One of the Most Underrated Chronographs Gets a Stunning New Edition

Purple haze.

Close-up of a silver watch case with a textured purple dial, crown, and push button on a black background.

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By Johnny Brayson

Published May 26, 2026

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Glashütte Original just might be the most underrated luxury watchmaker today.

Rarely is the brand mentioned outside the context of German watchmaking, and it’s scarcely even brought up as a contemporary of its luxurious Swatch Group stablemates Omega, Breguet and Blancpain.

But G.O. has one of the strongest and most diverse catalogs in the industry, churning out spectacular divers, dress watches, complicated pieces and more.

Arguably, the brand’s best offerings come from its retro-tinged Sixties and Seventies lines, and the latest such release serves as a striking reminder that more people need to be talking about Glashütte Original.

Silver chronograph wristwatch with textured purple dial and black woven strap on reflective surface. — The Sixties Chronograph is in its purple era.

A history of violets

Every year, G.O. trots out a limited “Annual Edition” of its retro Sixties Chronograph featuring a new dial color inspired by some aspect of the 1960s. Of course, all of the colors that exist today were also around in the ’60s, so the options are quite literally limitless.

For 2026, Glashütte Original has chosen purple, citing the color’s use in 1960s popular music in song titles, band names and album covers. Outside of the formation of Deep Purple and the release of Jimi Hendrix’s Purple Haze, I can’t think of any other purple pop or rock moments from the ’60s, but this new dial still looks the business.

Wristwatch with a textured deep red dial, black fabric strap, and silver case worn on a wrist over a black sleeve. — Purple Haze, all on your wrist.

The dial is made in-house and requires dozens of steps. It begins with a brass plate that’s stamped with a distinct crack-like pattern, while the subdials are milled out to create a vinyl record-like pattern. The dial is then domed and given a galvanic gold coating before receiving a hand-application of in-house, transparent purple lacquer. It’s then fired in a kiln.

But the dial isn’t done yet. The hour markers are etched out of the hardened lacquer, revealing the bare bronze beneath, and the white printed dial text is imprinted and kiln-fired several times beneath clear coats of lacquer. The final step is the hand-application of luminous dots on the minute track.

Close-up of a purple textured Glashütte Original watch dial with gold hands and two subdials. — The in-house pruple dial requires dozens of steps to produce.

The result is a vibrant purple dial with bronze accents that gives off strong royalty vibes. The dial sits underneath a domed sapphire crystal and is the star of its 42mm polished stainless steel case.

A separate sapphire crystal on the caseback gives a view of the in-house Calibre 39-34 automatic chronograph movement, which is gorgeously decorated and ound via a 21K gold rotor. Finally, a black synthetic fabric strap keeps the watch more casual than you might think.

Back of a Glashütte Original Sixties Chronograph watch showing intricate mechanical movement with gold accents and black fabric strap. — Glashütte Original always does an excellent job of decorating its movements. This is no exception.

Availability and pricing

I’m a sucker for purple watches and the distinct dial treatment of the Sixties line, so this watch is a match made in heaven for me. The bronze tones on the dial are an excellent accent for the purple, and I’m sure this thing looks insane in sunlight thanks to the combination of the vibrancy of the purple and the dial’s signature texture.

As an Annual Edition, this Sixties Chronograph has a very limited production, though Glashütte Original has not said how many it plans to make. The brand did declare it will only be available for a limited time, but again, it didn’t say for how long. If you want to pick one up, I suggest acting quickly.

The watch is available now from Glashütte Original and is priced at $10,000.

Silver watch with textured purple dial, gold hands, two subdials, and black woven strap.

Glashütte Original Sixties Chronograph Annual Edition 2026

Specs

Case Size	42mm
Movement	Glashütte Original Cal. 39-34 automatic chronograph
Water Resistance	30m

$10,000 at Glashütte Original

About the Author:

Johnny Brayson is an editor at Gear Patrol mostly covering watches. He enjoys watches that are packed with blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em details and believes nearly every watch could stand to be a tad smaller.

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