Press release: Glashütte Original presents new annual edition: Sixties and Sixties Panorama Date

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The Glashütte Original Sixties line presents legendary 1960s design and embodies the art of Glashütte watchmaking, whose traditions date back to 1845. Lively and extrovert, dedicated to the spirit of the times today, it is certainly not something for fans of nostalgia. It was only in 2018 that the popular line saw the first of its striking annual editions. The fascinating green versions inspired watch and design enthusiasts all over the world. Today Glashütte Original delivers an exciting sequel to this success story: for its annual edition 2019, the German manufactory presents the Glashütte Original Sixties and Glashütte Original Sixties Panorama Date in multi-faceted orange.

The new models feature unusual dégradé dials, as radiant as the eventful decade that gives them their name. In the 1960s the world was changing at breakneck speed, inspired by bold visionaries, unprecedented freedom and courageous ideas in art, culture, politics and society. The dynamic decade continues to inspire today’s artists, designers, musicians and the watchmakers at Glashütte Original.

Unmistakable style thanks to filigreed craftsmanship

The new orange Sixties and Sixties Panorama Date underscore the line’s unmistakable retro-chic identity. The watch face presents its signature curvature, from the dial and the hands to the sapphire crystal, anti-reflective on both side. Arabic numerals, diamond-cut indexes, manually applied hour markers and hands highlighted with Super-LumiNova add harmonious accents.

Idiosyncratic and yet stylish this holds true not just for the details but for the dial as a whole. Starting from a golden yellow at the centre, the colour flows across the curved surface, changing to fiery orange and red before reaching the black perimeter. The result is luminous vivacity, warmth and energy. Credit for this impressive ensemble of different hues also known as the dégradé effect goes to the experts at Glashütte own dial manufactory in Pforzheim.

After a galvanic bath gives the dial its golden yellow hue the dial makers carefully apply a series of layers in red and black lacquer. The result of this filigreed craftsmanship is an individual colour gradient that renders each dial unique. In a final step, the dials are heated in a kiln in order to burn in the colours.

An impressive story

There is more to the seductive powers of the Sixties than the play with colours, however. The surface structure also has a remarkable story to tell. The low-relief pattern is produced using the original tools and methods from the 1960s. Each dial blank receives its embossing with the aid of a 60-tonne press, which was already in use at the Pforzheim manufactory at the time. During the nineteen sixties, cross-border cooperation also allowed Pforzheim to deliver dials to Glashütte for the Spezimatic. The partnership began more than 50 years ago and culminated with the integration of the dial-maker into the Glashütte Original manufactory in 2012. Today its innovative spirit plays a decisive role once again, in the development of the Sixties line as every single dial makes clear.

The new timepieces are powered by the factory’s 39-52 (Sixties) and 39-47 (Sixties Panorama Date) automatic movements. Developed in-house, they are mounted in polished stainless steel cases, 39 mm in diameter for the three-hand Sixties, 42 mm for the Panorama Date model. A brown Louisiana alligator leather strap with pin-buckle closure rounds off the vintage design. As the annual edition 2019, the Sixties and Sixties Panorama Date are available only for a limited period of time from Glashütte Original Boutiques and selected authorised dealers worldwide.