Alright, that’s enough out of me on the new patterned rubber strap – back to daily life with the Seventies Panorama Date. Our review model came with the galvanized steel dial in gray. There’s also matte silver and gradient blue dials which offset quite nicely against the case with its polished and brushed finishes, as well as the polished handset and indices. These elements all combined to give a sort of subtle flash to the piece (and I don’t mean that in a derogatory way).
While I’m generally turned off by watches that are designed totally to draw attention, I do enjoy it when there are small touches incorporated into a more conservative design that catches the light. This enlivens what could otherwise be a dull piece, and elevates the whole package. This is particularly embodied by those indices – with three mirror-polished surfaces on each one, these catch the light like nothing else (short of a faceted gem).
Another subtle but very appreciated element of the dial is the large date display – aka the Panorama date. Glashütte Original wisely color-matches this to the dial. On our gray dial (the catalog calls it ruthenium), the date display is a darker, almost black in color. This makes it stand out a bit, but not to an extreme. The darker color also helps to hide the seam between the two digits, making it seem as more of a single piece within the display. I have to say, in all the variations of date displays that we have seen, the “big” style, as we have here, is quick becoming a favorite of mine, as it certainly helps you to read the date at a glance – a preferred option to a cyclops, in my book.
The date display (as well as the three timekeeping hands) are driven by an in-house movement, the 39-47 calibre. This is visible through the domed (yes – it’s domed around back!) crystal in the case back (it’s domed a bit to help with fit and comfort). Through that crystal, you’ll first notice the signed, skeletonized rotor with its 21k gold weight. The rotor also carries a striped finish, which is then repeated on the 3/4 mainplate.
Once you get past those more obvious touches, you can take a closer look at the movement and see some other nice touches. To be sure, the 3/4 plate does cover quite a bit, but you can still see the balance wheel at work, as well as the swan neck that’s used for fine adjustment. While we see plenty of hard edges within the movement, seeing that delicate, almost organic, shape there really makes you (well, it did me) feel that there’s been thought and care put into this movement. Then again, that could just be my reaction to that detail.
In the end, this is a very sharp everyday sort of watch, with the finish and detailing that lets you know you’ve got a luxurious watch on your wrist. With the introduction of these new rubber straps, we also have a new price point – $10,100 (rubber or leather), while the bracelet version commands $11,100.
With the watch on the rubber strap we certainly have a sporty feel (and 100m WR to go with that). This is most definitely a more refined watch, I’d say, with the sporty touches stepping it back a few notches from calling it a dress watch. As I mentioned up top, I think this makes for a watch that works well for everything but the dressiest of occasions – and in those scenarios, the leather strap would certainly step up to that challenge. On the rubber strap though, this is a watch well suited to everyday life, and bringing a little touch of refinement into those days. glashuette-original.com
Necessary Data
>Brand: Glashütte Original
>Model: Seventies Panorama
>Price: $10,100 (rubber, leather); $11,100 (steel)
>Would reviewer personally wear it: With pleasure – though I’d be personally tempted to go for the blue dial
>Friend we’d recommend it to first: The guy looking for a great high-end piece that will fly under the radar
>Best characteristic of watch: The subtle polished touches that bring a touch of refined “flash” to the piece
>Worst characteristic of watch: Comfortable sizing can be tricky to attain with the screw-down post used in the deployant.
