Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase Review

Glashütte Original is one of those brands that through my over two decade journey of collecting watches and being in the watch industry have always been around. We have personally owned a few pieces from the brand as well as worn many pre-owned pieces. Most of the pieces from Glashütte Original that we were familiar with were produced in the 2000s and 2010s, so our knowledge of modern Glashütte Original was a bit lacking.

Over the past year, Glashütte Original has sent us a few watches to review to get more in touch with the modern brand. We had previously reviewed the PanoMaticCalendar and SeaQ Chronograph which were vastly different watches in one being a complicated dress watch and the other being a luxury diver. This time Glashütte Original sent us two watches to review with one being from the Senator collection which combines traditional timeless designs with modern German engineering and the other being a gold and diamond timepiece from the Ladies collection.



Today we'll be focusing on the watch from the Senator collection, but before we get into that let's first go over the history of Glashütte Original. For nearly two centuries the town of Glashütte in the Ore Mountains of Germany has been synonymous with the pinnacle of watchmaking. This all started in 1845 when the region's silver mines were depleted and inhabitants were facing financial hardships. Master watchmaker Ferdinand Adolph Lange, from nearby Dresden, approached the Royal Saxon government with a radical plan. Lange believed that with the right training and investment he could create a new industry in Glashütte to help the poverty stricken region. Having studied the Swiss component based watchmaking systems, Lange believed he could install the same type of system in Glashütte which would easily be picked up by the mechanically skilled people of the Ore Mountains.

In time Lange's proposal was approved by the government and he relocated to Glashütte along with a handful of apprentices to setup the first production workshops. Lange wasn't the only master watchmaker that was attracted to Glashütte after the initial loan was secured. Horological theorist Moritz Grossmann known for his precision tools and timepieces, Julius Assmann who crafted exquisite and highly accurate pocket watches and Adolf Schneider who was also a master pocket watch maker soon followed Lange to the region.



More than likely in today's culture these four masters would have formed their own individual companies, but something different happened in Glashütte. These four masters instead created a horological ecosystem in the region. This decentralized production system instead had a network of specialist that would craft different components that were delivered to the main workshops for final finishing and assembly. During this time period the "Glashütte style" signature appeared alerting perspective buyers to the quality of a timepiece that was manufactured in Glashütte. Lange introduced the now famous three quarter plate during this time period followed closely by the exquisite swan-neck fine adjustment mechanism.

Maybe the biggest step to ensure the future of watchmaking in Glashütte was done in 1878 when Moritz Grossmann established the German School of Watchmaking in the heart of the town. Soon this school became the center of German horology and would go on to train generations of German watchmakers. By the end of the 19th century the once poverty stricken town of Glashütte had fully transformed into the capital of high-end German watchmaking.



The 20th Century turned out to be very hard on watchmaking in Glashütte. First after the ravages of World War I and the hyperinflation of the Weimar Republic the watchmaking industry in general was in shambles. Making a bad situation even worse, during the final days of World War II much of Glashütte was leveled by a bombing raid. Following the end of World War II, Glashütte found itself on the Eastern Soviet controlled side of Germany. As part of the war reparations most of the remaining watchmaking machinery was seized by the Soviets. In 1951, what remained of watchmaking in Glashütte was consolidated into one state owned conglomerate, VEB Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe (GUB).

A silver lining to communist control was that GUB was shielded from the quartz crisis that decimated the Swiss watchmaking industry in the 1970s and 80s. During this time GUB continued to produce impressive mechanical calibers like the Spezimatic (1965 – 1979) and the Spezichron (1975-1985). The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 would then go on to dramatically change the future of GUB when it was privatized in 1990. Four years later in 1994, an entrepreneur purchased what was left of GUB and rebranded it Glashütte Original. "Original" was inscribed on earlier movements by Glashütte watchmakers to distinguish themselves from inferior copies which said "System Glashütte."



The brand was now reinvigorated and found great success following the rebranding, so much so that Glashütte Original was acquired by the Swatch Group in 2000. Being under the umbrella of such a large group allowed the brand to have access to much more resources and also provided stability. In the nearly two and half decades since being acquired by the Swatch Group, Glashütte Original is now a true watch manufacture producing around 95% of all components used in their watches.



Initial Thoughts

Now that we've gone over the history of Glashütte Original, let's now take a look at the Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase that the brand sent us to review. When the watch arrived the first thing I noticed about it was the stunning frosted copper color dial. The dial is actually galvanized rose (iron ore) which pays tribute to the mining history of the Ore Mountains. This dial is produced by Glashütte Original's new in-house dial manufactory and results in a finely grained crystalline structure on the surface of the dial which shifts colors depending on the angle of light. This creates a dial that has much more of a dynamic visual look than the standard static salmon color dials used so often recently.



