Where do I begin? Honestly, I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted to write before I received the Glashütte Original Senator Cosmopolite; broadly speaking anyway. However, the coronavirus made its presence felt quite significantly in the city I had meant to visit and city-wide reconfinement was recommended the day before my departure. So, instead, I travelled through Switzerland.
I had the opportunity to test this watch for two weeks, a beautiful 44mm diameter stainless steel watch with a night-blue dial. I say "beautiful piece" because it is elegant (guaranteed to make an impression on those around you) and relatively large in diameter. The weight was also substantial. I have a small wrist for a man, which must have accentuated the effect of the weight, but, honestly, I prefer to feel my watch on my wrist rather than feel like I'm wearing nothing; I feel naked otherwise. After all, it is simply the weight of the work behind the watch! But don't worry, the watch was still comfortable. Anyway, let's move on. This timepiece indicates two time zones, the one at 12 o'clock showing the time of the city of origin and the one in the centre showing the local time (the small seconds is at 6 o'clock), so I thought it would be a good idea to take it with me during my holidays. I had originally planned to go to Barcelona to visit my family. I know what you are going to say: "What difference does it make? Spain is in the same time zone as Switzerland anyway!"
I grant you that, but geographically speaking, Spain should be in a different time zone: it should be in the London time zone, which is UTC+01:00, in summer (whereas the time zone of the Swiss Confederation is UTC+02:00). Do you know the reason behind it? It dates back to the Second World War when Francisco Franco, then the fascist dictator of Spain, changed the country's time from UTC+01:00 to UTC+02:00 to align with Germany. This measure, which was supposed to be temporary, became permanent, which is why the rhythm of life for Spaniards can seem a little out of step with everyone else.
This little historical digression aside, it's time to get to the heart of the matter by telling you about my experience with the Senator Cosmopolite, whose automatic movement cal. 89-02 — visible through the sapphire back — has a frequency of 4Hz (28'800vph) and a power reserve of 72 hours. It was the first time I wore a watch indicating two time zones simultaneously (yes, I still have some first times left after all), so I must admit that it took me a little time to adapt, so as not to get lost in the reading of the Swiss time. Let me explain quickly: as I was supposed to go to Barcelona, I set the Senator Cosmopolite so that the central hands told me the time in Barcelona (as if I was there and the time was the one before the war) and the hands on the small dial at 12 o'clock told me the time in the city where I live (Geneva, Switzerland). (I still tried to set other time zones for local time, like Tokyo time, because a friend I called lives there, so it was convenient to know what time it was at her place). So you can imagine that, when I wanted to know what time it was in Switzerland, I looked at the central hands, which indicated Barcelona time, out of habit. However, the adaptation was quick, so no worries on that side.
Before the hours can be read, they have to be set. To do so, you have to use two pushers: the one at 2 o'clock allows you to set the time of the place of origin, indicated on the small dial at 12 o'clock, and the one at 4 o'clock tells the time of the place where you are, indicated by the central hands. Two windows make it possible to specify which time zone we are in, by means of a time zone disk with official IATA codes corresponding to an international airport for each time zone: the window between 7 and 8 o'clock refers to winter time (or standard time) and the window between 8 and 9 o'clock refers to summer time. On this disc, a colour code is used: the 24 time zones with a difference of one full hour from the Greenwich meridian are displayed in white, while the 8 time zones with a difference of thirty minutes and the 3 with a difference of forty-five minutes appear in light blue.
I don't know if you're the kind of person who takes out his mobile phone when asked for the time while wearing a watch (because reading the digital time requires the minimum mental effort). Believe me, if you go abroad with a watch that has two time zones, such as the Senator Cosmopolite, you will think twice before taking out your mobile phone to check the time in your home city (in case you want to call your relatives, for example). Indeed, it is much quicker to look at the watch with a flick of the wrist than to take your mobile phone out of your pocket, unlock it and go to the application that tells the time in different cities; all the more so as the Senator Cosmopolite has been well thought out in terms of readability, with its night-blue galvanized dial that contrasts with the new sword-shaped hour and minute hands covered with Super-LumiNova, among others.
The stop seconds is at 2 o'clock, the Panorama Date at 4 o'clock (characteristic of Glashütte Original), the day/night indication of local time at 9 o'clock and the time of the place of origin in the off-centred dial at 12 o'clock. The power reserve at 12 o'clock completes the list of complications of the Senator Cosmopolite, which is water-resistant to 50 metres.
It is available with a stainless steel bracelet with folding clasp or a blue Louisiana alligator leather strap with pin buckle or folding clasp. There's something for everyone, so you might as well travel in style with a Cosmopolite watch.
