Glashütte Original PanoInverse Limited Edition

Urban canyons and skyscrapers, billboard ads and graffiti artists: Glashütte Original’s latest creation takes the viewer on a journey into the pulsing heart of the big city—a place of unlimited possibilities. But not everything here is what it seems at first glance. In place of concrete and asphalt, the visitor finds precious metal and precision mechanics, and the noise and tumult of the city give way to a soft, gentle ticking. Precise laser engraving created this metropolis, which hums with the unmistakable rhythm of a manufactory movement made in Glashütte.

The PanoInverse Limited Edition opens up magnificent insights and views. Its movement serves as a canvas for a completely new interpretation of street art: filigreed skyscraper canyons on the front and back pull us irresistibly under their spell. Like any genuine exploration of a city, we discover something new on every street corner—from the clean lines of urban architecture to a cool mural in the making.

On the front side, we cross the city from a great height and let its silhouette fire up our imagination. The journey continues on the back. The skyscrapers come closer and we make out revelatory slogans on the billboard ads. We see window cleaners at work and catch a glimpse of a graffiti artist spraying a familiar logo on the wall. And finally, on one of the balconies, we spot a local resident—who appears to be watching us.

There is good reason to choose a miniature network of streets as a theme for the new limited edition. The structure of cities represents modernity, technological progress and standard-setting visions—as does the PanoInverse itself. Its unusual architecture positions the balance bridge and the duplex swan-neck fine adjustment—normally only visible through the back of the watch—in full view on the dial side. To this end, a number of different movement components were newly designed and mounted in inverse order.

On this limited edition a refined, laser-engraved, galvanic black rhodium skyline runs across the three-quarter plate and the butterfly bridge, and is taken up again on the back of the watch. Not only do the sapphire crystals on the front and back and the partially skeletonized movement provide transparency, they also entice viewers into this street-artwork: The wearer’s own wrist is visible through the watch and becomes part of its history.

A city conceived by the designers and watchmakers from Glashütte cannot help but appear in an elegant costume. The polished and satin-brushed 42-mm platinum case sets the stage, and the Golden Ratio—precisely calculated proportions felt to be particularly harmonious—governs not just the architecture of buildings, but the design of the Pano Collection as well.

These well balanced proportions are reflected in the asymmetric layout of the hour and minute displays, the small second and the understated power reserve at 2 o’clock. The colour of the watch is rounded off by a grey Louisiana alligator nubuck leather strap with a platinum double fold fastener that offers elegant wearing comfort.

The heart of this big city beats in a rhythm as hypnotic as it is regular. The manual winding Calibre 66-12 has a frequency of 4 Hz and a running time of 41 hours—more than enough time for a quick city trip. The movement is elaborately crafted, decorated and regulated in the workshops at Glashütte Original. Numerous details point to the true home of the PanoInverse Limited Edition: screw-mounted gold chatons, ruby-red jewels, blued screws, beveled edges and polished steel parts provide positive identification as an Original from Glashütte.

The new PanoInverse, limited to 50 pieces worldwide, will be available from end of March 2023 from Glashütte Original Boutiques and selected dealers.