The next thing I noticed about the Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase during my initial time with the watch was the in-house calibre 36-24 which can be seen through the large display window found on the back of the case. The first thing to grab your attention is the large skeletonized winding rotor and 21K gold weight. The weight is finished in "Glashütte ribbing" which is a strong striped pattern. Next you have the three quarter plate that is finished with the same striping. The beautiful swan neck regulator also makes itself very well known taking up a good portion of the bottom of the movement. Finally the movement is expertly finished from the hand engraving found on the balance cock to the heavy usage of perlage.

The final thing I took note of during my first viewing of the Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase was the blue dial elements. The rose colored background of the dial really makes all the blued elements just pop. The applied Roman numeral hour markers are crafted out of 750 gold and then blue coated. The blued hour, minute and seconds hand match the hour markers perfectly as well. Completing the blued elements is the very artistic moonphase with a blue background and the blue backed big date indicator. Overall the blue and rose combination works extremely well together and the blue dial elements really stand out well on the rose hued background.





Technical Specifications

Having explored the history of Glashütte Original as well as gone over my initial thoughts of the watch, let's now look at the technical specifications of the Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase. The watch is crafted out of stainless steel and has a case diameter of 40 mm and a lug to lug length of 46.7 mm. On our scale the Senator weighed in at 91 grams when on the leather strap and deployant clasp and at its thickest point was 12.3 mm tall.

The Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase has a flush slightly domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides of the crystal. Underneath the crystal clear sapphire is the amazing dial we spoke about earlier. The slightly grained and crystalline texture of the dial really makes the dial come to life in direct sunlight. The hue of the dial can shift from a deep salmon to nearly sand color depending on the lighting and angle the dial is being viewed at.



Around the outside of the dial is a blue printed railroad style minute track. The hour markers are made up out of large Roman numerals. These applied markers are crafted out of 750 gold and then covered with a Deep Blue coating. There are three centrally mounted pear shaped hands being hours, minutes and seconds. These hands are blued to match the hour markers perfectly.The seconds hand also has a nice touch where the counter balance is the Glashütte Original logo.

Between 10 and 11 o'clock on the dial is a cutout for the drop dead gorgeous moon phase. The cutout is even half moon shaped and exposes the blue backed moon phase disc. The disc displays a beautiful rendition of the moon along with sparkling stars. Above the moon phase cutout is a printed 29to designate the number of days of the moon phase. Between 3 and 4 o'clock you then have the window for the Panorama Date big date complication. The big date complication has become a true calling card for Glashütte Original and it's very nice to see it included on this watch. The date is made up of two blue backed discs that exist on nearly the same plane and give the appearance that the date is one continual piece. The Arabic numerals of the date are printed in bright white that really provides excellent contrast to the blue background. When the date changes on the Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase the change is instantaneous as well. One thing I really like about the big date complication on Glashütte Original pieces is that for dates 1 through 9, there is a 0 on the first disc. For example A. Lange & Söhne just has an empty disc for those dates which I'm not a fan of.



Finishing off the dial is Glashütte Original branding printed in blue at 9 o'clock and "Glashütte I/SA" printed at 3 o'clock. Finally at 6 o'clock is printed "Made in Germany" in place of the often seen "Swiss Made" on Swiss counterparts. Overall Glashütte Original did an amazing job with the dial of the Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase from the frosted copper color to the blued dial markers and finally the two dial side complications.

Moving on from the dial is the multi-part case with the bezel surround being polished, the mid case brushed in finish and the case back being polished. Looking at the profile of the case you can see that the lugs turn down sharply to form to the curve of your wrist. This should allow the 40 mm case with average lug to lug length to be worn by a large variety of wrist sizes.



The right hand side of the watch features a non-screwed down crown that is nicely scalloped and is topped with an engraving of the Glashütte Original logo. Even without a screwed-down crown the Senator still has a very respectable 50 meters of water resistance. The automatic movement can be manually wound in the resting position. Pulling the crown out to position one lets you set the date as well as the moon phase. Turning the crown towards you advances the big date, while turning the crown away from you advances the moonphase. Pulling the crown all the way out to position two stops the seconds hand and allows you to set the time. Pushing the crown back in causes no jump in the minute hand either.

