IntroducingThe Glashütte Original PanoMaticCalendar With A Dial Inspired By The Blue Of Dawn

If you're looking for a high-end watch from the German watchmaking town of Glashütte, there's a good chance you'll encounter an asymmetrical dial. Glashütte Original's Pano line takes this familiar asymmetrical form and uses it as a template for various complications and layouts, with the PanoInverse even featuring an upside-down movement. Today, Glashütte Original introduces a new PanoMaticCalendar, presented in a blue dial that's limited to 150 pieces.

German watch naming conventions are refreshingly straightforward, and the PanoMaticCalendar delivers exactly what its name promises. The watch features Glashütte Original's signature asymmetrical layout, with an oversized Panorama date now enhanced by an annual calendar complication and a moonphase display. Housed in a 42mm platinum case that measures 12.4mm thick, the watch features a substantial 49.28mm lug-to-lug measurement, which remains proportional to the case diameter. Right off the bat, it's impossible to ignore the prominently striped baseplate behind the skeletonized blue "dial," and the heat-blued screws and handset complementing the dial color. While legibility might seem like a concern, the addition of applied white gold indices and lumed dots helps significantly.

While the visual focus remains centered on the dial, the month of the annual calendar is subtly integrated into the snailed perimeter, positioned underneath the tinted blue sapphire crystal window, with only the numerals of the month left transparent. A white retrograde indicator sits under the current month, highlighting the correct numeral while the other numerals blend in with the blue background. As this is an annual calendar, the only adjustment required is for the leap year.

Powering the watch is the in-house automatic Caliber 92-11, featuring an impressive 100-hour power reserve and a silicon balance spring. Of course, you get all of the finishing expected of a fine watchmaker in Glashütte, with lots of striping, anglage, and, of course, a freehand-engraved balance bridge.

The new Glashütte Original PanoMaticCalendar is limited to 150 pieces and priced at $43,800.

While the skeletonized finish of this limited edition isn't new — it was seen previously in the inaugural duo of PanoMaticCalendars in 2022, in black — blue somehow really ties this all together. It's kind of sacrilege to admit that I'm usually never a blue-dial guy, but I think the blue of the dial frame works so well with the blued screws and small star-studded sky of the moonphase that it all just feels so coherent.

The PanoMaticCalendar also feels still quite slept on in Glashütte Original's catalog, and I think it should be talked about way more. The movement is truly impressive, especially given the retrograde month indication on the annual calendar, and I think the skeletonized dial design strikes a good compromise between some of the more conventional Pano designs and the PanoInverse. At $43,800, the price tag is nothing to scoff at, but somehow, the pricing feels… reasonable? In platinum, the PanoMaticCalendar is priced more competitively than most of its competitors' annual calendars in white gold, offering a genuinely unique spin on the complication. Plus, the design remains unique, and embracing a more modern edge is where the brand shines best, in my humble opinion. They've really knocked it out of the park with this one. Am I getting too greedy for asking to see one in steel?

Brand: Glashütte Original
Model: PanoMaticCalendar
Reference Number: 1-92-11-01-03-61 

Diameter: 42mm
Thickness: 12.4mm
Case Material: Platinum
Dial Color: Blue
Indexes: Applied
Lume: Yes
Water Resistance: 5 bar
Strap/Bracelet: Alligator leather strap or blue synthetic fabric strap

Caliber: 92-11
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, moonphase, annual calendar with Panorama Date and retrograde month display
Power Reserve: 100 hours
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 28,800 VpH
Jewels: 53
Chronometer Certified: No

Price: $43,800
Availability: Now
Limited Edition: Yes, 150 pieces.

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