Glashütte Original Senator Meissen “Cherry Blossom” pairs porcelain artistry with Saxon watchmaking

Glashütte Original and Meissen combine hand-painted porcelain, a red gold case and the 100-hour Calibre 36-16 in the Senator Meissen. Price €35,800

Glashütte Original has unveiled the Senator Meissen “Cherry Blossom”, a new Atelier edition created in collaboration with Meissen that combines a hand-painted porcelain dial with the manufacture’s Calibre 36 automatic movement.

The watch follows the first Senator Meissen collaboration presented in 2025, which resulted in three exclusive porcelain-dial limited editions.

The new edition continues that collaboration with a cherry blossom motif inspired by the Japanese Jugatsu-zakura, a winter cherry tree whose blossoms can appear from October onwards. 

The white and pink flowers are painted by hand on a wafer-thin Meissen porcelain dial, creating a delicate botanical motif against the light background.

The connection between Meissen and botanical decoration dates back to the 18th century, when the manufactory began incorporating floral motifs into its porcelain. 

Early decorations were influenced by Far Eastern porcelain, before native flowers and foliage became established subjects in the repertoire. Cherry blossom subsequently became one of the motifs associated with Meissen porcelain and provides the theme for this latest collaboration with Glashütte Original.

The porcelain dial is produced in the Meissen workshops using colours developed and supplied by the manufactory’s own colour laboratory. 

Experienced porcelain painters apply the motif by hand using fine brushes, with each layer followed by firing at approximately 900°C. The repeated firing process builds the depth and intensity of the colours while allowing the fine details of the blossoms to remain defined.

The dial is framed by a 40 mm 5N red gold case measuring 10.2 mm in height and 47.09 mm from lug to lug. 

A domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides protects the dial, while the sapphire crystal caseback reveals the movement. 

Water resistance is rated at 5 bar. 

Solid-gold 5N hour and minute hands complete the two-hand display, while a dark blue Louisiana alligator leather strap with a red gold pin buckle provides the finishing element.

The Senator Meissen “Cherry Blossom” is powered by the automatic manufacture Calibre 36-16. The movement operates at a frequency of 4 Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour) and provides a power reserve of up to 100 hours.

Its regulating system uses a silicon balance spring, together with a regulator-free adjustment system incorporating a swan-neck spring and solid-gold regulating screws. 

The movement contains 27 jewels and features a shock-protected oscillating system.

A stop-seconds mechanism is activated when the crown is pulled out, allowing the balance to be stopped for precise time setting. 

Through the sapphire crystal caseback, the movement reveals the characteristic finishing associated with Glashütte Original, including the striped decoration of the three-quarter plate, a hand-engraved balance cock and a sunray finish on the winding chain wheel.

The skeletonised bidirectional rotor features a mirrored double-G emblem and a solid-gold oscillating weight.

The Senator Meissen “Cherry Blossom” forms part of Glashütte Original’s Atelier commissions, for which each watch is assembled in its entirety by a single watchmaker. 

While the porcelain dial is produced by Meissen, the watch is otherwise completed in Glashütte, bringing together the two manufactories’ respective areas of expertise.

The Glashütte Original Senator Meissen “Cherry Blossom”, reference 1-36-16-05-05-01, will be available from October 2026 at Glashütte Original boutiques and selected retailers worldwide, at an indicative price of €35,800. glashuette-original.com