Reply With QuoteReally interesting. Would love to see one in the flesh to get a better view of the stacked dials.
Does the counter interact with the chrono at all when it runs past 30 minutes, or is it manual input only that moves it forwards?
Hello all
I don’t normally post about incoming watches because a lot of what I’ve collected is pretty much either what just about everyone else has already, or if they don’t, they know what it looks like anyway! However for this watch I thought I’d do a post, firstly because I’m so pleased with it and secondly I don’t think I’ve seen one on the forum before (I’m sure now I’ve said that there will be a load of “Mine says hi” posts as loads of you have already got one of these!).
I’ve always liked the designs of Glashütte Original, very Germanic and business like (dare I say almost sterile with little emotion or frivolities); just stunning watches that seem just a little different to the norm. So when I first spotted this when released in 2010 I absolutely loved the design and hoped that I’d be able to get one at some point. I’m reluctant to use the term “grail” as for me that seems to define just about any watch I’d really like, but certainly with this one perhaps grail is a suitable term for me. It has taken quite a while to get into a position to purchase this, other watches have come up, other things in life have come up (and of course the wife took a little persuading!) but sometimes the wait just adds to the pleasure when you finally receive! So yesterday evening I took delivery of the GO PanoMaticCounter XL …
So a little about the watch, firstly it’s stainless steel case measuring 44mm excluding crown that is a not inconsiderable 16mm deep – so the size, though thankfully not the weight, is very similar to a DSSD. The lugs are short though, so in reality it wears very well on my 7.5” wrist, and the rounded case back is very comfortable. There is a domed sapphire on the front, and a display back showing the calibre 96 movement on the rear.
The dial and complications are what really drew me to this watch, obviously it tells the time, but it also includes a flyback chronograph, large date, and the counter complication. The time is indicated on the lower sub dial for hours and minutes, with seconds showing on the upper left sub dial. The date is at 3 o’clock, the chronograph is registered on the raised upper central ring (seconds) and the upper right sub dial, and finally the counter complication is at 9 o’clock. The dial effectively has a 3D effect as the chronograph seconds track is actually a raised ring above the main dial – to alleviate the issue of the running seconds and chronograph minutes having their “zero index” right under the raised ring, the zero indexes have both been rotated 60 degrees inwards. Buttons wise, the chronograph is operated on the right hand side (start / stop, fly-back / reset to zero), the counter on the left (plus one, minus one, reset to zero), the crown for winding and time adjustments, and finally a small push button near the crown to advance the date.
Now the first question the wife asked my last night was what is the “counter thing for”, not an easy question to answer really! Of course it’s probably intended as a lap counter, but in reality I’ve no idea what I’ll use it for … I just know I like it
The in-house movement (and I’ll confess now, I’ve lifted this information from GO) is the calibre 96-01 and is a self-winding movement based on the award winning Caliber 95. The movement is comprised of 584 parts (217 of which are attributed to the counter complication) and 72 jewels, which beat at 28,000 beats per hour with a 42 hour power reserve. The movement features a column wheel to engage the chronograph and a free sprung balance.
The watch is sat on a matte black alligator strap with deployant, though I’ll probably change the strap to a matte black calf leather with red stitch – perhaps a Hirsch or get something custom made. The strap is a 20mm to 18mm, which given the size of the watch surprises me slightly, personally I think a 21mm or 22mm would have worked better. That said, it does sit very comfortably on the wrist and despite what the case size would suggest, the watch head is reasonably light.
The watch has quite a sporty feel to it given the dial configuration and case size, whilst I could wear it in semi-formal situations I’ll still defer to my “go to” smart watch (Dornblüth) and keep the GO as a casual watch.
So all in all I’m a very happy chap today, it’s taken a while to get to this point but now I’m here I’m very pleased indeed. I’m not sure where I’ll go from here, there are a few watches I’d like to try but being realistic there really isn’t anything out there that is really grabbing my attention apart from some of the really obscure stuff like Urwerk … and the prices on those is prohibitive for me. I’ll try and get a SOTC post together in the few weeks and perhaps canvas opinions on how I could add too / improve / or even rationalise my collection … I know there must be a whole load of watches out there I’ve never set eyes on that once brought to my attention would whet my appetite!
Cheers, Richard.
(Apologies for the quality of the photo - if you want a decent photo of one of these you'll have to wait until Tony buys one!).
Last edited by Mr Stoat; 29th November 2014 at 10:46.
Really interesting. Would love to see one in the flesh to get a better view of the stacked dials.
Does the counter interact with the chrono at all when it runs past 30 minutes, or is it manual input only that moves it forwards?
The counter complication is not tied to the chronograph like say the hours sub dial in a 7775 chrono - in effect it's operationally independent from the rest of the movement.Originally Posted by nellyh
That's a very interesting looking piece.
And although there are quite some complications, they still managed to keep the dial rather clean.
I like the fact that you really bought this with your heart, when, after 4 years this is still on top of your list, you know this is what you really want.
Daddel.
Got a new watch, divers watch it is, had to drown the bastard to get it!
Very nice looking watch - I really like the raised chrono chapter ring. Not quite sure if I have missed something with the counter as if it is essentially a "clicker" how can it need the same number of pieces as the rest of the movement - but I guess that is why my application to GO's movement division wasn't successful!
Very nice Richard, if we ever have another GTG I would love to see this one in the flesh.
Mike
An "up" and "down" clicker with zero reset is exactly what it is - counters from 00 to 99 and can wrap round too.
I guess the complexity comes from not being able to fit a 00 to 99 number disc in the case - so two separate discs are used, one for each number (much like the large date complications).
We'll have to sort something out in the New Year Mike - certainly with my photographic skills I just can't capture how nice it looks!
The dial layout is one of the main things that drew me to this watch (and GO in general) - I just love the raised chronograph seconds index and then the counter complication tipped me over the edge!!
It has been a long wait to get this one but boy has it been worth it
Thanks that makes sense - had never occurred to me grand date complications were so, well, complicated!
That is an absolute belter of a watch, congratulations. It's beautiful, practical, hefty, brilliantly made etc Show everyone the back, that's GO's standard high level finish too isn't it?
Mammoth thumbs up in ref to your jacket choice as well ;)
David
Not the greatest photo ...
(BTW ... the jacket is a Mammut Ultimate Hoody softshell)
Last edited by Mr Stoat; 28th November 2014 at 14:14.
I am a big GO fan and I love that. just love looking at the movements, they really are a work of art. I love my Pano date
Nice watch… never seen that model before...
Thank you - yes they do seem to be a bit of a rarity, I initially tried to get this from the only GO AD in the UK (Wempe) and on enquiring they were happy to order one in from the factory but said they had never stocked one before.
The sales chap told me most of their GO sales are on the gold cased Pano range such as the power reserve and lunar models. I had a look at the the dark grey faced stainless steel Lunar model and quite a few of the gold cased Pano models and all were stunning
That is an absolute stunner, Rich. I've also not seen that model before; then again, I don't imagine that they make that many.
Love that.
Would love to see it in the metal at some point.
Andy
Wanted - Damasko DC57
That's a beauty.
Right up my strasse.
Where did you find it, chrono24?
beautiful! How does the counter complication actually work?
As per above it's effectively a twin disc mechanism much like a "large date", controlled by the up, down, and reset buttons on the left hand side of the case.
There is a pretty cool video showing the exact mechanism of the counter, large date, and flyback chrono here ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1A3pbLq-O0
Very nice!
Wear it in good Health!
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