Glashütte Original

"In the flesh". GO novelties '06, pt. 5: PanoMatics, PanoMatics ...

 

The gorgeous PanoMatic series received a new complication, and a very peculiar anniversary edition in a nice little box.

First, the PanoMaticVenue now offers an easy-to-use second timezone. Pushers on the case's left side allow the main hour hand to be set forward or backward in hourly increments, as we know it from PP and UN. Thus the watch can be easily adapted to a new local time zone when travelling; or to the daylight saving time, when staying at home. The small 24 hours hand at 2 informs about the home time, and is moved together with the main time display when turning the crown.

A bit disappointed I was, though, when I learned that the panorama date is NOT synchronized with the main hour, or local time, but stays with the small 24 hours hand. This means that whenever you travel from New York to Singapore for example, the panorama date window will inform you about a wrong date for twelve hours. In my humble opinion, this is a less than perfect solution.

Long expected, finally available: The PanoMaticLunar with diamond bezel.



500 years ago, in 1506, the small town of Glash?tte received the statute of a city, honouring its economic importance as a silver-mining town. To celebrate this 500 years anniversary, GO presents a worthy special edition of five PanoMatic watches in pink gold, with a specially hand-guilloched black dial: PanoMaticReserve, PanoMaticVenue, PanoMaticChrono, PanoMaticMoon, and of course the PanoMaticTourbillon.







The rotors of the watches are skeletonized, showing the sun and the hammers, both part of Glash?tte's crest:




As you see, the crest also shows a clock dial. Since the "dial" aspect is present in the anniversary watches as well, we can take the crest as completely represented.

Spectacular is how GO presents this marvelous set; in a box, of course, but what a box! After you paid for the set, you might be forced to move into a smaller flat, a MUCH smaller flat, but in GO's typical way of taking care for details, the watch box contains everything a man really needs, so one will miss nothing in the new one-room apartment:


This is the box.

And this is what it contains:


Five watch movers to keep the collection busy


A DVD-player with TFT display


A drawer for the loupe (to study the bank account ), and a pin for setting the moonphase


A second drawer with the DVD's remote control, of course in appropriate black/gold design


A humidor for the cigars


And a nice bar compartment for the whisky or brandy

Unbelievable, but still I found room for improvement in this marvelous piece of furniture: the DVD's LCD display is very small (apparently, the one-room apartment is so small that the lucky owner is thought to be sitting VERY close to the display!). Therefore, GO should think about a new limited edition watch: the PanoMaticBeamer, that is placed in the central compartment, and can project a film onto the wall (just think to switch off the mover during the film, otherwise you might get seasick ...).

Anyway, this set is really breathtaking, both due to the stunning execution of the watches themselves, and to the unique way of presenting them.

Regards,
Marcus