Every so often, a watch comes along that you know is one for you. It is the horological equivalent of love at first sight. You can barely believe, in those memorable first few seconds of existing in that hallowed timepiece’s presence that it hasn’t always been a part of your story. You don’t just want it; you need it. That, I believe, is a feeling for which many of us are searching.
And there’s the other thing…
Glashütte Original Senator Cosmopolite - Credit WatchGecko
Some watches decidedly don’t grab you. They may not even register on your radar. They are released, instantly become part of whatever brand’s furniture, and you glide by them without giving them a second glance. There are so many releases throughout the year (and over the years) that it’s easy to miss the odd gem hiding in plain sight. Only when fate or overdue diligence takes the wheel, are you able to appreciate what you’ve been missing and see the watch in a whole new light.
That’s what happened to me with not just the Glashütte Original Senator Cosmopolite reference 1-89-02-05-02-64, but also the entire GO Senator collection.
Glashütte Original Senator Cosmopolite on Original Vintage Highley Genuine Leather Watch Strap - Credit WatchGecko
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For a long time, I’ve seen the Senator line as the more mature, slightly subdued sibling of Glashütte’s wilder output (like the Sixties or Seventies collections) and the brand’s more heavily promoted families like the Glashütte Original SeaQ. I saw it as a baseline. Never for a second did I doubt its horological integrity (I would never doubt such a thing from Glashütte Original), but neither for a second did I imagine that such a watch would ever call my wrist home.
After all, there is so much competition from within the brand’s own catalogue and the wider canon of Glashütte watches.
Glashütte Original Senator Cosmopolite - Credit WatchGecko
Just next door to Glashütte Original sits industry behemoth A. Lange & Söhne. The famed Richemont-owned brand is well known for producing pure and simple executions of the traditional Glashütte style and, in terms of brand recognition and prestige, it is fair to say it still outpaces the Swatch Group’s German champion. How then, could the more pared-back model line of GO hope to compete?
As it turns out, there is a lot more going on behind the restrained display of the Senator line than one might immediately imagine and, thanks to a price window carved out by Lange’s desire to move ever northwards in that regard, a lot of value, in a horological sense, at least, can be found therein.
Glashütte Original Senator Cosmopolite - Credit WatchGecko
The most affordable A. Lange & Söhne watch in the current collection is the 37 mm Saxonia Thin in either rose or white gold. That’s a high entry point by anyone’s definition. Furthermore, what you get at that entry point is, although admittedly beautiful, pretty darn basic mechanically.
The Saxonia thin, is, as its name suggests, a very slim and elegant watch. With just 5.9 mm of height, the watch is barely there. The movement within it is a peerless example of finishing in the German style. A German silver three-quarter plate, Glashütte ribbing, blued screws, gold chatons, and a hand-engraved balance cock. Sublime but straightforward. Beautiful but somewhat benign. It retails at a whopping €24,500.
Glashütte Original Senator Cosmopolite on ZULUDIVER Mayday Regatta Sailcloth Divers Watch Strap - Credit WatchGecko
For the same price in the Senator line (actually, €700 less), you can buy the Glashütte Original Senator Cosmopolite (and this is far from the entry-point of the Senator collection, which actually begins as low as €10,800 with the stainless steel Senator Observer).
The Glashütte Original Senator Cosmopolite featured in this article is also stainless steel, but it boasts some pretty impressive complications and top-drawer execution that justify the price.
Glashütte Original Senator Cosmopolite - Credit WatchGecko
The main talking point of reference 1-89-02-05-02-64 is the dual time zone function and its ability to track not just one-hour increments, but also ½-hour and ¼/¾ hour time zones, meaning all 35 of the globe’s time zones are accounted for.
Located at 12 o’clock, a generously sized sub-dial shows your home time (hours and minutes), on a 12-hour display. The time shown by the main, centrally-mounted handset, is your local time, which can be easily adjusted as you travel (we’ll get to that in a moment). The local time handset is linked to the day/night indicator at 9 o’clock, which would seem like an odd choice were it not for the fact that the home time dial at 12 also has a day/night indicator of its own, albeit an almost hidden one.
Glashütte Original Senator Cosmopolite - Credit WatchGecko
Just below the handy “home time” text, there is a very small round aperture. This “dot indicator” turns dark blue when it is “nighttime” at home, but turns white during daylight hours. Simple, unobtrusive, and ingeniously positioned (which is something that could be said for many of Glashütte Original’s complications including the power-reserve indicator that also calls the 12 o’clock sub-dial home).
At four o’clock the glorious panoramic date almost feels like an afterthought when teamed with such other incredible complications. A massive 6 o’clock sub-dial shows the going seconds, which brings a dash of much-needed visual activity to the display.
Now to the fun stuff…
Glashütte Original Senator Cosmopolite - Credit WatchGecko
There are three crowns on this watch. The 2 o’clock crown sets the home and local time together (for initial set-up), the 8 o’clock crown selects the home time zone independent of the hands, and the 4 o’clock crown advances your local time in 15-minute increments.
To set the watch, ensure both the home and local time readouts are the same. If they’re not, you can adjust the local time with the 4 o’clock crown until they match up. Then set the time as you normally would with the 2 o’clock crown (paying attention to the day/night indicators to show whether you’re in AM or PM). Then select your home time zone with the 8 o’clock crown.
Glashütte Original Senator Cosmopolite - Credit WatchGecko
Your time zone is indicated by the apertures situated on either side of eight o’clock. The top one shows the time zone selected for DST (daylight saving time) and the bottom shows the STD (standard) time zone. Depending on whether you’re on STD or DST, you just need to slot your location into the relevant aperture. Easy.
Now, whenever you travel somewhere new, you adjust the time with the 4 o’clock crown. The time will adjust by 15 minutes every time, meaning you can select all time zones, be they one full hour, half an hour, 45-, or 15-minute offset. The time zone codes for full-hour zones are shown in white text. For 30-minute zones, they are shown in light blue. And, for the three 15/45 minute zones in the world, the IATA code is shown in red.
Glashütte Original Senator Cosmopolite - Credit WatchGecko
While the watch is a chunky monkey, coming in at 44 mm wide and 14 mm thick, it doesn’t feel like overkill considering the movement or its functions, nor does it feel particularly big on the wrist (although, thanks to the relatively slim bezel), it does make quite the visual impact. A 50-meter water resistance rating is sufficient for a watch intended for use on dry land, but if Glashütte Original ever releases an update with a 10 ATM rating, I’d find it hard to fault this piece for the money and the daily wearability.
Technical Specifications:
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Name: Glashütte Original Senator Cosmopolite
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Collection Reference: 1-89-02-05-02-64
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Case Dimensions: 43.2 mm wide by 16.95 mm thick
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Crystal: Sapphire
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Water Resistance: 50 metres
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Movement: Glashütte Original 89-02, automatic caliber with a 72-hour power reserve
