Glashütte Original unveils the Senata Chronograph on a newly developed in-house calibre
Glashütte Original has unveiled the Senata Chronograph on a newly developed in-house movement, betting — as haute horlogerie increasingly does — that owning the calibre, not just the design, is what justifies the price.
Glashütte Original, the German haute-horlogerie house owned by Swatch Group, has unveiled the Senata Chronograph, a new automatic chronograph built around an in-house movement the brand developed itself rather than sourcing from a supplier, Swatch Group Japan's Glashütte Original division said on 20 August.
The line comes in two versions — the Senata Chronograph and the Senata Chronograph Navigator — both built on the new Caliber 37-24, an automatic movement running at 28,800 vibrations per hour with a maximum 70-hour power reserve, a flyback function, a silicon hairspring and a swan-neck regulator, visible through the case back via a 21-karat gold, skeletonised rotor. Both come in a slim 41mm stainless-steel case with a quick-change strap system, including a new folding buckle, and a choice of black or blue alligator leather, a sand-coloured synthetic strap or a steel bracelet.
The two models split on styling rather than mechanics. The Navigator carries a matte black dial with luminous Arabic numerals, a tachymeter scale on the inner bezel and mushroom-shaped pushers, aimed at a tool-watch reading; the standard Chronograph takes a dressier route, with a grained silver-white dial, blued steel hands, blue-coated solid-gold Roman numerals and a white-gold-framed date window at six o'clock. Glashütte Original points to its 1940s UROFA Caliber 59 — which it describes as the first modern wrist chronograph developed in the town of Glashütte — as the design reference for both.
The watches go on sale this month through Glashütte Original boutiques and authorised dealers; the company has not disclosed pricing. An in-house calibre, rather than a bought-in or modified base movement, is the detail haute-horlogerie houses increasingly lean on to justify chronograph pricing as supply of the volume prestige names tightens — and for a brand whose recognition still trails Switzerland's bigger houses, tying a new line explicitly to its own 1940s engineering is as much an argument for manufacture credibility as it is a design brief.