Glashütte is a small German town with a large number of watch manufacturers working independently one from another, but bound together by the town’s turbulent history. Their shared DNA can often be seen in certain design characteristics that go beyond just the words “Glashütte” and “Made in Germany,” and lots of umlauts. The Robert Mühle Zeigerdatum by Mühle-Glashütte reveals a quest for legibility and simplicity on the dial, the aspiration for a movement entirely built on the company premises, and specific features that can be seen in watches by other brands such as A. Lange & Söhne and Glashütte Original, namely the “Ab-auf” power reserve indicator on the dial, and the woodpecker-neck regulation system visible on the movement.
The Robert Mühle Zeigerdatum celebrates the 175th anniversary of founder Robert Mühle’s birth. The dial has silver markings on a sunray anthracite base, with three subdials, one for date, one for power reserve, and one for small seconds. The sapphire caseback displays the hand-wound RMK 03 movement, with 180 components, and fine finish including three screwed gold chatons and an engraved balance cock. The movement is 36.6 mm in diameter and so a good match for the 44 mm case. The large balance runs at 21,600 vibrations per hour, 3 Hertz, and the watch has a power reserve of 56 hours. It has a feature named “Glashütte regressive long slot click,” which enables the ratchet wheel to turn back two or three teeth when fully wound, thereby preventing overwinding. It also equalizes the force generated by the mainspring and so improves accuracy over the range of spring winding.
The watch is large at 44 mm diameter, 12.56 mm thickness, made in stainless steel with finish differentiated between satin and polished. It is waterproof to 100 metres and has a crocodile leather strap with stainless steel folding clasp.
Price and availability
The Mühle-Glashütte Robert Mühle Zeigerdatum is a limited edition of 100 pieces, and it will be available from July 2016. Price is €7,500.
