When it comes to vintage-inspired watches, it’s kind of hard to go wrong when the watch brand has “Original” right in its name, isn’t it? At least, that’s how it seems to me when I look at what we have in the two new Glashütte Original Sixties watches that were just announced. It also helps that the brand was actually producing watches in Glashütte in the 1960s, and has a watch (the Spezimatic), which these watches draw their lineage to (at least from a design perspective). Being almost 60 years on down the line, though, we definitely have the advantage of modern manufacturing techniques.

Specifications

Brand: Glashütte Original
Model: Sixties & Sixties Panorama Data
Dimensions: 39mm (Glashütte Original Sixties), 42mm (Glashütte Original Sixties Panorama Date)
Case Material: Stainless steel
Crystal/Lens: Domed sapphire
Movement: Manufacture designed and built, caliber 39-47 (Glashütte Original Sixties) and 39-52 (Glashütte Original Sixties Panorama Date)
Strap/Bracelet: Black calfskin with pin buckle
Price & Availability: $7,500 for Sixties and $9,300 for Sixties Panorama Date

Analysis

When I first saw the photo of the two new Glashütte Original Sixties models, my initial thought was this: “It’s the eye of Sauron, but in green!” I know it’s not the first time we’ve seen a degrade dial, but for whatever reason, this shade of green really struck me as being eye-like, and that was the association I made. Fortunately, a closer examination of what is going on with the dial reveals something a bit more special.

You see, the Glashütte Original Sixties dial actually has a good bit of texture (literally) which is imprinted onto the dial courtesy of a 60-ton press. Pair that up with the various layers that go on to get the particular shade of green (of note, it will only be available for a year), and you come up with a dial that is certain to catch the light, as well as your eyes.

While I’m guessing that vintage purists will go for the Glashütte Original Sixties, I find myself more drawn to the Glashütte Original Sixties Panorama Date. This is simply because of prior experience with these big date complications from the brand. Simply put, they are the best implementation of a big date that I have seen, bar none. While it may lack some of the vintage flair with the modern date display, I think it serves as a reminder that this is a modern re-imagining, no matter how much the eye wants to pretend that the curved sapphire is plexiglass and that the watch is truly a ’60s original.

Summary

Unfortunately for my personal tastes, the Glashütte Original Sixties Panorama Date is the more expensive of the pair, coming in at $9,300 (the “plain” Glashütte Original Sixties tallies up at $7,500). While Glashütte Original may not be the brand I first think of when it comes to a modern vintage interpretation, that’s on me, and not the brand. They’ve done quite a bang-up job here with the dial design, and the limited-run nature of the emerald hue will certainly make it feel all the more exclusive.

And truly, the dial is the star of the Glashütte Original Sixties show. In other watches I’ve handled from the brand, they’ve had very clean, and very (literally) flat dials in play. This can be done to great effect, but the texture here I think lets the watches embody some of the craziness that seemed to be in the air in the ’60s (as I’ve been told). While I wouldn’t go so far as to call the Glashütte Original Sixties the “one watch to rule them all,” it certainly is a colorful blast to kick off the Basel cycle with. glashuette-original.com