BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
Every year Glashütte Original introduces new limited edition versions of their modern-day icon, the Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date, to inspire us and evoke emotions for a particular moment. This year, we have two strikingly different versions of the watches, but let’s first take a look at their similarities to remind ourselves of what we’re dealing with.
The Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date is most renowned for its rounded square case, reminiscent of the television shapes of the time. Both watches feature stainless steel cases measuring 40mm x 40mm x 14.1mm, which are 100m water resistant. The brushed and polished details of the case’s construction add a subtle modern twist to the history-inspired design. The watches come with your choice of either a rubber strap with a foldover clasp or a stainless steel bracelet (with brushing and polishing, of course), which has a micro adjustment system.
The self-winding movement within these watches is the in-house-made calibre 37-02. It’s been equipped with a column wheel chronograph mechanism for a smoother interaction and more seamless starting and stopping. There’s also a flyback function, meaning you can reset the chronograph while it’s running. The calibre has also been designed in a manner that evokes the traditional movement construction from Glashütte, Germany, whereby there is a large portion of the movement covered by a plate, although you do get a glimpse of the column wheel and the escapement, and there’s the rotor too. All of it features fine hand-finishing to complete the luxury experience. The calibre 37-02 has a 4Hz beat rate and a 70-hour power reserve.
The distinguishing feature of both of these new watches is their dials, which come in eye-catching contrasts. One piece comes with a matte purple dial, which Glashütte Original is calling “Plasma”, the other sports a matte lime green dial, which they call “Fusion”. It’s quite interesting to see how much these two colours contrast with one another, and how much you can relate them to the seventies. For example, the highs of man’s landing on the moon in 1969 with the lows of the early 1970s oil crisis, the vivid fun of 1978’s Grease with the dark and eerie emptiness of 1979’s Alien or the bombastic tracks of glam rock artists like T.Rex with the completely different electronic sounds of Kraftwerk. There is no right or wrong here, no one is better than the other, but we can admire how different these can be despite being from the same era. With that said, I think I prefer the Plasma dial, if only because it’s a bit easier to pair with outfits.
Whichever one you choose, you’ll be part of an exclusive club, as only 100 examples of each watch are on offer and are priced at €16,000 on a rubber strap or €17,200 on a metal bracelet.
