German watchmaker Glashütte Original presents the latest addition to its Spezialist collection in a minimalistic black-and-white look, showing a new side to the sporty timepiece!
“Some things don’t need colour to leave a lasting impression”. That is the slogan for the brand new SeaQ Chronograph “Silver Screen” being presented by Glashütte Original. The SeaQ Chronograph “Silver Screen” is added to the brand’s Spezialist Watch collection, which has been manufactured with the purpose of exceeding expectations. How so, you may ask? Well, the timepeices in this Spezialist collection are inspired by Glashütte Original’s divers watches, and they have taken this a step further to offer maximum reliability above and below water while being incredibly stylish!
The SeaQ Chronograph “Silver Screen” takes inspiration from black and white cinematography. The absence of colour is a statement in itself. Monochrome pictures and films these days offer a conscious alternative to the real world beaming with colour. However, when an image is presented in black and white, we are often directed to the image’s message, not being distracted by anything else. During the 20th century, in the early days of cinema, where black and white images were the norm, “Silver Screens” were common to showcase cinematic masterpieces. Using “Silver Screens” or silver lenticular screens would help reflect back more light than other surface types to better display the projected images.
Case & Dial Design:
Glashütte Original has taken this approach to design a new dial for the existing SeaQ Chronograph model. The new SeaQ Chronograph “Silver Screen” is presented in a 43.2mm stainless steel case that has a unidirectional black polished scratch-resistant ceramic bezel inlay. The ceramic bezel has 60-minute chronograph counter done in white to achieve a crisp contrasting effect, which matches with the dial’s aesthetic design.
The dial design is the main point of difference between this new SeaQ Chronograph model and the Spezialist collection’s current blue dial model. This difference is achieved by using a galvanic silver dial that makes use of the same optical effect that cinema screens once achieved using a thin coat of silver paint: the surface reduces the dispersion of light to a minimum and enables greater contrast than a traditional white background.
The use of the colour black on the borders of the hands and applied indices with contrasting white Super-LumiNova coating in the middle against the silver background, is portrayed as beautifully as a black-and-white movie flickering over a theatre screen. The dual chronograph sub-counters, 30 minutes at 3 o’clock and constant seconds at 9 o’clock have been executed to show contrasting and subtle aesthetic details. The respective counters’ black minute and second rings stand out crisply against the “Silver Screen” dial. However, what I like most about the design elements of these sub-dials is the when you have a closer look, the sub-dials have guilloche concentric circle pattern. This is certainly a nice touch that breaks up the “flat” finish of the dial.
Movement:
The new SeaQ Chronograph “Silver Screen” is offered with the brand’s in-house Calibre 37-23 automatic movement. This timepiece is officially certified as a diver’s watch, which means that it has been designed in accordance with ISO 6425 and DIN 8306 design standards. This not only ensures that it can safely dive to the timepiece’s desired depth rating of 300m but also engage the chronograph functions underwater with flawless precision.
The Calibre 37-23 automatic movement can power the SeaQ Chronograph “Silver Screen” to a running time of up to 70 hours while ensuring high accuracy with a frequency of 4Hz (28,800 VpH). The movement comes equipped with a silicon balance spring, which means that not only will the timepiece remain unaffected by magnetic fields but also have negligible effects from fluctuations in temperature, an essential aspect if you plan on going deep ocean diving.
Initial Impressions:
My initial take on the dial of this latest SeaQ Chronograph is that the “silver screen” does certainly seem to produce an effect in which the elements of the dial become more prominent. However, will need to see the watch with a more hands-on take to see how well the dial disperses light.
The SeaQ Chronograph “Silver Screen” is offered as standard with a three-link steel bracelet. The bracelet’s mixture of polished and brushed surfaces allows it to play with light beautifully. This also matches nicely with the case’s mixture of brushed and polished surfaces, giving the watch an elegant and luxurious appeal.
What stood out for me on the dial was the Panorama Date window. Normally I’m not a fan of the date widow being position outside the hour indice’s let alone having a contrasting effect against the dial, but in this case Glashütte Original has done well with the design to let it naturally blend in with the dial elements. The blue dial variant of the SeaQ Chronograph that is currently available takes a more subtle approach. While the date wheel being colour matched to the dial so that only the white numerals stand out. While Glashütte Original could have taken a similar approach by having a dial matching silver-toned date wheel, I quite like this approach, as it matches the black sub-dial counter rings.
With this new SeaQ Chronograph “Silver Screen,” you certainly don’t need colour to leave a lasting impression! The new“Silver Screen” SeaQ Chronograph will be available from September 2024 at all Glashütte Original Boutiques and from official retailers worldwide.
Reference:
- 1-37-23-03-80-70 (Metal bracelet)
- 1-37-23-03-80-33/06 (Black rubber strap)
- 1-37-23-03-80-34/08 (Orange synthetic strap)
Specifications
- Case Size: 43.2mm
- Case Thickness: 16.95m
- Case Material: Polished/satin-brushed stainless steel. Rotating bezel with ceramic inlay. Engraved caseback with sapphire crystal.
- Dial: Galvanic silver; fine matt; lathe-cut with vinyl pattern finish; lathe-cut ring: galvanic black with vinyl pattern; black appliques with Super-LumiNova®; lettering and minute ring printed in high-gloss black.
- Movement: In-house Calibre 37-23 automatic
- Power Reserve: 70 hours
- Water Resistance: 300m (30 bar)
- Crystal: Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment on both sides.
- Strap/Bracelet: Black rubber strap with pin buckle or folding clasp, orange synthetic fabric strap with pin buckle or folding clasp, metal bracelet in stainless steel with fine adjustment mechanism.
