Glashütte Original Seventies Panorama Date

02 April 2020 | Glashutte Original

I have always regarded the Saxon watchmaking school as a "third lane" in fine watchmaking, capable of competing head-to-head with the best Swiss and Japanese high-end manufacturers. If you're looking for technical prowess, stop by at Glashütte and stare. Timepieces like the Glashütte Original Senator Cosmopolite, or the A.Lange & Söhne Triple Split, win hands down against the likes of most Swiss Made manufacturers, providing mind-blowing mechanical complications, and top-notch build quality. Glashütte Original has, among the German premium-luxury players, the broadest offering, which outperforms other domestic competitors both in pricing and product variants.

The Glashütte Original Seventies Panorama Date is a perfect example of the brand's vision. Well, you might consider this as the umpteenth full-steel timepiece, but style and craftsmanship place it in the top end of the spectrum with features so distinctive I guess most watch aficionados are not aware at all. Conversely, making your way in such a crowded and super-competitive market segment is a hard task, which Glashütte Original has, in my opinion, faced with a content-based approach. The Seventies Panorama Date you see in these photos is part of an American collector and reader's private collection. I strongly suggest to follow him via his Instagram profile: not only is he a watch expert, but he is also a great photographer.

Those who grew up during the seventies, like the undersigned, will instantly recognize what a Glashütte Original Seventies Panorama Date is familiar with: the large squared case has been nicknamed "TV Screen," and I think we all agree on that. It makes a bold statement, yet it looks refined to such an extent to accomplish the widest audience possible. I have a soft spot for square-shaped timepieces, and I think the Seventies Panorama Date offers the German vintage-inspired take on the luxury sports watch. From a product perspective, Glashütte Original belongs to the club of the few existing vertically integrated manufacturers. Its dial is, for example, not outsourced but crafted in a separate workshop, the same one where the stunning Glashütte Original Sixties came out from a few years ago.

In this specific case, we're dealing with this collection's first-ever release, I assume: the large, outsized date window has a white background. Conversely, if you surf the current collections, you'll notice they all come with a unique tone, all across the dial. The blue one is hands down the eye-catcher, for two reasons: the dial turns from light blue to dark blue as you move towards the minute ring, and makes the Seventies' case look fresher and slimmer, given its size (40mm x 40mm). The Big Date, else said "Panorama Date," in GO's lingo, is very refined and flawless, with the window's profile mimicking the case design.

From a technical perspective, instead, what makes a Glashütte Original Seventies Panorama Date stand out, and why is it worth considering? It's all about the refinement: it houses the Glashütte Original caliber 39-47, featuring a 3/4 main plate, with Glashütte stripes decoration, swan neck regulating system, balance wheel with micro screws and, finally, a winding rotor whose outer mass is in 18-carat gold. It is hard to find something better in the benchmark, the only letdown being, surprisingly, such a low power reserve (40 hours, approximately). Moving back to the dial, once again, designers have placed luminous dots around each of the arrow-shaped applied indexes. Thumbs up!

The Glashütte Original Seventies Panorama Date comes available with two strap options (leather or rubber) or a steel bracelet. The latter proves how careful engineers' attention to detail and comfort was: featuring a three-link design, it sports a quick release system to add or remove links easily, without the need for any servicing. Once you have done, you can then precisely fine-adjust the bracelet thanks to an ingenious micro-adjustment device, hidden behind the double G-logo push-button on the clasp. Summarizing, the Glashütte Original Seventies Panorama Date is an all-rounder, despite an 11,5mm case thickness. I love the timepiece, also hope the brand is considering to shave off a couple of mm or so, and offer a close-to-an-ultra-thin sports watch; I'm sure the Seventies Panorama Date collection will enlarge its following even further.