Dial Tones: Glashütte Original Reimagines the “Me Decade” with Two New Seventies Chronograph Panorama Dates

Every year, Glashütte Original releases a limited edition of its Sixties Collection. It’s a fun way to reimagine the mid-century aesthetic of its signature round watch with bold, colorful, and inventive dials – designs we still can’t get out of our minds!

We’re talking the 2018 Original Sixties with its fume green and degrade textured dial and the tasteful and nuanced icy blue brushed sunray finish of the Sixties and Sixties Chronograph in 2020.
 

In 2020, the German manufacture also started issuing colorful limited-edition Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date models in bright hues of yellow, sky blue, and deep blue.
 

This year, Glashütte Original has merged the retro-futuristic shape of its Seventies models with dials that go beyond the present vogue for bright faces with colors that have never existed in the natural world – purple “Plasma” and lime green “Fusion” – inspired by visions of virtual worlds.

It’s fun to analyze the many trends in the watch world over the last five years. We’ve seen a lot of digital and actual ink spilled on retro-inspired cases, shifting case sizes, and, of course, bright color palettes. Some might say it is chaotic, but enthusiasts haven’t had so many design options since the 1970s.
 

Yes, Glashütte Original’s signature Sixties and Seventies case designs are anchored in a Twentieth-Century aesthetic; however, the German manufacture is fully committed to making watches for the future, consistently updating its mechanisms and upping the aesthetics ante. To that end, this year, the brand opened a brand-new dial-making facility in its hometown of Glashütte (previously, they were manufactured in a plant they owned in Pforzheim).

The ultra-vivid, lacquered dials of the “Plasma” and “Fusion” are among the first releases to take advantage of these new facilities. The tones themselves are inspired by the colors of virtual worlds, suggesting a neon-lit landscape from a VR game or anime. 
 

A velvety surface texture adds subtle depth – quite a trick for a matte finish. Another neat visual trick is that the shades shift depending on the angle at which one views the surface, or the way light hits it. For contrast, the two timepieces also feature a galvanic black “vinyl” decorative finish, matching the color of the big ole Panorama Date at 6 o’clock.

Both pop tones and eccentric 1970s watch cases are having a moment amongst enthusiasts. Here, the juxtaposition of these future-forward dial colors with the rounded corners and bold lines of the two 40 x 40mm polished and satin-brushed stainless-steel cases gives both options a whole lot of wrist presence. The effect is not exactly subtle, but it is elegant.

Moreover, while these Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date Plasma and Fusion models may not be considered everyday watches by everyone, they are still built to be daily wearers.
 

These chronos are powered with an automatic movement, Calibre 37-02 with a flyback function. This mechanism is crafted, finished, and regulated by hand in the workshops of the Glashütte manufactory. Moreover, the chronograph’s “stop” mechanism also embraces German efficiency: a simple press of the pusher at 4 o’clock stops the running chronograph, resets to zero, and immediately restarts it, with no loss of time and no cumbersome detours.

On the back, the sapphire crystal offers a clear view of the fine finishes of this calibre: the stripe finish on the three-quarter plate, the skeletonized rotor with Double-G symbol, the bevelled and polished edges, and the blued screws.
 

It also features 70 hours of running time and water resistance up to 10 bars. And each color option is complemented by two different strap options: matte black rubber or a metal bracelet with a fine adjustment mechanism.

The two new Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date models in “Plasma” and “Fusion,” each limited to 100 pieces, will be available starting today from all Glashütte Original Boutiques and selected retailers worldwide.

For more information, including price, visit the Glashütte Original website.