TIMEWERKE TEST SITE | THE ART OF TIME

Glashütte Original’s first South-East Asian boutique was officially opened in May 2016 and is located at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. It was soft-launched at end December 2015. This Glashütte Original Boutique is the brand’s flagship store in South-East Asia. Photo: © Glashütte Original.

German watch brand Glashütte Original has strengthened its brand presence in Asia with the opening of three boutiques between November 2015 and February 2016.

In Asia, Glashütte Original has existing boutiques in Japan, Hong Kong, Macau and China.

In November 2015, Glashütte Original opened a boutique located at Shing Kong Place in Chaoyang District in Beijing, China (Glashütte Original Boutique Peking SKP).

What followed at end-December 2015 was the soft-launch of its first South-East Asian boutique (Glashütte Original Boutique Singapore) in Singapore with the store located at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands.

The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands is one of the largest retail shopping malls in Singapore and it was opened in 2010.

In February 2016, Glashütte Original officiated the opening of another boutique (Glashütte Original Boutique Peking AMP) in Beijing, located at the popular and busy Wang Fu Jing Street in Dongcheng District.

The Glashütte Original boutique at Wang Fu Jing is the fifth store in China. Moreover, with a floor area of 147 square metres (around 1,582 square feet), it is the largest for the brand in China.

While Beijing and Peking are both names used for China’s capital, Beijing is the modern pinyin transliteration.

The Glashütte Original boutique in Singapore is the brand’s flagship store in South-East Asia and has a floor area of 34 square metres (around 366 square feet), a fraction of the size of its Wang Fu Jing boutique in Beijing.

The size is actually appropriate for Glashütte Original’s Singapore boutique where the brand’s huge wall clock is the main focal point.

The minimum average size for retail shops at commercial shopping malls in Singapore is 50 square metres (538 square feet), reportedly comparable to a typical Housing and Development Board (HDB) shop unit. The HDB is Singapore’s public housing authority.

The ruling for the minimum average size of a retail store took effect in 2013 because there were proposals for far too many micro shop units that were as small as nine square metres (92 square feet) for new malls being developed.

A nine-metre square shop will be even smaller than the parking space for a car, as noted by Khaw Boon Wan, who was then Singapore’s Minister for National Development. He is currently Singapore’s Minister for Transport.

The Glashütte Original Singapore Boutique covers a floor area of 34 square metres (366 square feet). The main focal point of the store is the Glashütte Original wall clock. Photo: © Glashütte Original.

The Glashütte Original Boutique at The Shoppes in Marina Bay Sands was officially opened in May 2016 by Glashütte Original President Yann Gamard and Wolfgang Lackner, regional sales manager, Glashütte Original.

Timepieces highlighted included the Senator Cosmopolite which had arrived in Singapore in early 2016. The Glashütte Original Senator Cosmopolite was introduced in 2015 at the BaselWorld watch fair.

Related articles on timewerke.com that may be of interest include:
i. Glashütte Original Senator Cosmopolite: More than just the two-time zone display; and
ii.Singapore and the watch markets of South-East Asia.

Glashütte Original Senator Cosmopolite. Introduced in 2015, it features the brand’s in-house Manufacture Calibre 89-02 automatic movement which is made up of around 430 components. Photo: © Glashütte Original

Yes, the Senator Cosmopolite from Glashütte Original has two time displays; firstly, with its central hour and minute poire (pear-shaped) hands and secondly, with the sub-dial at 12 o’clock.

But there is more to this watch featuring the German brand’s in-house Manufacture Calibre 89-02 automatic movement with an off-centred rotor.

The Senator Cosmopolite has a time zone wheel that is able to display the time at any of 37 different world time zones, with each indicated by its official IATA (International Air Transport Association) location code designating a key international airport in the zone.

There is even a colour code for the time zones as seen through the dial apertures at 8 o’clock for DST (Daylight Saving Time) or STD (Standard Time): black IATA codes are shown for the 24 time zones aligned at full-hour offsets with Greenwich Mean Time (GMT); blue IATA codes for the 10 time zones aligned with GMT at half-hour offsets and red IATA codes for the three time zones with quarter- or three-quarter hour offsets from GMT.

Local time is shown with the central hour and minute hands while home time is typically set with the sub-dial with Arabic numerals at the 12 o’clock position.

Glashütte Original’s Senator Cosmopolite is offered in both 18K red gold and 18K white gold. Photo: © Glashütte Original

In addition to the 37 time zones, the Glashütte Original Senator Cosmopolite also features day and night indications for the two time zone displays, the brand’s characteristic panorama date display and a power reserve display.

The Calibre 89-02 has an oscillation system regulated by four gold screws on the balance rim. It does not have a regulator on the spring and this allows the movement to operate over a much longer period of time resulting in increased precision, the brand highlights.

Glashütte Original Senator Cosmopolite
Introduced in 2015
Technical Specifications:
• In-house Manufacture Calibre 89-02 automatic movement
• Approx. 430 components
• Movement diameter: 39.2mm
• Movement height: 8mm
• 63 jewels
• 28,800 vibrations per hour (4Hz)
• 72 hours power reserve
• Panorama date display
• Two time zone displays
• Day and night displays
• Power reserve display
• Time zone wheel with 37 time zones
• Sapphire crystal, anti-reflective on both sides
• 38.8mm diameter lacquered dial, varnish silver grainé with engraved black Roman/Arabic numerals and railroad chapter, blued stainless steel hands
• 44mm diameter case in 18K red gold, 14mm thick
• Water-resistant to 5 bar
• Strap: 21/18mm
• Black Louisiana alligator leather strap
• Standard red gold fold fastener
• Presented in a fine black wooden box with a high-gloss finish

Another related article on timewerke.com that may be of interest:
i. Glashütte Original strengthens its Asian presence.