Drawing on heritage and modern mastery: the legendary journey of the Glashütte Original chronograph family

       Originating from 1845,Glashütte Original170 years of German watchmaking history. It boasts numerous pivotal inventions that have shaped the history of global horology, including the flying tourbillon, the swan-neck fine adjustment, and the Panorama Date. The brand's timepieces are fitted with entirely in-house developed movements, with up to 95 percent of components manufactured in-house. The brand has long been renowned for its outstanding mechanical chronographs, with its captivating chronograph creations standing out in particular; this extensive family of chronographs tells a legendary tale in watchmaking history. From historic chronograph models such as those produced during the Julius 1890 Assmann workshop era in • to recent chronograph models —— they all share a common trait: the ultimate expression of top-tier German watchmaking artistry.

A German watchmaking masterpiece: the Julius • Assmann chronograph pocket watch

       Crafted in 1890 by Glashütte master watchmaker Julius • Assmann, this is a chronograph pocket watch featuring a 30-minute register and stop-seconds function, complete with traditional Glashütte characteristics such as swan-neck fine adjustment and gold chatons. Timepieces produced by Julius • Assmann were renowned for their precision; in 1900, the Norwegian explorer Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole, successfully accomplished his historic challenge carrying an observation watch made by him. Due to the complex craftsmanship required for chronographs at the time, production volumes were extremely low. Having survived for over a century while remaining in working order, this chronograph pocket watch by the master watchmaker is exceptionally rare and stands as a true masterpiece of German watchmaking.

Chronographs from the UROFA manufactory era

       59 movement, produced by the UROFA watch company during 1941-1945 for military use, with nearly 30,000 units manufactured, featuring a 30-minute chronograph, brass construction, and a nickel-plated finish.

1955 64 chronograph movement

       In 1949, the German Democratic Republic was founded. The 8 watch factories remaining in the town of Glashütte after the war were merged into the VEB Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe. The century-old German watchmaking skills and personnel assets were preserved intact by the people's watch factory, which became the predecessor of the Glashütte Original brand. With the establishment of the national military, owning a precise and easy-to-wear chronograph became a necessity for pilots. Driven by this, the people's watch factory launched the 64 movement in 1955, which better met the needs of the era. The 64 movement was based on the 59 movement, with the movement size reduced by 6 millimetres, making it thinner and more compact. In addition, this movement can accumulate timing for 30 minutes, with a frequency of 18,000 vibrations per hour. By 1961, a total of 12,509 of these movements had been produced.

2001 Watch of the Year: Senator Decentralised Countdown - manual winding movement 60

       The people's watch factory was privatised in 1994 and renamed Glashütte Original. The term “ Original ” stands for orthodox heritage and creativity. In 2000, six years after leaving state ownership, Glashütte Original joined the Swatch Group. That same year, the brand's first Pano collection timepiece, the PanoRetroGraph, was born, winning multiple international awards in the watchmaking industry. As the number one German watch of the year in 2001, it was also the world's first mechanical chronograph with a countdown function. As shown in the image, the sub-dial in the top-right corner of the dial features a distinctive and novel design, with three hidden hands running on different tracks; once the chronograph is started, the three hands appear successively and time for 10 minutes respectively. It can not only run forwards but also count down by up to 30 minutes. At the end of the set time interval, a small hammer strikes the gongs twice as a reminder. Although this countdown function was omitted in the revised 2002 movement in 61, it remains a unique and brilliant highlight within Glashütte Original's chronograph collection.

PanoGraph - Hand-wound movement 61

       The PanoGraph flyback chronograph was first introduced at the Basel Watch Fair in 2002. This watch is equipped with the 61 movement, featuring a novel “ flyback ” chronograph mechanism and a thirty-minute accumulation timer, which immediately won the appreciation of critics and customers upon its release. The limited run of 50 white gold watches sold out instantly. The flyback chronograph is a very practical function, allowing the chronograph hand to return to zero and immediately start a new timing cycle while the watch is running, eliminating the need to stop, reset to zero, and restart. The mechanical structure is similar to the 60 movement but removes the countdown function, making it more suitable for daily wear.

