Glashütte Original

Anyone know the normal rate for a GO with caliber 39? Mine is in a sport evolution and my rates were +3 seconds after 24 hours, +8 after 48hours and +13 after 72 hours. Is this normal for caliber 39?

Tom 

. . . so the usual parameters associated with the COSC don't necessarily apply. I can tell you my experience with six different cal 39 equipped watches, three of which have been sent in for service or regulation: the spread between the most and least accurate is 20 seconds per day, with the greatest variation being about 29 seconds per day. I've had one cal 39 that was essentially perfect, another that loses a second per day, and one that gained 21 seconds per day (before service). For the others, the variation has been between +/- 8 seconds per day. One of the principal reasons I like my Karree perpetuals is that they dispense with the seconds hand, which tends to minimize my tendency to scrutinize them for absolute accuracy. I have observed a high degree of rate stability, however; once set, a cal 39 doesn't deviate much over the long run. Your SE seems to exhibit a fair degree of rate stability, with the average rate gain being around a second per day when averaged over time, and I certainly wouldn't send it in for regulation if it's gaining just 4 seconds per day. Cordially, Art

Thank you much Art for the info.

I own two G.O. watches, as Art knows (Senator Karree Manual Cal 22 and Senator Navigator Panorama Date Cal 100).  Both watches run within a tolerance of + or minus 2 seconds per day.  To be precise, both run fast by about 1-2 seconds per day.  I understand that G.O. considers its tolerances to be better than those of COSC. 

. . . the initial peremptory checks are within a few seconds per day, and the power reserve is 40.5 hours, exactly within the specified 40 hours +/- 5%. Btw, the cal 39 that was "essentially perfect" was my very first G O, a Karree chronograph w/o date: over an 18 week period of continuous operation (either on my wrist or a winder), the net gain was ~ 60 seconds. Whenever I checked within that 18 week window, the timing was never off by more than a few seconds. My Senator perpetual was off by ~ +11 seconds per day prior to sending it in for regulation, and has been a steady -1 second per day ever since. Not bad for an old design ;-) . . . cordially, Art

. . . which performs tests to DIN standards rather than COSC.  Glashütte Original manual- winding calibers 22, 42, 49, and most of the tourbillons are tested in five positions at three temperatures, and must be within a range of -4 seconds to +6 seconds per day.  The cal 39 and 100 automatic movements are tested in five positions but only one temperature, and must be within a range of -5 seconds to +10 seconds per day.   The  owner's daily routine will, of course, have an impact on rate results . . . the same watch worn by myself and, say, Tiger Woods, would very likely exhibit different timing characteristics ;-) . . . cordially, Art

Did GO happen to mention *why* the automatic movements are tested at only one temperature rather than three like the manuals? And what those temperatures are?

Just wondering. If you don't know the answer, don't make a special effort to find out but next time you speak with them I'd love to
know--if it's not too much trouble on your end and/or proprietary info on theirs.

Btw, I just ordered up one of those cal 100 watches today!

. . . which I thought was going to be a Sport Evo GMT, but I take it you either couldn't wait or found another model that you preferred . . . can you at least give us a hint? There was no reason given regarding the more elaborate testing of the manual calibers, but if I had to hazard a guess, it would come down to the employment of the cal 39 and cal 100 in far more watches than the manual wind movements. Frankly, I'm as intrigued by the tighter tolerances specified for the manual calibers as for being tested at three temperatures . . . just another reason why the cal 22 Karree Panodate, and the cal 42 / 49 1845's before them, are such great values . . . cordially, Art

Wempe Jewelers (on 5th Ave. in NYC) is currently marketing, rather heavily, a gold tonneau-shaped watch as a chonometer...that is being sold under its own name ("Wempe").  The watch is advertised as meeting "...the standards of the German Institute for Standardization (DIN)...."  The watch in question was built for Wempe by Nomos, which is another, smaller, Glashutte-based manufactory.  

Post unification, the German Town of Glashutte is the home of those who have successfully re-established the historic German-Swiss rivalry...and is the home of German watch makers who have clearly eliminated the post WW II Swiss monopoly on high-end watchmaking    The juxtapostion of DIN as an alternative credential to COSC is part of that.  Frankly, it's both fun to watch and a win-win for all of us who love the craft of making high-end mechanical watches (it's like a replay of the old Celtics-Lakers rivalry from the 60s and 80s).  A terrific national rivalry...brought about in part by the emergence of Glashutte Original and Lange as two top-tier world-class watch brands that now go toe-to-toe with any of the best the Swiss have to offer.

"COSC???  We don't need your steeenkeeeng COSC...."

Et, tu, Tokyo?????........

 

David, I think the watch you're referring to may actually be made by Wempe the watch manufacturer that operates out of the Glashütte Observatory. I believe the manufacturer Wempe is a different entity from the jeweler Wempe.

I may be completely mistaken about this as it's all somewhat confusing. In any case, you can see a gold tonneau Wempe chronometer on the Wempe watch manufacturer website.

. . . and I noticed the tonneau-shaped Wempe watches in the display window when I visited NYC last November. Not quite my cup of tea, but nice enough, I suppose . . . cordially, Art

Wempe the Jeweler (I work near it) and Nomos the Glashutte-based watch maker.  It really is a "DIN vs COSC" thing, marketing-wise, as I said in my prior post.

It wasn't the first time I've been mistaken and certainly won't be the last, LOL.

As far as my GO to be, I've been waiting for months for the new GMT to reach our shores and had put down a deposit some time ago. Unfortunately, there's been no definitive word on when it would become available in the United States--I'm not even sure it's available anywhere in the world--so I decided to go ahead and spend the funds on the Navigator ND. Hopefully I'll have it early next week. I'll still get the GMT when it arrives, but since I was also going to buy the Navigator someday it might as well be now.

The Navigator is by far my favorite pilots watch, so I'm pretty jazzed to add it to my modest but growing collection.