In honor of Julius Assmann, Glashütte Original will introduce a limited edition model at Baselworld 2012 called the Senator Observer 1911 Julius Assmann.

The Senator Observer comes in a 44 mm polished white gold case with a brown calfskin strap. The dial is white with a railroad chapter ring, black Arabic numerals and blued hands. The case back is engraved with the limited edition number (01/25). The sapphire crystal is anti-reflective and displays the dates of Amundsen’s arrival at the South Pole and its centennial anniversary: 14 Dec. 1911 – 14 Dec 2011; the name Julius Assmann – Glashütte i/SA, and “Tribute to R. Amundsen.”

Powering the Senator Observer is caliber 100-14, a high precision self-winding mechanical movement. A hand-wound movement is typical of this type of watch, although today, it is hard to argue the convenience of an automatic winding rotor. Caliber 100-14 is immaculately finished; featuring a Glashütte three-quarter plate, screw-mounted gold chatons, and a rotor with 21-carat gold oscillating weight and the gold-plated double-G mark.

The movement features a reset mechanism, which makes for easier synchronization of the second hand with standard time (a function that is especially important for a timepiece used for an expedition or other scientific ventures). The second hand is not coupled with the winding stem or crown. Instead, when setting the time, the second reset mechanism is activated by pushing a separate corrector on the caseband, allowing for precision time setting, down to the second, without stopping the balance like a standard hacking second function.