The Sixties Annual Edition (current ref. 1-39-52-01-02-04 in the family's latest color release) is Glashütte Original's vintage-inflected dress watch — 39mm steel, 9.4mm thick, a domed sapphire crystal worked to match the 1960s Spezimatic case profile, applied baton-and-bar indices, and a strongly-colored dégradé dial that changes annually. It is the brand's most-collected color-release reference and the closest a German haute house has come to the Tudor Black Bay 58 model of releasing one new aesthetic per year.

What it is

Glashütte Original introduced the Sixties line in 2007, drawing on the brand's mid-1960s Spezimatic case dimensions — 39mm, slim profile, domed crystal. The Annual Edition program launched in 2018 with the green dégradé dial and has continued each year with a new dial color (blue, copper, lime, grey, brown) released in limited production. The current generation carries the caliber 39-52 — the brand's automatic workhorse with a 40-hour reserve and a date complication at four.

Production for each annual color is small enough that they sell out at the dealer level within months; the secondary market for the Annual Editions is the most-traded sub-segment of the Sixties family.

Buying notes

Common things to check: papers and the limited-edition certificate (the Annual Editions ship with a numbered certificate — verify the number against the case-back engraving); dial originality (the dégradé finish does not refinish — a damaged dial is a service item with no factory-correct path, so verify dial condition closely under loupe); domed sapphire (the 1960s-style crystal scratches more easily than flat sapphire — light scratches are normal, deep gouges are a service item); caliber 39-52 (verify the date alignment and the rotor finishing through the case-back); the box and the limited-edition leather strap with stamped color reference are part of the full-set; aftermarket strap replacements are acceptable but should be priced accordingly.

Market read

Sixties Annual Edition examples trade in the $6,000-$8,500 range through 2025-2026, against a retail of approximately $8,900 at release. The most-recent two annual colors trade closest to retail; older releases (2018-2021) tend to trade modestly under retail unless the specific color has become a collector favorite. The Annual Editions are not lottery-tier scarce — they sell at retail without queues — but they sell through and the secondary market is consistent.

The line is one of the better-value entries to the brand at the under-$10K mark.

Service expectations

Service is Glashütte Original-direct. Expect 4-8 month turnaround and a low-four-figure service bill. The caliber 39-52 is the brand's automatic workhorse and is the most-serviced caliber in the catalog — parts availability is strong and turnaround is at the fast end of the brand's service window.

Service intervals of 5-7 years are typical.