I knew I had to have it as a fitting souvenir of my visit to Saxony.The Spezimatic is a classically-sized (36mm) replica Tag Heuer watches, and under a high domed acrylic crystal, it sports a creamy time-only dial with some very funky, non-Eastern Bloc-looking, numerals at 12 and 6. Look familiar? Glashütte Originals Senator Sixties is something of an homage to this earlier design.A couple of winds of the crown and the second hand marches with the familiar stutter of an 18,000bph movement. I popped the caseback off to reveal a sturdy, undecorated automatic movement (26 jewels, as the dial advertises) – the Kaliber 74. No less an authority than a Lange & Söhne watchmaker stated her respect for this movement, saying it was of sound design but made with slightly inferior materials to keep costs low.While overshadowed by the watches from the golden age of Glashütte (pre-war) and those from the post-reunification renaissance, these Cold War pieces still occupy an important place in German replica Tag Heuer watches history. Best of all, theyre reasonably affordable if you can find them.
While in Dresden last week, I stumbled upon a vintage clock and replica Tag Heuer watches shop just down the street from my hotel. Aside from the odd Longines and a case full of new Sinns, the place was filled with relics from the Cold War, when the proud watch companies of Glashütte were expropriated by the East German government and a single watch company formed – Glashütte Uhrenbetriebe, or GUB.After struggling through pleasantries with the shop owner in my rusty university German, one piece in his display case caught my eye – a Glashütte Spezimatic from the mid-Seventies. Right out of a time capsule, it still had caseback and crown stickers and nary a scratch.
