For those that have not visited the southern German city of Dresden, it conjures up memories of life behind the iron curtain before the collapse of the Soviet Union or, perhaps worse, the incendiary carpet bombing that raised it to the ground during World War II.
For those that have been there, its tourist board’s evocative description as “Florence on the Elbe” tells a more accurate story of its beauty.
We watch journalists think of it as the closest place to Glashütte where you can get a decent hotel, unless you choose Prague as your route into Germany’s famous watchmaking village.
Glashütte Original is leaning into the Florence on the Elbe description with a limited edition version of its PanoMaticInverse watch decorated with scenes from Dresden that have strong echoes of similar landmarks in the historic Italian city like the dome of the Frauenkirche, a Lutheran church that was destroyed during the Allied firebombing of Dresden then reconstructed over a decade up to 2005.
Its dome has an uncanny resemblance to that of Florence’s Cathedral of Santa Maria.
On the same dial, Glashütte Original’s engravers have created the roof of the Academy of Fine Arts and its winged statue of Fama, and on the underside of its movement there is a skeletonised rotor that affords a view of the city’s Elbe promenade.
The PanoMaticInverse is a collection that has always put German art and engineering on show through its classic 42mm platinum case and hand-finished automatic Calibre 91-03 movement that powers an off-centre display with hours, minutes and small seconds and a big date at 2 o’clock.
Worn on a blue alligator leather strap, the Dresden Special Edition is limited to 25 pieces that have been on sale since the end of April at Glashütte Original boutiques for £42,600.
