One of my favourite annual watch releases comes not from Switzerland, but Germany. Every year Glashütte Original release an update to their Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date collection in bright, entertaining colours. It’s a fun departure from the very serious German watchmaking of the dressy Senator or tool watch SeaQ. For 2024, they’ve released the Glashütte Original Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date Swimming Pool and Watermelon.
Looking back at the previous years’ releases, you can see that the colours that have really caught the brand’s imagination are blue and orange. In 2022 we had the Disco Blue and Vibing Orange and then last year they launched the slightly more pastel Golden Bay and Ocean Breeze. The Swimming Pool and Watermelon editions take back to vibrant tones with a rich intensity to them.
The Swimming Pool is more of a turquoise than a blue, with a paler shade to it that is reminiscent of a certain jewellery brand famous for their collaboration with Patek Philippe. Meanwhile, the Watermelon moves from the orange colours of its predecessors to being definitively red. I like its combination with the black chronograph subdial scales that feel representative of the melon’s seeds.
Beyond the new colours, it’s business as usual for the Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date. Both new watches measure 40mm in diameter with that classic retro square shape, which reminds me of a 1970s television set. It’s also reasonably robust with a steel construction and 100m water resistance. In terms of functions, it’s equipped with central hours, minutes and chronograph seconds, a small seconds subdial, a 30-minute timer, a signature panorama date at 6 o’clock and a 12-hour timer at 12 o’clock.
Powering all these complications is the Calibre 37-02 with 70-hour power reserve. It’s an automatic, flyback chronograph movement and it’s also visible through the exhibition caseback, allowing you to admire the traditional Glashütte stripe finishing. This level of finishing, as well as the fact that each colour is limited to 100 pieces, means the Glashütte Original Seventies Chronograph Panorama Date Swimming Pool and Watermelon are priced at a substantial £13,300.
Price and Specs:
More details at Glashütte Original.
