Introducing The Glashütte Original PanoLunarInverse Limited Edition

The PanoMaticInverse from Swatch Group's Glashütte Original has always been my favorite of their lineup – it's a very clever take on the immediately recognizable off-center layout that stems from the German watchmaking town, with a very obvious twist – the movement is actually flipped over, where the back of the caliber serves as the dial, highlighting the very prominent Glashütte striping, blued screws, as well as the hand-engraved balance bridge with a duplex swan-neck adjuster.

From a conceptual perspective, I adore this lineup. But in my several times of trying them on, I always had a nagging feeling that maybe the execution was a bit too literal. Despite all the finishing on the "dial," it very ironically felt a bit bare and industrial. Maybe it was the Glashütte striping that seemed too aggressive for the dial side of the watch, or maybe it was the lack of a frame around the oversized date, making it all lack a tiny bit more refinement. But with the brand's latest novelty, many of those elements have been iterated on and improved.

Today, Glashütte Original unveils the PanoLunarInverse in platinum – the first moon phase from the brand on an inverse dial – and it's really good. From the name, the focus is obviously on the additional complication of the automatic Caliber 91-04, adjustable with the crown – your eye immediately goes to the oversized moonphase disc contained within the hours-and-minutes dial. The two moons stand out, literally, as it's crafted in relief and the surface is three-dimensionally laser engraved to reflect its craters and mountains. Instead of blocking out the rest of the moon phase from the cutout, the brand uses a smoked sapphire crystal that still allows the entire moon phase disc to be seen, but keeps contrast to make the indication still practical and readable. The most prominent touch on the execution is the utilization of aventurine glass as the background of the moon itself to give the illusion of a star-filled night sky.

Surrounding the moon phase is a Galvanic black outer dial ring with what the brand calls a "vinyl pattern finish," as well as polished white gold applied indices. The overlapping small seconds subdial also features this contrasting black treatment, with the extension of the subdial into the moon phase printed with white on top of the sapphire disc, along with the Glashütte Original logo. At the two o'clock side, the brand's signature Panorama Date is color-matched in black with white printing, and the date window is framed in white gold.

Across the rest of the movement plate and balance bridge, GO eschews the typical Glashütte striping for guilloche this time, in what I can best describe as a radial take on Clous de Paris. The pattern is not stamped, nor is it engine turned – rather, the guilloché is done in-house via laser engraving. These parts are black rhodium-plated, giving it a darker, more subtle color. Flip the watch over to the back, and you'll see even more of the guilloché. A plaque contains the engraving of the limited edition number of the piece, affixed by two screws, and the rotor also features another engraving of the moon, in case you forgot what this watch is all about. Redundantly, the limited edition number is also engraved on the perimeter of the caseback.

Set in a 42mm platinum case, with a height of 12.46mm and lug-to-lug of 48.9mm, the Glashütte Original PanoLunarInverse in platinum is limited to 200 individually numbered pieces, and retails at $42,600. The pieces deliver on either a grey alligator nubuck strap or a blue recycled synthetic strap, with a deployant clasp.

While I've always appreciated the brand's watchmaking from afar, this is the first piece from Glashütte Original that has actually won me over. From my aforementioned critiques of the standard models, I feel like this version finally feels like their more refined, design-forward cousin. I was able to preview this piece over the weekend while Glashütte Original was showcasing their novelties at WatchTime NY, and what immediately struck me was how well the contrasting elements worked on this model. With a lot of empty movement space that's guilloche, it would be very easy for things to get lost in the pattern, but the brand has done really well to make sure everything is incredibly legible. With the brand's usage of laser engraving instead of traditional engine turning for the guilloche, I'm also intrigued by just how far they can push the concept of guilloche into the 21st century. I wonder what sort of interesting patterns we might be able to see going forward.

Framing the date window goes a long way here, and the black dial ring around the moon phase also ensures that the main highlight of this new model doesn't get lost in the details. While on this model we lose the hand-engraving on the balance bridge, I actually think from a design perspective, it's actually a good thing. The engravings would have clashed quite a bit with the guilloche, and this allows the moon phase to stand out and the rest of the dial to be more cohesive.

Another critique I've seen across the brand's product line is the fact that many of the calibers could use some downsizing, and I'll agree here as well. I was not able to try the watch on – the piece, I was told, was already pre-sold – but 42mm of platinum is certainly hefty. That being said, the proportions of the dial are very balanced, which will certainly help with wearability. I can imagine that trying to ensure correct proportions while shrinking down this dial would be a challenge.

With this being a limited edition, I'm sure we'll eventually see a regular production version of the PanoLunarInverse. This one's certainly striking, and I'm curious to see how it evolves into the product line – one of these in steel would be absolutely epic. 

Brand: Glashütte Original
Model: PanoLunarInverse
Reference Number: 1-91-04-01-03-62 (leather strap variant), 1-91-04-01-03-64 (synthetic strap variant)

Diameter: 42mm
Thickness: 12.46mm
Case Material: Platinum
Dial Color: Black and silver guilloché
Indexes: Applied white gold
Lume: Super-LumiNova
Water Resistance: 5 bar
Strap/Bracelet: Alligator nubuck strap or blue synthetic strap, on deployant buckle

Caliber: Automatic Calibre 91-04
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, Panorama Date, moonphase
Power Reserve: 45 hours
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 28,800 A/h, 4Hz
Jewels: 53

Price: $42,600
Availability: Now
Limited Edition: 2oo pieces, individually numbered

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