Over the last couple of years, we have witnessed a host of new timepieces with blue dials.

The trend for blue has been so strong that one can no longer speak of it as a trend in the literal sense of the term (see Give Me Five! 5 Blue Dials: A New Blue Period Has Begun). This year, too, we have seen fantastic new blue dials with intense radiance and shine at SIHH, and many debutantes of Baselworld 2018 now follow suit.

Although blue still calls the shots beyond the ever-popular black and white, a new trend toward green dials is also emerging.

With this, watch brands are reflecting one of the leading hues in the Pantone Color Institute’s “Fashion Color Trend Report” for the spring season of 2018. As the world’s number one authority in this field by creating color standards for professional use, Pantone has welcomed arcadia as a new tone, “hinting at retro yet at the same time modern.”

We couldn’t have better described the fine personality of Glashütte Original’s Sixties collection, which reflects the elegance and unmistakable design style of the 1960s – and has done so since this line was introduced in 2015 (see Sixties Iconic: Glashütte Original’s Richly Multicolored Homage To Vintage East German Style).

Glashütte Original Sixties Green

Characteristic details bring the look of this swinging decade back to life: in particular the domed, galvanic dial with its exquisitely styled Arabic numerals at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock, framed by a finely drawn minute scale.

Glashütte Original Sixties Green and Sixties Panorama Date

Lightly domed hour, minute, and second hands as well as diamond-milled hour indices underscore the deeply elegant aura that goes perfectly well with the green color, further highlighted by a special dial decoration called “degradé,” behind which hides a graduated color scheme.

Glashütte Original Sixties Green Panorama Date

My favorite green Baselworld 2018 debutantes – and there are some other great ones, such as Corum’s beautiful two-hand timepiece christened Heritage La Grande Vie – are the Sixties and Sixties Panorama Date as part of Glashütte Original’s Sixties Limited Edition for 2018. They feature intriguing and sublimely textured faces crafted in the company’s own dial manufacture in Pforzheim, Germany using original tools and methods.

Authentic dial design and manufacture

With the help of a 60-ton press, the brass dial blank is imprinted with the intricate pattern of a guilloche stamp. Known as “dies,” the originals are kept in the dial manufacture’s archives.

A close look at the dial of the Glashütte Original Sixties Green

As for the “degradé effect,” the process begins with the application of a galvanic base coat, followed by layers of colored lacquer.

In the next step, black lacquer is carefully applied using a special spray gun, which produces – depending on the angle at which the gun is held – an individual color gradient that renders each dial unique. At the end of the time-consuming process, the lacquered dials are fired at high temperature to fixate the color.

Glashütte Original Sixties Green

The new Sixties and Sixties Panorama Date are powered by the manufacture’s automatic movements, Caliber 39-52 and 39-47 respectively. The signature Glashütte Original Panorama Date display, with white numbers on a black background, is positioned along the central vertical axis in the lower half of the dial.

The three-hand model – my favorite because its charisma is so pure and “sixties” and also very slim at a height under 10 mm – is housed in a 39 mm stainless steel case, while the Sixties Panorama Date comes in a case with a diameter of 42 mm.

If (like me) you would like to own one, you will need to be quick: both timepieces are only available for the limited period of one year.

For more information, please visit www.glashuette-original.com/collection/vintage/sixties.

Quick Facts Glashütte Original Sixties
Case: 39 x 9.4 mm, stainless steel
Movement: automatic manufacture Caliber 39-52, power reserve 40 hours
Functions: hours, minutes, hacking seconds
Price: €6,300/$7,500

Quick Facts Glashütte Original Sixties Panorama Date
Case: 42 x 12.4 mm, stainless steel
Movement: automatic manufacture Caliber 39-47, power reserve 40 hours
Functions: hours, minutes, hacking seconds; large date
Price: €7,800/$9,300