Previews of new watches making their debut at Baselworld 2014 continue to flood our in-boxes here at WatchTime. One that caught our eye is for Glashütte Original’s new PanoMaticInverse, which repositions movement components to make visually interesting elements, such as the Saxon brand’s hallmark swan’s neck fine adjustment, visible on the dial side of the watch.
The PanoMaticInverse is the successor to the Glashütte Original PanoInverse, which debuted in 2008. (How to pronounce Glashütte Original? Click here.) The PanoInverse was the brand’s first timepiece to use this “inverse positioning” design, moving components normally found on the rear side of the movement (and visible only through a sapphire caseback) to the front, or dial side. The concept required a complete reworking of that watch’s base movement, Glashütte Original’s manual-winding, in-house Caliber 66, which included refining existing components and developing new components and subgroups. (The PanoInverse, like the rest of G.O.’s Pano collection, was redesigned in 2012.)
The new watch takes the idea a step further, this time using a redesigned automatic movement, Glashütte Original Caliber 91-02, with 42-hour power reserve, as its engine. The timekeeping elements — an off-centered hour-and-minutes subdial and small seconds subdial, along with a large “Panorama” date display at 2 o’clock — are added directly to the front of the movement, which has the traditional Glashütte three-quarters plate, rhodium finished and decorated with Glashütte waves. Blued screws and rubies are also visible on the front side, along with the duplex swan’s neck fine adjustment. The oscillating of the screw balance beneath the engraved balance bridge is also in plain sight under the front sapphire crystal. The hour, minute and second hands are also blued, and treated with Super-LumiNova. (Click photos for larger images.)
The back side of the movement, also on display behind a sapphire crystal, showcases the skeletonized central rotor with 21k gold oscillating mass, and a rotor track with decorative finishing. The Glashütte wave decoration, more rubies, and a wheel bridge with two-tone engravings are also visible on the rear side.
Two versions of the Glashütte Original PanoMaticInverse will be available at retail in summer 2014, both with round 42-mm cases: one with a satin-polished rose gold case with gold appliqué indices and brown Louisiana alligator Nubuk leather strap (above); the other with a satin-brushed and polished stainless steel case, blue appliqué indices, and a dark blue Louisiana alligator strap (below). Both watches have a fold-over clasp that matches the case material. Glashütte Original has not yet announced U.S. retail prices for the watches.
