During Baselworld 2011, the German watchmaker has presented a number of watches, all of them beautiful in their own way. One of the most interesting (at least, to yours truly) timekeepers that were exhibited in Basel, was the gorgeous Glashutte Original Senator Navigator WorldView (Ref. 39-47-07-07-04) that tries to monetize general public’s growing interest to all kinds of “pilot’s” watches. Surprisingly affordable (like, affordable for a brand that often offers three-handers in stainless steel for a price of an 18-karat gold Longines chronograph) yet smart, the watch combines a deliberately vintage dial with a high-grade in-house caliber.
Delivered in a satin-finished stainless steel case, featuring traditional diamond-shaped hands and oversized luminous Arabic numerals, this is a perfect remake of an aviator’s watch from 1920s-1930s!
Well, to be frank, the diamond-shaped hands arrived to pilot’s watch fairy recently, but that doesn’t really spoil the picture since this is not a re-issue.
The choice of the layout offers unrivaled legibility and if you are into this sort of style, you should definitely consider giving this watch a go.
Like the recently presented Seventies Panorama Date (Ref. 39-47-12-12-14) automatic watch, the new Glashutte Original Senator Navigator WorldView is also powered by the GO 39-47 self-winding caliber with GO’s signature Panorama Date complication.
Let the pair of crowns do not confuse you: while the crown at 3 o’clock is used to operate the movement, the other crown –at 4 o’clock– is here to set the rotating flange ring that lists the main time zones.
Although there are only 12 hour markers on the timekeeper’s dial, the watch is still capable of displaying the whole 24 main time zones.
The trick was done logically splitting the rotating flange into two groups: the cities whose names are printed on the outer part of the flange are going in the same time of day as our home city and the ones on the inner part are on the opposite side.
Sounds complicated, but take a look at the picture and see for yourself that reading the watch is really easy.
On the photo, our “home city” is set for Glashutte and it is 10:13 there. It means that in Moscow it is already 12:13 and it is just past noon, but in Anchorage, it is 00:13 and it is still midnight there.
Of course, since the complication is easy, it still requires some basic knowledge of geography not to confuse current date in the desired city, but, anyway, this is not the real purpose of the watch, isn’t it?
Photos: Glashütte Original
Price: €7850 (MSRP)
Movement: Automatic, GO caliber 39-47, 39 jewels, 30.95 mm in diameter,
5.90 mm in height, 28,800 vph, German silver balance, Nivarox flat
spring, Made in Germany
Movement decoration: Glashütte three-quarter plate with stripe finish,
skeletonized winding rotor with Glashütte stripe finish, 21-ct gold
oscillation weight
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, panorama date, second time zone (GMT)
Power reserve: 40 hours
Case: Stainless steel
Shape: Round
Size: 44.00 mm
Case height: 13.90 mm
Dial: Black
Numerals: Arabic
Hands: Diamond-shaped, luminous
Water resistance: 50 meters
Strap: Calf-skin leather strap “cognac”; used look. Pin buckle in stainless steel
Crystal: Sapphire, antireflective on both sides
Back: Sapphire