Glashütte Original PanoMaticLunar Steel with Rose “Salmon” Opaline Dial

A classic among the classics, the Glashütte Original PanoMaticLunar is the essence of the German manufacturer, with its off-centred display, its beautifully executed movement and very Teutonic design, in cold and technical colours. Certainly, we’ve seen some more colourful versions, in gold with a blue dial for instance – but still rather classic. So what if you infused this Saxon icon with a dose of audacity? The result is the PanoMaticLunar Rose Opaline, and after the official introduction, we wanted to check it out in the metal… And we were not disappointed. 

Glashütte Original has recently added a touch of boldness to its collections, with much more colourful takes on its classic models, as well as new lines with sportier or warmer designs. Think about the SeaQ, a range of dive watches, or the Annual Editions on the Sixties – in fiery orange or in green. Five years ago, you wouldn’t imagine the Saxon brand playing in this field. It was all about silver dials, blue indices and a lot of work on the movement side. But design-wise, technicality and austerity were the main topics. And while the basics are respected, with the Pano or Senator watches, the brand has added some new executions with bolder, younger designs – and that is something that surprised us, in a positive way. If you want a silver-dial PanoReserve, no problem, it still exists (and still looks superb). But if you want something a bit more exclusive, which still retains the beauty of these Saxon watches, the new PanoMaticLunar Rose Opaline should be considered.

The “salmon” dial, in the metal

It is difficult to appreciate a watch with 3D renderings, which are usually not very realistic in terms of colours. The official images of the PanoMaticLunar Rose Opaline with Steel case gave a highly contrasted and richly coloured image of the watch. Still, the idea of a Salmon dial GO tickled our interest, so we thought it would be necessary to give this watch a second look, in the metal, to see what it really looks like.

And well, this was a good idea. The Salmon dial is much more subtle and discreet in reality. The colour is metallic, as always with Glashütte Original, and offers nice reflections. Depending on the ambient light, it will change from a warm silver to a richer rose gold-tone, a.k.a salmon in modern watchmaking literature. Still, it isn’t loud and retains the usual elegance of the watches in the Pano collection. Even better, the blued steel elements (hands and indices), as well as the blue printings, are far less saturated in the metal, once again for more subtlety. In short, this is a winning combination with discreet audacity.

One thing that should be noted – for most Glashütte Original watches – is that the dials are crafted in-house, in the brand’s Pforzheim-based facilities. On the contrary of most watch dials that are painted or lacquered, GO relies on a process called galvanization, a chemical treatment applied by electrolysis resulting in a metallic coating of the surface of the dial. This gives the dials a unique colour and reflections, with a cold and metallic surface. In the case of the present salmon PanoMaticLunar, the colour benefits from this treatment with more shine and a less “strident” tone.

As for the rest of the dial, we find the signature unbalanced display with off-centred dials for the hours/minutes and small seconds. The void space is filled here with a moon phase at 2 o’clock and the signature Panorama Date, which displays the digits on non-overlapping discs, placed at 4 o’clock. The hands are blued steel, filled with a thin line of Super-LumiNova, and the indices are also blued.

Overall, this new Glashütte Original PanoMaticLunar Rose Opaline retains the classic elements of the collection, while bringing a perfectly controlled dose of originality – and a colour that is obviously very trendy. And, personally, I love a salmon-coloured dial with blue contrasting elements.

A PanoMaticLunar after all

For the rest, all the classic elements of the PanoMaticLunar are respected. This means a relatively generous 40mm case, with a 12.7mm height and strong lugs. The watch has some presence on the wrist, no debate. Still, the well-designed curved lugs help to make it balance and comfortable on most wrists. The case is made of stainless steel, with a combination of polished parts (bezel and lugs) and brushed surfaces (casebands). A small recessed corrector in the caseband allows for the adjustment of the moon phase indication – not the most practical solution.

The Glashütte Original PanoMaticLunar Rose Opaline is worn on either a dark blue alligator strap with a folding clasp (a pin buckle is also possible) or a steel bracelet. Knowing the elegant vocation of this watch, the first option clearly is our favourite.

Powering the watch is the in-house calibre 90.02. This automatic movement features the signature 3/4 plate architecture, with its rotor dimensioned according to this typically German tradition. This means a slightly off-centred oscillating weight with a 22k gold segment and the double-G logo. Also very desirable is the duplex swan-neck fine adjustment, an easily recognizable element of this PanoMaticLunar, which is engraved by hand and adds great charm to this movement. The rest is classic, with Glahütte ribbings, blued screws, circular-grained main-plate and polished bevels. The execution is clean and warm.

Price and availability

This handsome Glashütte Original PanoMaticLunar Rose Opaline in Steel is a limited edition of 50 pieces worldwide, available from Glashütte Original Boutiques only. It is priced at EUR 9,400 (pin buckle), EUR 9,700 (fold fastener) or EUR 10,800 (steel bracelet) – the same price as the classic silver-dial model.

More details at www.glashuette-original.com.