Deliciously vintage, yet absolutely modern, the Glashutte Original Sixties Panorama Date (ref. 39-47-06-02-04) successfully delivers everything that one could expect from a contemporary timepiece inspired by the roaring 1960s. This device delivers you a clean, easily readable dial, as well as a meticulously designed and painstakingly executed self-winding caliber packed into a perfectly sculpted case.
All in all, you get a timekeeper that perfectly represents a decade that put a man on the Moon and gave us Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and Janis Joplin.
This year was a time of updates for many watchmakers, both Swiss and German. Glashutte Original with its refreshed Sixties Panorama Date is not an exception here.
Although mechanically the watch is still the same gorgeous dressy three-hander with their signature big date complication as it was revealed three years ago, it still looks like a breath of fresh air in a world that is dominated by Swiss-based manufacturers.
Yes, even despite being currently owned by Swiss-based Richemont group (the same investment holding company that also has such legends as IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Vacheron Constantin under its belt), the East German brand somehow managed to keep a design language of its own.
Easily recognizable and ergonomic, their classic-styled dressy timepieces look like they are worth every penny that the German brand asks for them: a trick, which is not that easy to pull in a world that is overcrowded with luxury brands of different origins desperately fighting for your short attention span.
Still presented in the same stainless steel body 42 millimeters in diameter and just over 12 millimeters high, the watch now sports a more appealing “Midnight Blue” dial. Galvanized and decorated with their traditional sunburst finish, the face serves as a perfect background for the luminous, slightly curved towards their tips hands, as well as for the applied Arabic numerals and hour markers.
What makes an expensive watch stand out from the rest of “visually similar” timekeepers, is painstaking attention to detail. As you can see from the pictures, all elements are beautifully matched to each other; working together, producing a striking object of art.
Even the pair of co-axial disks of Panorama Date is blended into the layout with their background color perfectly matched to that of the dial (the indicator is still perfectly visible thanks to the extremely high contrast white paint used to print the digits).
As usual for this brand, all elements of the dial are crafted from white gold, which will allow the watch to better stand the test of time.
I have already mentioned that mechanically the Sixties Panorama Date is identical to previous iterations. According to official specs, it is still powered by the same Caliber GO 39-47 automatic movement. Made in their own production facilities, the caliber features everything that you can expect from a high-end mechanism made in Glashütte including the signature Glashutte three-quarter plate with stripe finish, swan-neck fine adjustment, and, of course, a skeletonized 21-karat white gold oscillation weight.
Presented at the beginning of the year during the Baselworld 2013 trade show, the Sixties Panorama Date is already on sale at around €7000.
See also: 2012 Glashutte Original PanoMaticLunar in Rose Gold and Steel
Photos: Glashutte Original
WWR verdict
Originality 5/5
Build quality: 5/5
Usability: 5/5
Legibility: 5/5
Value for money: 5/5
Glashutte Original Sixties Panorama Date (39-47-06-02-04) specification
Movement: Automatic, Caliber GO 39-47, 30.95 x 5.9 mm, in-house, Made in Germany
Movement frequency: 28,800 vph
Power reserve: 40 hours
Movement decoration: Hand-decorated
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, big date
Case: Stainless steel
Shape: Round
Size: 42.00 mm
Case height: 12.40 mm
Dial: Midnight Blue, galvanized
Numerals: Arabic, applied
Hour markers: Luminous
Hands: Luminous, white gold
Water resistance: 30 meters
Strap: Dark blue Louisiana alligator leather strap on stainless steel pin buckle
Crystal: Sapphire
Back: Sapphire