Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Perpetual Calendar Review
We are going to get up close and personal with the Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Perpetual Calendar in this in-depth review. Watch as we review and compare the various watches in this series.
Few watches just take my breath away at first glance the way this one did. At the time of writing this, there are four models within this series. The enlarged one with the skeletonized dial in the main image on this blog post is the limited edition model. It is simply a light magnet with its textured Guilloche dial which appears to be hammered by hand into an exquisite Fibonacci-style pattern.
Caliber 36-02
Surprisingly, what is most impressive about this watch is not its look but rather, what is under the hood. The in-house Glashütte Caliber 36 that powers this watch is quite something else. For a watchmaker that has been in business since 1845 like Glashütte Original, creating a new movement is somewhat of a ceremonious endeavor and oftentimes, just as they thought they are ready, they find another feature that they can add which would make the caliber even more outstanding.
The Glashutte caliber 36 features: Magnetic resistant silicone balance spring, 4-Day/100-Hour Power Reserve, regulated via 4 screws, bi-directional automatic winding via a 21kt gold oscillation weight at the edge of the rotor, and of course, a bayonet mount. This movement allows for uninterrupted timekeeping with full perpetual calendar function including leap year indicator. The caliber is also adjusted to 6 different positions where most watchmakers will only adjust to 5.
As with all Glashutte Original calibers, this one is also finished to perfection using several types of finishing techniques, blued screws and pink rubies; the signature of the German watchmakers from a little town in the Saxon region known as Glashütte.
Let's have a look at the video below to have a look inside this watch and see the Caliber 36-02 in action.
Aside from the limited edition mentioned at the beginning of this post, there are three models in this collection which we will be discussing.
One model, reference 1-36-02-01-02-30 has a 42mm stainless steel case and is fastened to a black alligator leather buckle. Another model comes in a stainless steel case and stainless steel bracelet and has reference # 1-36-02-01-02-70.
Last but not least, reference 1-36-02-02-05-30 which is the 18kt rose gold version on a brown alligator strap and an 18kt rose gold deployant buckle. It's also important to note that a few variations were made on this model with different buckles. Reference 1-36-02-02-05-50 comes on a short clasp and reference 1-36-02-02-05-01 comes on a buckle. Aside from the differences in case material and the different straps/bracelets, there are only a few subtle differences between these 3 models.
The 18kt rose gold model has a "varnished silver" dial as Glashutte calls it which is a warmer shade of off-white and it blends beautifully with the rose gold case and the color contrast that this creates next to the blued steel hands ties the whole thing together.
Additionally, the Arabic numerals used for the five-minute increment markers as well as the number 4 in the leap year indicator are printed in red on the rose gold model and not printed in black the way it is printed on the other two stainless steel models.
Calendar buttons are recessed and can be seen from the side of the 12.8mm thick case. You can also see the brushed finish on the side of the case and the polished beveled edge in the above image. You'll notice that the lugs are also using a polished on the top side and brushed along the sides. The crown is also using a polished finish.
Conclusion: Overall, this is a feature-rich watch from a high-end brand. It has a perpetual calendar, moonphase, leap year indicator, and an excellent power reserve. It's expertly crafted and beautifully finished and the movement is just breathtaking to watch. For the price, it's going to be pretty hard to find another high-complication watch of this caliber from a respected brand such as Glashutte. While this may not be a cheap watch per se, it looks stunning, is immaculately finished, and certainly delivers for the price range in which it finds itself.
Compare the different models
