Picking A Saxonian Watch Bouquet: Introducing The Glashütte Original × Meissen Senator Cherry Blossom

Somewhere in a remote corner of the internet, there must be a place where people debate whether enamel or porcelain watch dials are nicer. I didn’t go down the rabbit hole into a heated online argument about these two delicate dial-making techniques, but from time to time, I do have an internal discussion on the topic. So far, porcelain is winning because, in my eyes, it looks purer, cleaner, and more delicate. The Glashütte Original × Meissen Senator Cherry Blossom indeed makes a convincing case for Team Porcelain. Saxony-based Meissen, probably the most famous porcelain producer of all, made the dial for Glashütte Original, a watchmaking brand from the same federal state in southeastern Germany. And yes, they even have cherry blossoms in Saxony.

Meissen’s origin story reads like that of a watch brand. The porcelain maker was founded in Meissen, in southeastern Germany, in 1710 under the patronage of Augustus the Strong, and it became Europe’s first manufacturer of hard-paste porcelain. The breakthrough came two years earlier, in 1708, when Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus and Johann Friedrich Böttger developed a method for producing porcelain in Europe, ending the continent’s dependence on imports from China and Japan. Meissen’s crossed-swords trademark, which you also see on the dial of the new Glashütte Original × Meissen Senator Cherry Blossom, was introduced around 1720–1722 and remains one of the oldest continuously used trademarks in the world. The blue logo was intended to prevent other makers from copying Meissen porcelain, and the swords were taken from the coat of arms of the Electorate of Saxony. But there’s another reason.

Introducing the Glashütte Original × Meissen Senator Cherry Blossom with a dial made by “swordsmen”

Meissen’s hand-painted trademark is two crossed swords because the painters are known as “swordsmen.” And the “swashbuckling” men and women at the Meissen atelier in the eponymous town 25 kilometers northwest of Dresden still hand-apply the crossed-swords mark to every piece. But they do more than that — miniature painting, for instance.

Nature has long been a source of inspiration for fine porcelain, including at Meissen. Early designs drew heavily on Chinese porcelain, but local botanical motifs soon joined the repertoire. Cherry blossoms, with their delicate shapes and fleeting beauty, became a favorite subject.

Now, Glashütte Original and Meissen bring the motif to a watch dial with the Senator Meissen Cherry Blossom. The dial is inspired by the flowering of winter cherry trees such as the Japanese Jugatsu-zakura, whose blossoms begin to unfold in October. If the watch were released in the spring, inspiration might have been the blossoming cherry trees in Saxony. In Dresden, one of the best places to see the Kirschblüte is the Königsufer. You will find it along the Neustadt bank of the Elbe between the Rosengarten and the Marienbrücke. Here, cherry trees line the river, with the historic skyline of Dresden’s Old Town providing the backdrop. Anyway, that’s enough pro bono work for the tourist board of Saxony — back to the watch.

Hand-painted cherry blossoms

The cherry blossoms on the dial are the result of delicate and time-consuming handwork. For instance, the color is applied in several layers and fired at 900°C after each application. This process lends the motif its remarkable depth and luminosity, and two crossed swords tell you this is a Meissen-quality product.

The dial sits in a 40mm red gold case with a 10.2mm profile and a 47.09mm lug-to-lug. Predominantly polished, the reddish case naturally matches the pinkish flowers. This Senator Meissen is part of Glashütte Original’s exclusive Atelier series, meaning that a single watchmaker assembles each watch. The case is paired with a domed sapphire crystal with an antireflective coating on both sides. Not that you’ll want to go swimming with a porcelain-dial watch, but this artful timepiece still has a 50m water resistance rating.

Made in Glashütte

With no indexes, the solid-gold 5N hours and minutes hands indicate the time ever so casually. Time won’t disturb the delicate dial art. But the movement powering the two hands is certainly worth a look. Through the case back’s sapphire display, you can observe the skeletonized rotor, with its double-G logo, swing. It does so above the in-house caliber 36-16 (36-01 base), an automatic movement offering a 100-hour power reserve. It runs at 4 Hz and features a silicon balance spring to cope with magnetic fields and temperature changes. To make sure you won’t mistake the movement for something made in Switzerland, it features traditional Saxon movement decoration. This includes a three-quarter plate finished with Glashütte stripes and a hand-engraved balance cock.

The Glashütte Original × Meissen Senator Cherry Blossom comes on a dark blue Louisiana alligator leather strap with a red gold pin buckle. The watch retails for €35,500 / US$38,200 / £29,800.

Any thoughts about the dial? Does it spark an internal debate on porcelain versus enamel? Please let me know in the comments.