models bring a unique and lively appearance. I think the “Watermelon” colour looks more attractive; however, the allure of the “Swimming pool” model will undoubtedly be the ease with which you can pair it with an outfit. Both watches are limited to just 100 examples, with prices starting at €16,000 for the rubber strap version and €17,200 for the steel bracelet model.
