Glashütte Original

Slow Saturday with the PanoInverse

 

Saturday afternoon...with nothing much to do...so the camera and watches come out to play. It's 8 days short of 3 months that I've had this PanoInverse, which has been on my GO wish list to join my Senator Panorama Date and my Senator Sixties for a long while now. Did the deal on the pretext of giving myself a Christmas present at long last. Sharing some of the experiences of owning it so far...it has been my daily wear for a good part of the last three months save for a day or two here and there.

One thing I love about GO is how they finish the watch. There are no faults I can find with regard to the level of finish.  The engraving on the balance cocks and the double swan neck fine adjustment is just something else. It's so captivating that there is very little reason to hide it at the back and just begs to be displayed and looked at. That coupled with the stripes on the dial gives you something to stare at everytime you check the time....and I find myself wanting to check the time more often that necessary just to get a view of the balance in motion.

The time telling part of the dial is just as attractive, especially with the dial that sits on the plate and the "stars" that hang overhead it. I would say that the whole balance of the dial and case is just nice IMO. I know that there are some who would prefer a thicker bezel as in the previous design, but personally, I like this thinner as I get to see more of the perlage and metal of the insides. The crown is also finished with the standard logo. Nothing much to see on the back though as everything is already on the front, save for the brand, which is more legible than the engraved one on the dial and the origin of the watch.

The strap - the deployant is well made, very solid and clicks and locks very securely. It lets you know that and you can feel the security. It takes some practice to come to terms with releasing it. Locks easily, but takes effort to open it initially. Not a bad thing in my books as I just know it won't open by accident. The nubuck leather is also very comfortable after getting through a week. It was a little hard when new, but one worn in, it becomes very supple and comfortable. I would probably need to get a shorter strap though as if there's one thing I would "fix" on this watch it would be that. With a small wrist, I have to use the last hole on this strap and this results in the deployant going way off centre. I typically prefer the strap end of the watch facing the outside of my wrist when wearing it, but doing that would bring the deployant to the full front half of the wrist and it's extremely uncomfortable that way, so I had to stick to the factory configuration where the strap end faces me. It's more comfortable this way. Another thing GO did differently from most deployant setups is to use a screw instead of a traditional pin to hold the strap in place. While secure, it makes it just about as inflexible as a steel bracelet. More of an inconvenience when a fellow purist is wanting to try on the watch than a problem.

As for wearing it daily - it's something that is very pleasurable. Accuracy is at +8 seconds a week, so that's pretty amazing and easily makes it the most accurate watch I have, and winding it daily - the winding of the movement is so smooth and effortless. I only have a Reverso and the Speedy to compare with in my collection of manual winds, and this is definitely a world apart in the smoothness and refinement of it.