Glashütte Original

Thnaks Anthony.

Cheers,
--
Richard. This message has been edited by =RWK= on 2013-04-02 20:58:05

This picture appears on a story about the new facility on another forum.  It shows a Senator Chronometer dial under a pad that I associate with printing, but GO states that the romans and minute track are milled onto this dial.  What exactly is the process of milling?

 

. . . via a rotary cutter.  I would understand milling with regards to the date aperture or sub-dials, but markers and  minutes track?  That's difficult to comprehend.  

It was in the GO 2009 press kit that accompanied the introduction of the piece, and was then repeated on this forum (in MichaelC's review) and other watch related web sites in their review of the piece.

"A milled railroad chapter ring encircles the Senator Chronometer’s central time display in a perfectly harmonious way, and the milled Roman numerals add
to the timepiece’s genuinely classic appearance."

http://www.glashuette-original.com/Index.aspx?fs=http%3A//www.glashuette-original.com/neuigkeiten/default.aspx%3FAktuellesDetail%3D154%26AktuellesSprache%3Den

Looking at one recently under a loupe, it just looks to me like the romans and minute track have been printed over the frosted l'argenture grainee dial, but MichaelC, in his May 2012 review of his states,

"Another favorite aesthetic of the watch for me is the milled railroad chapter ring. To coordinate with the high precision caliber 58-01, it was important to have very crisp minute markings. The milled ring accomplishes that. The roman numerals are also milled, helping to add just a little depth to the dial."

You have one don't you?  How do they look on yours?

I'm rather shocked you could not tell.

I have the watch on right now and can tell with my naked eye.

I'll grab a photo of this with my new G15 later and add it when I have a minute.  They are definitely recessed and not painted on top like you thought.  I can even see that the "Glashutte Original" is milled.

Yes under a loupe.  The one I was looking at was very recently produced; the chrono certificate was dated Feb 2013.  The granular texture of the dial was clearly visable under all of the romans, but I was expecting them to be both smooth and slightly recessed as yours is and as I recall them being when I looked at a couple a year or so ago.  They no longer make reference to the milled dial in the piece's description on their website.  I wonder if they've just gone to pad printing over the frosted dial and have eliminated the milling. 

I'm not sure where you are getting your information.  Are you positive the one you were looking at was authentic?  I hate to even ask, but if I can see the milling with my eye and you can't see it with a loupe, something is wrong.

Just copied from the GO website:

Reference: 58-01-01-04-04 Caliber: manual winding Caliber 58-01
Functions: hour and minute display, small second, panorama date, power reserve, day/night indicator
Case: 18 ct white gold polished, sapphire crystals on top and bottom, screwed base, waterproof up to 5 ATM Dimensions: diameter: 42,0 mm, height: 12,3 mm
Dial: silver dial with l’argenture grainée (frosted silver plating), milled railroad chapter ring, milled Roman numerals; blued hands, arbor is manualy polished
Strap: Louisiana Alligator leather strap with integrated lugs, fold fastener made of rose gold

I tried some photos, maybe these will show it a little better.  Note the other markings - "chronometer", "Glashutte 1/SA", the power reserve and sub seconds numerals, are clearly screened on the dial.  But the numerals and chapter ring are definitely milled, and unless Art's Man in Glashutte says otherwise, I doubt they dropped the milling, especially when the website still shows it.

where the word for "milled" is "gefräst".

Glad you are enjoying yours as well.  Let's see some photos and hear your thoughts when you can!

Thanks Michael.  Your pictures clearly show recessed romans.  I'm pretty sure I would have noticed it on the one I was looking at if they looked like this.  I'm curious -- can you see the granular texture under the black ink or is it smooth?  Does it look like the frosted finish was applied first, then it was milled, or milled first, then frosted?  The one I looked at had the frosted finish under the romans.

Where did you find this info on the GO site?  I went to Collection>Quintessentials>Senator Cronometer and just get a picture and text (with no reference to the milled dial), but not the dimensions and stats you found and which I would have expected to find.

I went to the same places you did.  Once you are on the SC page, just click on a model - either the WG or RG and then you will see the specifics I copied above.

The black paint in all milled areas is smooth, with no grainy texture underneath it.  While I do not know Glashutte's exact process in making the dial, it would seem the milling and subsequent painting of the milled areas is done after the main dial treatment has been executed.  Conversely, the other "painted on top" markings do depict a bit of granular texture underneath the paint.

So how does this milling technique translate to the user, in our daily routines when we are not viewing the watch under a loupe or constantly examining it up close?  Even at arm's length, the Roman numerals are so perfectly crisp and clear.  As stated in my review of the Senator Chronometer, it is all part of the total package.  This watch was designed from the ground up, with all details working together.  It would not be as successful to have the ultra precise caliber 58-01, with its new technology for synchronizing the hands, built with a dial that leaves anything to chance.  The dial on this watch needs to be perfectly crisp, and the milled numerals and minute track accomplish that.

Thanks for the tip to click on the pics to get to stats, Michael.

GO Customer Support was so kind as to respond to my inquiry regarding the actual Sen Chronometer dial making process with:

 

Kindly let us give you a small excursion into the method of dial manufacture.

The Chronometer dial numerals and printings will be applied by a three-level process.

(1) milling/engraving (same meaning)

(2) rubbing a silver-salt powder mixture

(3) coloring

After the first step remains the engraved numerals and printings. Visually two areas seem to exist.

Secondly those areas will be coated by rubbing a silver-salt powder mixture onto the surface.

Finally a special black color will applied. This is what we name the pad printing process as well.

 

Apparently, one should indeed see the granular frosting under the romans (as I had) since that finish is applied after the engraving.  I did not direct a light across the surface at such an obtuse angle as you did to see the degree to which they are recessed.

Nonetheless, based substantially on your excellent earlier 4-part review of it, I have a rg on order and am informed that it is in production, due in 8 weeks. 

Thank you for sharing GO's informative reply about the dial construction.

And next, I am very excited you are joining out GOSC Club!!  The blued hands are even more amazing against the RG case.  You are going to love the watch.

Thanks for your kind remarks on my review.  I really enjoyed writing that.  I'm sure you noticed my comments about the strap size.  Something to consider, in case you wish to order a short size ahead of time as well.

Best wishes to you, I will very much look forward to your debut post here at PuristSPro!

. . . but now that you've pointed me in the right direction, I've taken a closer look at some of the images stored on my computer.

As posted above, it is the other dial markings that are painted, such as the power reserve and sub seconds dials, the word "chronometer", etc.  Hopefully some of my photos above capture these things.

No message body

No message body

Great photos!  I clearly see which parts are milled now and which parts are printed.  

We always have someone who's close-by to any watch anyone has questions about.  

It is nice that collectively, we cover it all.  Such an awesome Community!

This made for good reading and demonstrates GO's dedication to perfection yet again

and excellent choice.  To add to the extensive discussion on milling, I purchased my Senator Chronometer last summer and everything on the dial is milled.  As stated you have to look at the dial at an angle to see the engraving, but you can see it without a loupe.  It is one of many fantastic details on the watch in my opinion.  Watch Time magazine reviews a few watches in each issue and gives them a score with 100 being perfect, and the SC received the highest score I have seen in the 2+ years I have been subscribing to the magazine (92/100).  I read Michael's review the same day I bought the watch and it reinforced my belief I had made a good choice.

Stewart

 

Beautiful movement

It will be the premier piece in my collection and I'm looking forward to it.  Something else the good folks at GO have shared with me -- each master engraver does indeed have his own unique pattern for the balance cock, and there are two who engrave them, so two different styles of balance cocks.