Glashütte Original Sixties

The 1960s were an exciting time to be alive: There was never a dull moment, from the hippie movement and Woodstock to the Vietnam War and Moon landing. The era of Flower Power also saw a wave of new styles. After construction of the Berlin Wall, the VEB Glashütte Uhrenbetriebe presented the first example of the Spezimatic watch in 1964, which would go on to sell over 3.7 million copies. It later served as the inspiration behind Glashütte Original's Sixties collection.

The retro roots of the Sixties collection are front and center in its design. The stainless steel or gold cases are round or pillow-shaped and 39 to 42 mm in diameter. There are also plenty of dial colors to choose from, including black, silver, blue, red, and green. The shape of the Arabic numerals at 3, 6, 9, and 12 o'clock are also reminiscent of vintage watches from this era. These watches pair best with a crocodile leather strap, as this highlights their formal nature. The Sixties is available as a three-hand watch without a date, with a panorama date, and with a chronograph function.

The timeless design of the Glashütte Original Sixties collection takes its inspiration from a legendary decade. The Sixties Iconic has a 39-mm stainless steel case and is immediately recognizable as a retro watch. It has a rather expressive and colorful design for a luxury watch. The Sixties Red model is particularly eye-catching. The orange in the center of the dial transitions to red and then red-brown the closer you get to the dial edge, similar to the sunburst finish on a guitar. This finish gives the watch a more refined look, as the domed dial changes colors depending on the angle the light hits it at. The Sixties Aqua has a similar look, but in blue. The Sixties Brown, Sixties Gold, and Sixties Grey use muted hues. The watches in the Sixties Iconic collection, which was introduced in 2015, have a list price of 7,500 USD.

The Sixties is the Sixties Iconic's elegant sibling. These watches are also 39 mm in diameter, though their cases are made of rose gold. The dial is available in silver, black, or dark blue. The Sixties series uses baton hands. Arabic numerals mark the hours at 3, 6, 9, and 12, while stick indices stand in for the rest. You can view the automatic in-house movement 39-52 at work through the sapphire glass case back. The same movement powers the Sixties Iconic collection. If you're lucky, you might even find a gold Sixties in mint condition for as little as 11,500 USD, though these editions often cost well above this price point.

Glashütte Original also produces a version of the Sixties with a panorama date display. The panorama date is located just above 6 o'clock. The watch is powered by the caliber 39-47. The movement is made in-house by Glashütte Original, as are the other movements that power the Sixties collection. In 2018, the Sixties collection saw the addition of a model with a green dial. The combination of an imprint pattern with a dégradé effect is simply stunning. This stainless steel timepiece is worn on a calf leather strap. The green Sixties with a panorama date costs about 8,200 USD new. Without a date, the same watch demands about 6,300 USD.

The 42-mm stainless steel Sixties Chronograph has a sportier look than the Sixties but still retains an elegant and classic feel. It's hard to take your eyes off the variant with a white dial and gold hands. The version with a black dial has silver hands that match perfectly to the stainless steel case.

The Sixties Chronograph is a bicompax chronograph, meaning it has two subdials arranged on the horizontal axis at 3 and 9. The left subdial is the 30-minute counter, while the right subdial shows the running seconds. The large, central second hand is reserved for the stopwatch function. New, this watch costs around 6,800 USD.

The Sixties Chronograph is powered by the caliber 39-34, which also ticks away in the Sixties Square Chronograph. If you prefer a sportier watches, you may enjoy this collection's square chronograph, measuring 41.35 mm x 41.35 mm. Like the round versions, the dial is available in white or black. Furthermore, the bicompax display is identical. The Square Chronograph is a bit reminiscent of TAG Heuer's Monaco racing watch, which premiered in 1969. Steve McQueen popularized the Monaco by wearing it in the 1971 film Le Mans. The Glashütte chronograph, however, has a more conservative style than the Monaco and costs around 6,800 USD new.

The in-house calibers used in the Sixties collection are as beautiful as they are technologically sophisticated. They have the characteristic Glashütte three-quarter plate, which is decorated with a striped finish, as is the skeletonized rotor. The oscillating mass is made of 21-karat gold. A golden "GG" logo also adorns the rotor. The edges of the movement are chamfered and the steel pieces are polished.Each movement has a 40-hour power reserve and ticks at 28,800 alternations per hour, which is equal to 4 Hz.

What's more, each movement features a stop-seconds mechanism, meaning you can pull out the crown to stop the second hand. You can then set the second hand to the exact second. The watch starts running again when you push the crown back down to its original position.