It’s a major event for Glashütte Original. The opening of the company’s new flagship store in Rue de la Paix in Paris provided a perfect opportunity to introduce two new models. They are in the Senator Excellence family, a range of classic and elegant dress watches. On the outside, there is little to distinguish them from previous generations of Senators, bar a few details on the dial. Inside, however, everything has changed. Glashütte Original has a completely separate manufacturing plant, and sets great store by its products’ engineering, high-quality mechanics and commensurate levels of finish. The introduction of the new calibre 36 at Baselworld 2016 was a major step forward, particularly since the calibre 36 is the company’s most advanced movement to date.
It’s not their most complicated movement, however. Quite the opposite. The calibre 36 is a three-hand automatic with the features typical of Glashütte, the little Saxon town that is the cradle and capital of German haute horlogerie: three-quarter plate, swan-neck regulator and snailing. However, it has been designed to be simpler and more economical to assemble. The financial argument is a fundamental one for Glashütte Original, and not just a passing concern. “We are strongly committed to our pricing of the Senator Excellence and Senator Sixties models. We can operate at these price points because we are an independent manufacture, and also because salaries in Saxony are lower than in Switzerland,” explains Dieter Pachner, vice-president of sales. Despite this, however, it is not a bargain-basement movement. The swan neck is perfectly finished, the automatic winding rotor is skeletonised and decorated with Glashütte stripes (similar to Geneva stripes) and its outer rim is made of solid 21K gold, providing greater inertia and ensuring good winding power.
The calibre 36 is set to become the company’s standard movement. However, as Dieter Pachner explains: “The calibre 36 is not intended to be used everywhere; it can’t do everything. Nevertheless, it remains a strong technical proposition.” The transition to the calibre 36 will be particularly judicious, given that the movement was specifically designed to accommodate complication modules. Two of these new complications featured in the Parisian launch that accompanied the opening of the new boutique. Calibres 36-01 and 36-02 incorporate two of the company’s signature complications. The first is a big date, known as “Panorama”, featuring twin concentric discs. The refined construction results in a slimmer module, eliminating the usual step between the tens and units, a rare feat, as is the atypical positioning at 4 o’clock. The second module adds a calendar and a moon phase display. Given that the calibre 36 is brand new, the modules had to be specially redesigned.
The calibre 36 presents several features that make it stand out from all its predecessors. Using a single barrel, it can supply a guaranteed power reserve of 100 hours; it is the first Glashütte Original movement with a silicon balance spring; and it marks the debut of an internal 24-day testing procedure, leading to the issue of a special certificate guaranteeing the chronometric precision of each piece. The movement and the modules also comply with German standards for shock resistance. Unusually, the movement is attached to the case not by screws, but with a more reliable bayonet system.
Glashütte Original is something of an anomaly within the Swatch Group. It’s the only one of the group’s manufactures to produce movements solely for its own consumption. Moreover, it sources nothing from the group’s vast network of producers. It has its own dial-maker, for instance, based in Pforzheim. “We are fortunate to be part of a group that respects our individuality, and which allows us to make major investments,” notes Dieter Pachner. The calibre 36 heralds the dawn of a new era. The barrel spring and hairspring are supplied by Glashütte’s sister companies. The new barrel spring is made of a special Elinflex alloy to ensure superior hardness and rigidity, allowing it to store more energy and reduce the size of the barrel arbour. The smaller dimensions make it possible to lengthen the spring, resulting in a running time of more than four days. Nevertheless, aside from these components, Glashütte Original continues to make its own pallets, balance wheels, baseplates, bridges, screws and everything else that gives its movements their distinctive character.
The purpose of the new flagship store is to make the most of these unique points. With the aid of video presentations, magnified displays of watch movements, and exploded models of complete movements, the manufacture hopes to convey a sense of its industrial essence, its manufacturing autonomy, the scope of its expertise, its complications and its fine workmanship. And all this comes with remarkable value for money. Despite its technical mastery, the company remains modest. With fewer than 300 points of sale worldwide, it is exclusive without being inaccessible. If any proof were needed, the star of the grand opening, the Senator Excellence in a 40 mm steel case, starts at just €8,300, or €9,300 in the Panorama Date version.
