Glashütte Original Sixties Senator Chronograph Automatic 2008

Glashütte

Glashütte Original has roots dating back to 1845 when watchmakers Ferdinand Adolph Lange, Moritz Grossman, Julius Assmann, and Adolf Schneider came to Glashütte to manufacture watch parts and pocket watches. They chose this area for its proximity to Dresden’s already established clockwork fame. The work of these founders led to innovations that became signature components of Glashütte watchmaking and are still continued today, such as the Glashütte three-quarter plate, gold lever wheels, and chatons, all developed in 1865 and all increased timekeeping precision. After successfully petitioning the King of Saxony for a business loan, Moritz Grossman founded the German School of Watchmaking in the town of Glashütte in 1878.

Description

The design of the Glashütte Original Senator Sixties collection clearly reflects the joie de vivre of the 1960s. Above all, the aesthetic attitudes of this era found their expression in geometric forms, which were used as stylistic elements in the fields of art, fashion, and design.

Here we have a truly remarkable original Glashütte Original Sixties Senator automatic chronograph which carries the highly sought after original, unrestored and untouched black dial. This watch carries an automatic self winding chronograph calibre 39 movement, which is in sparkling condition. The outstanding dial and movement are cased within a oversized 42mm stainless steel case that is in incredible condition.

The Dial

This remarkable watch carries a beautiful, completely original, unrestored and untouched black dial with very easy to read dial furnishings. The ‘baton’ hour indices are mixed with standard Arabic numerals at ‘6 – 12’ all swept by very original stainless steel ‘stick’ hands. All of which, look simply stunning against the black dial and the stainless steel case.

This dial carries a twin register, the dial at the left by 9, indicates the elapsed time up to thirty minutes while the chronograph is running, and the dial at the right by 3, indicates the elapsed time up to 60 minutes.

The dial is simply signed ‘Glashütte Original’ at the very top of the dial below 12 and ‘Glashütte I/SA’ at the bottom of the dial above six, completed with ‘Made in Germany’ by 6.

As this dial is in original, unrestored condition, this has been left untouched by our restoration team due to its superb condition. Usually, we restore the dials of the watches we sell, however we decided in this case to leave it alone, due to its unusually good condition and to retain its originality and charm for those who prefer this. It also helps to contrast with almost all of the other watch dials you see on our website, which have been restored. The hands, likewise, have also been left in their original untouched condition.

Please note, studio lights, professional-grade digital cameras, and macro lenses can be very unkind to an unrestored vintage watch dial. Also the dial here measures less than 1.25 inches across, so the image you’re seeing may be between 5 – 25 times larger than the watch itself. Therefore please keep in mind you are seeing many tiny flaws which cannot be seen, or will be very hard to see with the naked eye, even under close examination. Suffice to say, on the wrist, in natural light, this dial looks much better and carries a great deal more charm than the photographs portray.

The Movement

The movement within this watch is the Glashütte calibre 39, 51 Jewel automatic chronograph movement which is in sparkling condition and has been fully overhauled and serviced by our vintage specialist watchmaker. This means the movement has been completely disassembled, cleaned, inspected and rebuilt using only the correct original parts where required before careful calibration and testing. Upon returning to stock, the watch is now running to within +5 seconds per day which is truly outstanding for any vintage watch of this age!

With care and with regular servicing, say every 4 years, we would fully expect this watch to run quite happily for many decades to come. We are therefore more than happy to offer this watch with our 12 months’ warranty* and to assist with servicing again in the future.

The movement is correctly signed ‘Glashütte’, along with the calibre 39, 51 jewels and the movement serial number ‘42673’.

*Please note – our 12 months’ warranty is only applicable if the list price is paid.

The Watch Case

The stainless steel case is of a bold, three-piece design which carries a wonderful exhibition case back, measuring an oversized 42mm, excluding the correct signed crown, this is a very over-sized watch for the period. The case-back is of full thickness and has never been inscribed. This case has incredible straight lugs which give the watch the perfect presence on the wrist.

This watch case has been carefully inspected for fatigue marks and there are none. It has recently completed a full restoration by our team and is in excellent condition. Even under close examination, there are few scratches, dings or signs of wear visible to the naked eye, leading us to suspect that this watch has seen very little real use.

The outer edge of the exhibition case back is correctly signed with ‘Glashütte Original’, ‘ST.STEEL’, ‘Nr 0025’ and ‘3 ATM’

As ever, our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.

The Strap and Buckle

The watch is fitted with a Hirsch black leather strap and a matching ‘Glashütte’ stainless steel buckle, which we feel suits the watch perfectly. If, however, a different colour or style of strap is preferred, please let us know and we will do our best to oblige, free of charge. We carry tan, conker, dark brown burgundy and black straps in stock, in plain, padded leather, alligator, crocodile or lizard skin.

Box and Papers

This watch comes complete with the original Kurz Zurich purchase receipt which dates this watch correctly to 2008.

Detailed particulars will be included with our receipt for your interest and security. A separate insurance valuation for the replacement value of this watch will also be provided at the time of sale along with our unique ‘Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee’ which states: “If this watch proves to be anything less than 100% genuine, authentic and original, a full refund will be given at any time”.

This watch comes complete with a high quality hardwood presentation box included.

Payment and Delivery

If you would like to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to assist you with this and pass on a 3% saving to you. Paying by bank transfer for a 3% saving will not affect your 12 months warranty. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or Bank Wire Transfer we will provide you with our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.

Please check the import duties and any taxes your government may apply, these are different for each country and, unfortunately, out of our control.

We understand there may be some ‘loopholes’ that may help you avoid these charges; however, attempting to use these could impact our ongoing ability to serve our growing international customer base.

For those who happen to visit London on occasion, we are, of course, more than happy to store your watch until we can meet you in our offices in Kensington, London, and hand your watch directly to you there.

As with all our watches, this watch will be sold under our 14 days no-quibble sale or return policy.

In Conclusion

This is a first class example of a top quality Glashütte wristwatch in stainless steel with the superb calibre 839 automatic chronograph movement. The movement is of a high grade and on a par with watches far more expensive than this. Glashütte watches are highly collectable and the rarity of this watch means the value will always remain strong.

A word on our prices – We always try our hardest to acquire the very highest quality watches we can find, before restoring them to the highest possible standards. We then offer these at the fairest prices we can, taking into account our pre and post-sales care and service. This approach means we will never be the cheapest, but nor will we be the most expensive. Indeed there are some well-known stores in West London which are highly successful charging between two to three times the price you see here. We, therefore, consider our prices to be fair, given the quality of watches we have to offer.

Please note, we also welcome part exchanges. If you have a watch or a small collection for sale, please contact us as we will be happy to discuss this.

We will also be happy to Service your watch, Repair your watch or Restore your watch, all at ‘sensible’ prices. Please see here.

If you have any questions please call us on 020 7727 7095 or if calling from overseas on +44 207 727 7095.

Please take a look at our other fine vintage steel watches.

Thank you.