Flipping the watch over shows off the display case back with its slim bezel and sapphire window. Only Glashütte Original and the case number are engraved on the case back bezel. Through the sapphire window you can see the in-house Swiss made automatic movement Calibre 36-24. The movement is topped with a large skeletonized winding rotor that features the Glashütte Original logo along with a 21K gold oscillating weight. Sticking to tradition the 36-24 also has the three quarter plate that watches from Glashütte are so well known for. Also paying tribute to tradition, the movement also features a swan neck regulator. The finishing found on the Calibre 36-24 is top notch featuring Glashütte Original's striping called "Glashütte ribbing" on the rotor and plate as well as heavy usage of perlage and colimacon on the plate. Finally the balance cock is expertly hand engraved and might be the star of the show finishing wise.



The Calibre 36-24 beats away at 28,800 vph (4 Hz) and has an astounding full 100 hours of power reserve. The functions of the movement are hours, minutes, seconds, big date and moon phase. The movement also undergoes a 24 day Excellence test that goes beyond most chronometer tests used by the rest of the industry. On our timegrapher the Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase showed an accuracy of +2 seconds per day when averaged out over several positions. This is extremely accurate and well within chronometer standards.

The Senator has a lug width of 20 mm and comes on a blue Louisiana alligator leather strap. The strap tapers down from 20 mm at the lugs down to 18 mm at the stainless steel deployant clasp complete with a Glashütte Original logo. The top of the clasp is brushed in finished while the sides are polished. Pushers on both sides of the clasp are required to be pushed in to release the clasp. On a watch of this caliber I applaud Glashütte Original for using a deployant clasp even though a pin buckle might be more traditional. With a pin buckle there is always the risk of dropping the watch when putting on and taking off the watch. A deployant clasp just adds an extra level of security when performing these tasks. Glashütte Original does offer the watch with choice of either buckle type as well.





On The Wrist

It's no secret that I'm not the biggest fan of dress watches for my personal collection. Just the way my professional and personal lives have transpired I've never had the need to dress up. With this more laid back lifestyle I typically lean towards sports watches and divers. That being said, I can still appreciate the beauty and watchmaking that goes into something like the Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase.

On my 7.25 inch wrist with a 55 mm flat area I'm used to watches with a lug to lug length of 50 mm or longer. The 46.7 mm lug to lug length of the Senator means the watch feels a bit small on my wrist. This is a dress piece so that is actually on the larger size for this kind of watch. I think the watch would look a bit out of place if it was much larger. The strap does do a good job of keeping the watch centered on my wrist not favoring one side over the other. Typically this is something I cannot stand on watches that don't cover most of my wrist.



At just 91 grams on the leather strap with deployant clasp and only being 12.3 mm tall, the Senator totally disappeared on my wrist. Even during extended periods of wear the watch never became a bother or caused any wrist fatigue. The watch was pretty much only there when I wanted it to be. With my normal dress being a black t-shirt, shorts and sneakers I felt the Senator was a bit too formal for my casual attire. I think most of this is caused by the blue alligator leather strap, if the watch was on a black or gray fabric or suede strap I feel the Senator would be a bit more laid back. I do think most potential owners of the watch will be wearing it with more formal attire and the alligator strap would be perfect for that usage.

To test the legibility of a watch I use a simple test where I try to see how hard it is to tell the time while driving at just a glance. It shouldn't be much of a surprise that dive watches with large hands and markers do the best in this test while highly complicated and skeleton pieces do the worst with their lack of contrast or multiple registers making quick legibility challenging. The Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase did better than expected in this test with the rose dial and deep blue markers contrasting well off of each other. I wouldn’t say it was diver levels of legibility, but it didn't take much time at all to discern the time. Telling the time in low light was a bit of a miss though. Being a traditional dress piece, there are no lumed elements on the dial, so in the dark you are pretty much left to reflections to make out the time. With the markers and hands being done in a deep blue as opposed to polished silver, reflections aren't as prominent making low light time telling a bit of a hassle.



During my time with the Senator I wore it out running boring everyday errands as well as out to dinner and drinks. The watch received a decent amount of attention getting a handful of comments and I noticed a few people looking at it. I feel the dial color and texture probably attracted the most attention and if the dial was done in black or white the watch would have completely flew under the radar. People I showed the watch to mostly commented on the dial color and blue markers as well as the look of the exposed movement. When it came to the price of the Senator, people thought it seemed like a good value.



Value and Position in the Market

When it comes to price, the Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase retails for $12,700 with the deployant clasp. For that price you're getting a watch from a brand with exceptional heritage that is running on an extremely accurate and beautiful in-house automatic movement. The watch also has a spectacular dial with a very interesting hue and texture to it made by Glashütte Original's in-house dial manufacture. The big date complication and moon phase also seem natural to the watch and add interesting complications that aren't just tacked on to make the Senator more complicated. Now is the time in the review where we compare the Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase to other watches with similar features and specifications and see how the watch fairs value wise.



