To us, a watch is something that at first glance should be a joy to look at, feel good on your wrist, and complete your look. We also take a look at the movement, the complications and the craftmanship to give a fair overview of what this watch brings to our community of watch lovers.
We have three grades for rating the watch: Top, Intermediate and Room for Improvement. These grades will cover five categories:
- User friendliness;
- Design (wearability);
- Design (visual);
- Value proposition; and
- Worn in different environments and times of day.
We are not conducting a scientific test: this is simply our impression of a watch, and we want to share it with you.
1. User Friendliness: Top
This hand-wound watch is so much fun to play around with. First of all, the mechanism gives ample resistance in the interactivity with the movement when you fill the mainspring with energy. And isn’t it always a joy when there is a power reserve that gives you immediate confirmation, instant satisfaction on a high level?
And the setting itself is horological guilty pleasure at its best. With a zero reset mechanism the small seconds hand jumps back to zero when you pull the crown. And to make sure the minute hand will end up in exactly the right position when you set the watch, these clever Germans made a hacking minute hand. Not when the watch is running, so you wouldn’t know it. But when you adjust the minute hand with the crown it has 60 oh-so-subtle little jumps.
As for the panoramic date, it is set with the little hidden pusher at 04 o’clock. As you should not play around with the date between roughly 20.00 and 04.00, you should first try and locate the subtle day/night indicator, which is little more than a speck on the power reserve indicator subdial. With my 50-plus eyes, I had to search for a while – but I like that! Because unless we are talking different time zones, this is the only function it has in a complicated Chronometer: To indicate whether date-setting is a good idea. Because if you are awake enough to play with your watch, you normally know if it is day or night, don’t you? Even during the white nights under the midnight sun of the Nordics you know: In the night it is chilly, and people around you are likely to be drunk. That’s why I like the size of this day/night indicator: It gives you the function, but it is not an eyesore. I also like it when a design detail is so fine that you might miss it. But when you know, you know. It becomes a little horological secret.
2. Design – Wearability: Top and Room for Improvement
This grade may seem like a paradox, but please hear me out: The 42-millimeter watch head itself, despite the undeniable hockey puck appearance that often comes with Glashütte watchmaking, sits surprisingly comfortable on the wrist. It fits under most cuffs, albeit only just. But to me this design is a healthy and hearty contrast to a watch world going all Ozempic with super slimming and lightweight materials. And, like it should be with a comfortable watch, you very soon forget its existence until you need to check the time.
However, and this is a very personal matter, the GO double clasp and my wrist just aren’t pals. My colleague loved the feel of it, but despite its soft corners, great click and security aspect, it just doesn’t work for me. Just like the Princess and the pea, I just couldn’t ignore it. So, I am sorry – I feel like a diva for writing this: but can something be done about the double clasp?
Thankfully, the brand has an antidote should this happen with your physique: The triple clasp. Normally you can order most watch straps with this clasp instead. And on my wrist, the triple clasp sits like a dream. Hand in glove, thick as thieves, in tandem, you name it. Here’s to triple clasp: High five, love ya!
3. Design – Overall Visual Impression: Top
Midnight blue, greyish Minimalist but with the Glashütte Original kennzeichens: the panoramic date. The “extra branding” is sublime: just look at the second hand with a counterweight double G. As per usual from these guys, there’s the gold chatons, and the three-quarter plate on the back of the movement. But on this 58-02 movement the Germans are, seemingly, giving in to collectors’ insatiable thirst for flaunting mechanical prowess. They don’t bare all like most of their Swiss counterparts – in the past you could only see the balance performing its Sisyphean back-and-forth dance, whereas on this model you can also see the détente and the mainspring.
The craftsmanship leaves no horological heart untouched. Glashütte ribbing; hand-engraved balance cock; Sunray-brushed mainspring barrel; and the springy, bent beauty of the swan neck regulator, looking as proud as, well, a swan. All this sits atop the perlaged mainplate, fixed with a mix of blued and mirror-polished screws.
4. Value Proposition: Intermediate
Giving this grade is not about not loving this watch. It is about the fact that a watch at this price (33,000 CHF) from such a brand should give you proper complications, precious materials, and great design. It is solid, it is beautiful to behold, and looking at the bevels and other decorations, is also well worked.
33,000 CHF is a lot of money for a watch displaying time and power reserve. But having said that, it is a case of white gold on a beautiful midnight blue alligator strap, and like described above, there are many valuable quirks in the movement, both on a mechanical level and on a decorative level. In fact, it feels like Glashütte Original takes horology further than expected, flaunting the company’s 180 years of watchmaking experience.
5. Worn in Different Environments and Times of Day: Top
When it comes to wearing this watch in different environments and contexts it gets a high score. The midnight blue goes with anything from denim to tuxedo, and as it is anything but ostentatious, you could even wear it as part of a casual summer look with shorts and T-shirt. So, in a fashion sense this elegant watch is easy to combine and works during day and night. What more could you ask for?
Discover our video of the watch review here.
