Home » Baselworld - World Watch and Jewellery Show » Baselworld 2012 Preview – Glashütte Original Senator Observer 1911 Julius Assmann Watch
The new Limited Edition of Glashütte Original Senator Observer 1911 Julius Assmann, restricted to only 25 pieces, is a tribute to the eventful history of the famous brand, as well as to two extraordinary men whose efforts brought to this amazing accomplishment. Two men in question are a watchmaker, Julius Assmann, and a legendary Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen.
Now, let us thoroughly explain the connection between these exceptional figures. As most people already know, Amundsen was the first person ever who reached the South Pole, back in 1911. Likewise, he was the first man to reach both North and South Pole. Julius Assmann, on the other hand, who is now considered as one of the founders of the Glashütte, commenced producing watches at the age of 25. Assmann and his company were especially versed in manufacturing high quality pocket watches, chronometers and observation timepieces. The third type of watches was particularly cherished because of their extreme accuracy that was combined with the exceptional craftsmanship.
The Role of Glashütte Original Watches in the Conquering of Antarctica
Prior to his historic voyage, the Norwegian pioneer decided to acquire a number of Assmann observation watches because of their reputation of being very precise and reliable. This sort of timepieces (otherwise called “deck watches”) is used for navigation on a ship, together with marine chronometers and other instruments. However, during the Amundsen’s expedition, Assmann’s observation timepieces were used instead of the chronometers. In addition to the watch that was utilized for this purpose, the second watch was set to the current local time. Basically, the process of determining the exact position is possible due to the use of precise timekeeping instruments. After calculating the time differences between the two watches, it is possible to calculate the accurate position, with the use of spherical trigonometry and instruments like compasses and sextants.
This practically means that the observation watches had the critical role in the expedition. Without these punctual marvels made by Assmann’s company, there was no way of knowing the position, and the whole accomplishment of reaching the South Pole was impossible. This is the reason why one of the Glashütte observation timepieces used for the conquest of Antarctica is still displayed at the Fram Museum in Oslo, (the museum is named after the Amundsen polar ship, Fram). The German watchmaking giant continued to produce the observation timepieces all the way to 1971.
A New Automatic Caliber 100-14, the Beating Heart of the Commemorative Timepiece
In order to commemorate the historic event and the role of Glashütte Original timepieces in it, the brand decided to construct the exclusive limited edition. The new watch, named Senator Observer 1911 Jullius Assmann is made in just 25 pieces. Its beating heart is the brand’s proprietary automatic mechanism Caliber 100-14. Traditionally, observation timepieces were supplied with the hand-wound movements. However, Glashütte Original decided to modernize the concept and equipped this product with the self-winding movement in order to make a watch that will be as comfortable as possible. It is important to note that the movement includes a reset mechanism, which tremendously facilitates the process of adjusting the second hand with the standard time. Unlike similar solutions, this reset mechanism is not attached to the crown or the winding stem. This means that the balance keeps oscillating and the movement continues to operate, even though the crown is pulled out. Due to this feature, Saxon watchmaking brand has managed to substantially reduce the damages to the materials.
Glashütte Original Observer Watch
Another supreme quality of the Caliber 100-14 is the manner in which it gets wounded. The German brand included a bi-directional rotor which is connected with a proprietary stepped reduction gear and two separate spring barrels. The effect of this system is the fact that considerable amounts of energy gets delivered to the mainspring and that the spring barrels gets filled pretty fast, which is certainly an important trait of this watch. The Caliber 100-14 can be gazed upon through the sapphire case back. As the representatives of the company stated, the automatic mechanism has Glashütte three-quarter plate, a rotor with 21-karat gold oscillating weight, screw-mounted gold chatons, as well as the gold-plated double-G mark.
The Amazing Face in Addition to the Exceptional Movement
The amazing automatic movement is set in a cylindrical white-gold case with the diameter of 44 mm. Another superior characteristic of the timepiece is its exclusive and distinguished lacquered silver-grain dial. It takes a lot of skill and patience to make this sort of dial. The complex process of manufacturing is time-consuming and it includes the application of three layers of white lacquer. The final layer includes a textured silver-grain surface. This elegant silver face includes two sub-dials. The small seconds are placed at the nine o’clock position; while the power reserve indication sits on the opposite part of the dial (it appears that the power reserve of the timepiece is 55 hours). Besides, the dial includes a blued and polished minute hand, a pear-shaped hour hand, and the brand’s recognizable panorama date indication at the bottom. The face of the product is completed with Arabic numerals, surrounded by the milled railroad chapter ring. The watch comes with a retro brown calfskin strap, the reminiscent of the ones used by the famous explorers and pioneers.
