Calling all lume addicts: We’ve found your dream watch.
By Logan R. Baker
While Glashütte Original may be best known for producing formal watches that are redolent of classic German design intelligence, the brand took the opportunity to shake things up at Baselworld this year. In comes the Senator Chronograph Panorama Date, an attractive and youthful timepiece with a fresh design that makes the watch highly memorable.
Immediately noticeable is the highlighter-blue Super-LumiNova enhanced hands and hour indices, which contrast seamlessly with the jet-black dial. This vibrant powder blue color was distinct enough to attract immediate commentary from my friends and family—who typically don’t notice what’s on my wrist unless I point it out to them—but it’s also subtle enough that its presence isn’t overpowering.
When Glashütte Original first broke the news in 2014 that they were developing the 37-01 Caliber—an in-house self-winding chronograph movement—there was an understandable buzz throughout the small but numerous manufactories of Glashütte. The movement soon made its debut inside the red-gold and platinum versions of the Senator Chronograph but here we have the first model in stainless steel, a tremendous value for its price.
The dial is, as expected, expertly designed and you have to applaud Glashütte Original for going with indices as hour markers instead of numerals. Roman numerals like that at 6 and 12 o’clock would have crowded the dial and restricted the lume’s presence and the watch’s overall legibility. A running seconds, 30-minute counter, and 12-hour counter make up the three subdials and are expertly sized and arranged around the 42 mm dial. Placing the 12- hour counter at 12 o’clock allows room for the extra-large date window to fit in perfectly at 6 o’clock, above the brand logo. Personally, I’ve always been a big fan of the digital-inspired large date window that can be found throughout the rest of the Senator Collection, as it adds a touch of levity to the normally austere dial structure. Here, with an already casual-looking sports watch, that same levity ties the watch together and really hammers home its lively appearance.
Inside the running seconds subdial, a subtle power reserve indicator makes its home. The 70-hour power reserve is certainly impressive—and is proof of the brand’s mechanical potency—but will anyone take this watch off long enough to test it? I know I definitely didn’t take it off for longer than an hour or two in the week that I wore it.
The Senator Chronograph Panorama Date is easily a home run for Glashütte Original. A superb and memorable design, a powerful in-house movement, and some of the best lume application I’ve seen in years prove that the brand continues to fire on all cylinders.
The Glashütte Original Senator Chronograph Panorama Date is available for $14,900 on a leather strap or $16,700 on a bracelet. Find out more here.