German Watch of the Year 2005 PanoMaticChrono - Automatic movement 95

       Upholding the spirit of continuous self-breakthrough, Glashütte Original launched the first PanoMaticChrono automatic chronograph in 2005. With this chronograph, Glashütte Original claimed the crown of German Watch of the Year in “2005 ”. This was the first timepiece where the dial was designed before the movement was developed. The creative dial layout breaks away from the usual off-centre arrangement, interlocking harmoniously and neatly. The in-house developed 95 automatic movement adopts a patented intelligent winding system, whose ingenuity lies in the system's ability to recognise the watch's power reserve status and direct energy differently between the oscillating weight and the mainspring barrel. It winds in a single direction when fully powered and uses bi-directional winding when power is low, ensuring the watch runs stably under any circumstances. This integrated movement also features a flyback zero-reset chronograph function, with the intricate chronograph mechanics clearly visible through the sapphire crystal case back.

PanoMaticCounter XL - Movement 96

       In 2010, building upon the essence of the 95 movement, Glashütte Original introduced the PanoMaticCounter XL equipped with the new 96 movement. Featuring the same dial design, the same chronograph functions, the same 42-hour power reserve and flyback zero-reset. What stands out, however, is the elegant and delicate counter designed within the red window at the nine o'clock position on the dial, which can count from 1 to 99. While this function may look simple, it was meticulously designed by Glashütte Original's research and development team, requiring a high complication comprising 217 individual parts. If you have not yet fully appreciated the fun of this function, imagine this: how many matches you and your partner win today, how many words your child has learned, or how many laps you ran around the neighbourhood this evening—use your imagination and join the game of the counting function.

Senator Rattrapante - Hand-wound movement 99

       Making its striking debut at the Baselworld watch fair in 2007, the Senator Rattrapante is one of the most magnificent expressions of Glashütte Original's watchmaking artistry, powered by the Cal.99 hand-wound movement and strictly limited to 100 pieces worldwide. The complexity of a split-seconds chronograph makes its production difficulty widely considered higher than that of a tourbillon watch; simply regarding the distance between the split-seconds wheel and the split-seconds hand, the split-seconds hand must travel a significant distance to connect to the central arbor, and any flaw on this axis can cause issues. Following Glashütte Original's tradition in chronographs, this split-seconds timepiece was engineered with intensive development focused on the top-tier watchmaking craft of the “ stop-seconds mechanism ”. An additional column wheel and a caliper brake are used for control, achieving stable energy delivery and reduced movement wear, with an accuracy extremely rare among split-seconds chronographs. Designers also integrated the flyback function, creating an enduring watchmaking classic.

Movement 37 – Simplicity perfected, fine German craftsmanship

       The new 37 chronograph movement is the first calibre specifically conceived and manufactured by Glashütte Original for chronographs. Simple, elegant and majestic in spirit, the new 37 chronograph movement perfectly embodies the distinct character of German “ minimalist expression paired with precision ”

      Having been refined by history, continuously progressing and innovating, Glashütte Original proudly presents the Senator Panorama Date Chronograph and the Seventies Panorama Date Chronograph. Both timepieces are equipped with the newly developed and manufactured in-house 37 automatic movement, featuring highlights that will set watch collectors' hearts racing: a column-wheel mechanism with central stop-seconds, 30-minute and 12-hour chronographs, as well as an unrivalled flyback function.

       These classic historical chronographs will be showcased this 6 in Shenyang at the 1928“ Art of Chronographs ” themed exhibition, and interested watch enthusiasts are welcome to visit.

Exhibition Information:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glashütte Original “ Art of Chronographs ” Themed Exhibition Date: 6 5 - 6 30, 9:30 – 19:00 Venue:   Hengji Li World Watch Centre, Zhonghua Road, Heping District, Shenyang