Highlights
- Striking rare sports chrono watch
- Exquisite high-spec movement
- Sapphire crystal inspection back
- Almost new condition
- Fashionably large stainless steel case
- 51 Jewel automatic movement with 40-hour power reserve
- Fashionably large 46mm case
- Complete set with veneered wooden display case, outer card box, loupe, cleaning cloth, and operating Instructions/Guarantee booklet
The Background
Switzerland is widely recognised as the centre of excellence for watchmaking - however, there are also a few prestigious German horologers producing world-class watches and movements. (It could be argued they have to produce superior movements and timepieces, in order to be recognised against the Swiss).
Two such German horologers are Glashutte Original and A. Lange & Sohn, who are both recognised as manufacturing some of the finest movements and timepieces on the market today.
This is borne out by such products as the Glashutte PanoRetroGraph, which in 2001 was awarded the highly prestigious accolade of "watch of the year".
Glashutte Original ('GO') was founded in 1865, and in 2000 was purchased by the Swiss Swatch group, who also own other premium brands including Omega, Blancpain, Breguet, Certina, ETA, Hamilton, Harry Winston, Longines, Rado, and Tissot.
The Appeal
This Glashutte Original Sport Evolution Impact Chronograph, (to give it its lengthy full title), was launched in 2009, had a limited production run, and ceased manufacture a few years later.
It is an interesting watch for a number of technical reasons.
Firstly the movement is held within the case on four red flexible dampers, (made from a custom-developed elastomer), which were specially designed to absorb the shocks which the wearer may encounter whilst playing sports - for example when striking a golf ball, (as undamped automatic watch movements can often not take kindly to the level of shock encountered at the point of ball strike.)
These red dampers are visible in the photo showing the disassembled watch components, and at the dial edges of the assembled watch, as seen in the photos. Under testing, this damping system was found to reduce shocks carried through to the movement by up to 60%.
Secondly, Glashutte Original developed their own in-house calibre 39-31 chronograph movement to an extremely high specification, normally only found in far higher price ranges than the £10,000 RRP of this particular watch when it was launched in 2009.
This 'GO' 39-31 in-house movement has many high-specification features including:
- 51 jewels (a large number by any watch standards)
- Skeletonised 'striped' rotor with the gold initials of two mirrored monograms
- Technically advanced 'Swan neck' fine regulation mechanism
- "Wölkchenschliff" ("cloud cut") beadwork
- Ruby bearings set in metal 'chaton' mountings
- 21-carat gold rotor weight, screw mounted to the skeletonised rotor's outer rim
- Double solar grinding on lift wheels
- Automatic movement with 40-hour power reserve
While much of this complex language may be lost on the layman, any watch enthusiast will tell you that this movement was built without compromise, to a very high specification - and is such a work of art to behold that the watch comes with its own Glashutte branded loupe, (magnifying glass), for getting a closer look at its spectacular movement.
The Watch
The watch features a classic 3 subdial sports chrono design, with the chrono minutes at 9 o'clock, chrono hours at 6, and seconds sweep at 3 o'clock on the watch face.
The chrono seconds are timed by the red-tipped 'sweep' hand, which has "mirrored G" lettering at its base. The lozenge-shaped chronograph pushers, (buttons) are mounted alongside the dual-function screw-down crown.
The sapphire crystal is highly scratch resistant, and the concave sapphire crystal back is also shaped to fit the wrist. It is a beast of a watch, with a modern, fashionably large 46mm brushed and polished stainless steel case, which boasts an impressive 14.7 mm thickness.
The case is marked with water resistance to "10 ATM" (10 atmospheres or approx 100 metres).
The "Tachymeter" bezel carries both timing numbers, and "Sport Evo Impact" script.
The hands are part skeletonised and are inlaid with luminous "SuperLumiNova" pigment, which - alongside the 12 o'clock baton marker - allows better legibility at night. (See photos)
The watch is numbered "254" in the limited production run, which is visibly machined on the case back, and the unique movement number "48128" is stamped onto the movement itself, and is visible through the loupe. (See photo 16)
The watch comes with its Original GO high-quality veneered wooden display box and the original instruction manual with the completed guarantee. (Detailing it was supplied new by Hugh Rice Jewellers on 26th June 2012.)
It also has its GO branded wooden loupe, original polishing cloth, plus the outer card box with lid, and internal foam protection wrapping.
The Condition
The watch has been stored on its cushion, in its box for the vast majority of its life, has only been worn a handful of times by the owner, and is in virtually new - with unmarked sapphire crystal, (front and back) and only very minor light handling and wear marks to the stainless steel case.
The original handmade leather GO branded 'Trieste' (latticed) strap, which has internal lugs, is also in superb condition and still shows its factory branding stamps. The original fitment "mirrored G" branded clasp is also virtually unmarked, a testament to the watch's lack of use.
Summary
In summary, this is an eye-catching, technically superlative limited edition Chronograph, which is now out of production, manufactured by the highly respected horologers Glashütte. It’s sporty looking, fashionably large, and has a red Trieste 'chequered flag' pattern to the strap - so what isn’t there to love about this rare, exquisite, and highly collectable German precision engineering timepiece?
Collection & Delivery
Due to the value of the watch, the vendor would prefer collection in person - but is prepared to meet the buyer around the London area if required.
They are also prepared to courier the watch anywhere in the world as requested by the buyer, but at the buyer's cost, responsibility and liability following courier collection.
Notice to bidders
This item is sold on an ‘As is Where is’ basis. The condition of this item is the opinion of the seller and may differ from your own opinion. Photos and listing descriptions are for guidance purposes only. Car & Classic do not warrant listing accuracy. Full inspection is recommended. Viewings are at the seller’s discretion. Buyer is responsible for delivery and collection of any item purchased.
A non-refundable buyer’s deposit is payable on this item, refer to FAQs and T&Cs for the applicable percentage.
All bidding, buying and offers are subject to our Terms and Conditions.
