Classical, or modern? If you are looking for a perpetual calendar by Glashütte Original you now have the choice. The Senator Excellence Perpetual Calendar Limited Edition has at its heart the same engineering of the traditional watch with white enamel dial launched in 2017, but in the new version, the dial has been completely restyled. A matt grey ring in the outside section links the various windows of the display together, while a guilloché central section has an apparently random series of small apertures that reveal some of the jewels and parts of the discs used for the various indications.
Classical inheritance
Some things are exactly the same as the classical 2017 version: the chapter ring for the minutes, the blued hands, the shape of the case, and – I presume – the movement visible through the sapphire glass caseback. Glashütte Original haven’t provided an image of the new watch’s caseback. In the 2017 version, the movement looked a tad more modern than the image of the enamel dial. In the new limited edition, the dial looks more modern than the movement.
Experiment in modernity
Perhaps this new limited edition is an experiment by the brand, a way to gauge the market response to a new, contemporary image. It’s not a new watch but rather a restyling, new bodywork on an existing engine. The result is a curious hybrid, with the super-traditional guilloché technique and blued steel hands contrasting with the cool matt grey parts of the dial.
Blue accents
It is also a study in colour. The focus is on blue, which at least for Glashütte Original continues to be very much the trend colour of the season. It appears not just in the hands, but also on the minute numerals, the sky of the moon phase indicator, and the alligator leather strap.
Moderate size and fairly slim
The Senator Excellence Perpetual Calendar Limited Edition is 42 mm in diameter and 12.8 mm thick, with a water resistance of 5 bar, 50 metres, no swimming or showering, resistant only to rain and occasional splashes. There are recessed pushers on the caseband for adjusting the calendar indications.
State-of-the-art self-winding movement
The movement is based on the Calibre 36 presented in 2016, with its 100-hour power reserve. It provides all the calendar indications, date, day, month and the four-year cycle, so that, if you keep the watch running, no adjustment will be required until 2100. The movement is in the brand’s typical style, with an oscillating weight in gold with a peripheral section and double G motif in yellow gold, and a swan-neck adjustment for beat symmetry. The balance spring is in silicon, and the movement runs at 28,800 vibrations per hour, 4 Hertz. The image below is of the previous version of the Senator Excellence Perpetual Calendar in pink gold.
Price and reference
The watch has a white gold case and so it is expensive, €32,900 for the version with white gold buckle, €35,000 for the version with a folding clasp. The version with buckle is reference 1-36-02-03-04-01, and the watch is a limited edition of 100 pieces. More information from the Glashütte Original website.