First up we have fellow Glashütte neighbor in A. Lange & Sohne with their Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase which has a 41 mm pink gold case. The Grand Lange 1 runs on an in-house hand wound movement with 72 hours of power reserve. It features the same complications as the Senator but also adds a power reserve indicator. The Grand Lange 1 does have less water resistance at a splash proof 30 meters.Steel is not an option on the Grand Lange 1 and pink gold does add a bit of premium, but the Grand Lange 1 is much more expensive at $63,200.

Moving on is the Complications 5396G-017 from Patek Philippe which has a 38.5 mm white gold case. The 5396G-017 runs on an in-house caliber with only 45 hours of power reserve. The Patek is a bit more complicated having a moon phase, normal date but having an annual calendar with displayed month and day of the week as well as a 24 hour display. Like the Grand Lange 1, the 5396G-017 only has 30 meters of water resistance. Also like the A. Lange & Sohne, the Patek carries a large premium over the Glashütte Original at $68,232.



Next up is the Fiftysix Complete Calendar from Vacheron Constantin which is housed in a 40 mm case crafted out of stainless steel. The Fiftysix runs off of an in-house automatic movement with only 40 hours of power reserve. The Fiftysix swaps out the big date of the Senator for a pointer date and is also an annual calendar with moon phase like the 5396G-017. Once again the water resistance of the Fiftysix is only a splash proof 30 meters. The Fiftysix is still more than twice as expensive as the Senator at $28,500.

Finally we have the Classique Phase de Lune 7787 from Breguet which has a 39 mm case made out of white gold. The Classique runs off of an in-house automatic movement with only 38 hours of power reserve. The Classique does not have a date complication but does have a power reserve indicator. Like the other three watches we compared the Senator to, the Classique only has 30 meters of water resistance. Once again the Classique is much more expensive than the Senator at $39,100.

While some of the above watches are only available with gold cases which increases the price of the watch, a gold version of the Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moonphase is available for $24,500 which is still much less expensive than the other watches. For the most part the Glashütte Original compares well feature wise to the other four watches from the watchmaking elite. Some of those watches did offer an annual calendar, but that complication is not nearly as rare or hard to execute as a perpetual calendar which would have justified their prices. This comparison really illustrates how good of a value the Senator is.





Closing Thoughts

So in the end is the Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase for me? I feel if you've been paying attention to this review that you can probably guess what I'm going to say here. Since my personal collection is made up pretty much exclusively of sports watches and divers crafted out of lightweight and high tech materials like titanium, carbon and ceramic that a stainless steel dress watch probably wouldn’t align with my tastes. The lug to lug length of the Senator is also a little small to what I'm used to as well. Finally the blue alligator strap just adds to a bit too much elegance to the watch to go with my very relaxed style of dress.

If the watch isn't for me, would I then recommend it to somebody looking for a complicated dress watch from an established manufacture? After spending a good amount of time with the Senator I can honestly say I would give my full recommendation of this watch to somebody looking for such a piece. I feel that the dial is really top notch and always gives you something interesting to look at and is visually dynamic depending on the lighting. Also the dark blue dial elements really compliment the rose hue of the dial. The moon phase and big date also look organic on the dial and are beautifully executed. The Senator is decently complicated and doesn't look like it's trying to be.



Glashütte Original really knows how to manufacture movements that are both finely finished and extremely accurate. The Calibre 36-24 found inside of the Senator is no different. The watch beats away at a very impressive +2 seconds per day of accuracy while offering a solid 100 hours of power reserve. The movement is then just stunning to gaze upon as well. From the skeletonized rotor and three quarter plate to the hand engraved balance cock, the 36-24 is a feast for the eyes. When considering all of this as well as costing multiples less than similar competitors from top manufactures, I'm struggling to see any pitfalls in adding this watch to your collection.

I'd really like to thank Glashütte Original for sending us this Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase to review. This has been the third modern watch from Glashütte Original that we have reviewed and along with the other two pieces have been very impressive. Next week we will take a detailed look at the gold and diamonds piece from Glashütte Original's Ladies collection, so please keep an eye out for that.

For more information about the Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase please visit : Glashütte Original



Technical Specifications

Reference Number: 1-36-24-04-02-61

Retail Price: $12,700

Case Size: 40 mm

Lug to Lug: 46.7 mm

Thickness: 12.3 mm

Weight: 91 grams (On Leather Strap with Deployant Clasp)

Case Material: Stainless Steel

Bezel: Stainless Steel

Strap: Blue Louisiana Leather Strap on Stainless Steel Deployant Clasp

Movement: German Made In-House 36-24 Automatic Movement

Functions: Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Big Date and Moon Phase

Power Reserve: 100 Hours

Water Resistance: 50 Meters