New Glashütte Original Senator Chronographs Celebrate Two Eras of German Watchmaking

Germany’s Glashütte Original pays tribute to the long and distinguished watchmaking traditions of its namesake home base, the town of Glashütte in Saxony, with a pair of vintage-influenced chronograph wristwatches that are launching today. The black-dialed Senator Chronograph Navigator and silver-dialed Senator Chronograph both resurrect classical chronograph styles from the past, while giving each a modern luxury-oriented spin Together, they also mark the latest chapter in Glashütte’s history of short-time measurement, which began more than 80 years ago with the development of the groundbreaking UROFA caliber, the first modern wristwatch chronograph from the German watchmaking hub, which helped pioneer the transition of timekeeping instruments from the pocket to the wrist.

To start with the watch inspired by a more recent style of timepiece, the Senator Chronograph Navigator takes cues from pilot’s watches of the 1940s. Its 41mm-diameter case is made of stainless steel, with an antireflective-coated sapphire crystal and a vintage-look, large fluted crown flanked by two mushroom-shaped chronograph pushers. The crown offers easy grip (it’s based on early designs that were intended to be operated by thick aviator’s gloves) and features the brand’s “double-G” logo on its top surface.

The matte black, lacquered dial, with a vinyl-record-like grooved finish, also recalls those cockpit watches of yesteryear, with its large, legible Arabic numerals and period-evocative sword hands. The hands and applied numerals are coated in Super-LumiNova, while all the specific chronograph elements, including the central counter hand and the hands in the subdials at 3 and 9 o’clock, are finished in high-contrast white lacquer. Surrounding the main dial is a tachymeter scale on the rehaut ring, and Glashütte Original’s signature Panorama Date display appears at 6 o’clock. 

The Senator Chronograph offers a more classically refined aesthetic, taking its primary inspiration from German “observation” pocket watches, which were used for maritime navigation during the pre-wristwatch era of the late 19th and early 20th Century. Its silver-white grainé dial has a set of recessed subdials and a vinyl-record textural motif and tachymeter-scale flange similar to the Navigator model, but here the hours are marked by applied, solid gold Roman numerals with a striking blue coating. 

Poised at 6 o’clock is the Panorama Date in its white-gold-framed double window; the subdial counters for 30 elapsed minutes and for running seconds are in elegant symmetry at 3 and 9 o’clock, respectively. The handset provides another contrast with the Navigator, with its shiny blued finish and its classical spade-shaped hour hand. Not to be overlooked, in either model, is the impressive thinness of the 41mm steel case: at just 12.9mm high despite the complicated movement inside, it slides easily under most shirt cuffs. 

Inside both new Senator Chronographs is Glashütte Original’s manufacture Caliber 37-24, with automatic winding, a 70-hour power reserve, an antimagnetic silicon balance spring, and an integrated column-wheel chronograph mechanism that also includes a flyback function — i.e., the stopwatch can be started, reset, and restarted instantly through a single press of a pusher. The in-house mechanism also boasts a number of decorative elements that can be admired through the sapphire exhibition caseback of both watches: blued screws, gold regulating screws, polished steel components with beveled edges, along with traditional Saxon horological embellishments like the swan’s-neck fine adjustment device and the large three-quarter mainplate with Glashütte stripes. The rotor that winds the movement is exquisitely openworked, with a solid 21K gold weight and a sculpted double-G emblem. 

The Glashütte Original Senator Chronograph and Senator Chronograph Navigator are both offered on three distinctive wristlets: a blue or black Louisiana alligator leather strap, a sand-colored synthetic strap, or a stainless steel bracelet. All are equipped with the brand’s quick-change system that enables tool-free swapping of bracelets and straps. For the first time in these models, Glashütte Original has also incorporated this quick-change mechanism into the folding clasp, allowing it to be transferred between bracelets and straps. 

Prices for both Senator Chronographs are $16,100 on an alligator leather or synthetic strap, and $17,100 on a bracelet. They’re available as of August 2026 at Glashütte Original boutiques and authorized retailers. You can learn more at the brand's website here.