Developed in the 18th century, marine chronometers played a key role in shaping maritime history and enabling global exploration. Built to withstand the rigors of the seafaring environment, they resist the effects of ship motion, temperature changes and changes in atmospheric pressure. Before the invention of technology, determining longitude at sea was a significant challenge, often leading to inaccurate navigation and many shipwrecks as a result. With a reliable marine chronometer on board, mariners can compare the local time in their current location with the exact time at a reference location, usually a home port or a landmark. known. The difference in time between these two points provided the basis for calculating longitude. To this day, the chronograph is the epitome of a precisely functioning watch.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, marine chronographs from the German high-end watchmaking town of Glashütte were highly prized around the world. The latest descendant of these precious and precise navigation instruments is Glashütte Original’s Senator Chronometer, now offered in a new version in white gold with a beautiful silver-blue dial. It has a diameter of 42mm and a height of 11.4mm.
Part of the Glashütte Original portfolio for many years, this watch combines a sophisticated manufacture movement with traditional elements and an elegant, timeless design. Additionally, it brings to life an old craftsmanship technique on the dial and movement parts, known as friction silvering.
In this complex process, a mixture of fine silver powder, salt and water is rubbed by hand onto the surface, giving it a smooth, shimmering texture. Then it gets a gray coating. The premium impression is completed by traditional blue hands and sophisticated Roman numeral details.
As is typical of this watch, the dial has a railway-shaped minute track, a prominent sub-seconds dial and a Saxon power reserve indicator with up and down indicators and a small day/night indicator just below 12 o’clock. . Of course, there’s also the large date display that Glashütte Original introduced 26 years ago as the Panorama Date. Here, the numerals appear white on a blue background.
The Senator Chronometer’s central movement is the hand-wound caliber 58-08, operates at a frequency of 28,800 semi-oscillations per hour and has a running time of 44 hours and 40 minutes. The chronograph-certified movement is equipped with a delicate stop-seconds mechanism: when the crown is pulled out, the time display stops and the seconds hand is reset to zero and held in that position. When setting the time, the characteristic minute detent ensures that the minute hand jumps forward from one minute index to the next with an audible tactile click – thus ensuring that the relationship The precision system between seconds and minutes is always maintained and allows time to be precisely adjusted. set exactly to second.
The sapphire crystal case back showcases the classic, sophisticated finishing qualities of Glashütte high watchmaking, such as the signature three-quarter plate, perlage, fine swan-neck regulators, screw-mounted gold chain and hand-engraved balance pin.
The Senator Chronometer comes on a dark blue Louisiana alligator leather strap with white gold clasp and retails for $32,300 USD