For Baselworld 2103, German high-end watchmaker Glashütte Original
celebrates fine mechanical watches with the exceptional new Senator
Tourbillon. The new model places the Flying Tourbillon, developed by
Glashütte watchmaker Alfred Helwig in 1920, within the elegant frame of a
contemporary redesign of the Saxon manufactory’s classic Senator
series. The watchmaker’s inhouse design team has made a number of
changes to the existing Senator models to achieve a classic and
contemporary work of art. This extraordinary timepiece belongs to the
manufactory’s Art & Technik Pillar, including masterpieces combining
unique expertise, extraordinary skills and artful craftsmanship from
Glashütte Original.
Senator Tourbillon The Senator Tourbillon
is a picture of stylish classicism executed in white gold. The 42 mm
case of this timepiece features a somewhat slimmer bezel than previous
Senator models, allowing the bezel to serve as an elegant frame for the
fine lacquered gray grained dial. The dial visuals feature Roman
numerals and a classic railroad chapter ring engraved in the surface
which subsequently receives an elegant silver inlay.
The distinctive
Panorama Date is presented in white on a dark ground beneath hour 12,
and the ‘poire’ hands in white gold enhance the transcendent elegance of
the design. Taking pride of place on the dial is the superb Flying
Tourbillon with seconds indicator, positioned at six o’clock in
harmonious counterpoint to the Panorama Date.
The Flying Tourbillon The
Flying Tourbillon was developed in 1920 by the master craftsman Alfred
Helwig, one of Germany's most remarkable watchmakers and who started as
an instructor at the German School of Watchmaking in Glashütte in 1913.
The traditional tourbillon mechanism, designed to counter the effect of
gravity on rate precision, is anchored at both the top and the bottom.
Alfred
Helwig’s version implemented a cantilevered mechanism anchored on one
side only, which led to it becoming known as a ‘flying’ tourbillon. The
balance, pallet lever, and escape wheel are housed in a cantilevered
carriage that turns 360 ° once a minute, thus neutralizing rate
deviations of the balance due to gravity. The Flying Tourbillon remains
an extraordinary aesthetic and horological invention, and finds an
exceptional environment in the manufactory’s new Senator Tourbillon.
The Glashütte Original Calibre 94-03 At
the heart of the Senator Tourbillon is the exquisite automatic calibre
94-03, which has a power reserve of 48 hours. The Flying Tourbillon
mechanism can be admired through the antireflective sapphire crystal
protecting the dial. The screw balance in the tourbillon cage features
18 weighted gold screws. The sapphire crystal on the case back reveals
the beauty of characteristic features of Glashütte watchmaking such as
stripe and sunburst finishings, a great number of galvanised surfaces,
polished steel components, blued screws and bevelled edges. The
off-centre rotor has an oscillating mass in 21-carat gold, Glashütte
ribbing and an elegantly worked double-G Glashütte Original logo.
The
finely finished movement was conceived in Glashütte Original’s design
department and built using traditional manufacturing methods. The design
of this masterpiece is completed by a finely worked grey Louisiana
alligator nubuck leather bracelet with a fold-over clasp in white gold.
Press Release
This message has been edited by AnthonyTsai on 2013-04-25 14:20:52
For Baselworld 2103, German high-end watchmaker Glashütte Original celebrates fine mechanical watches with the exceptional new Senator Tourbillon . The new model places the Flying Tourbillon, developed by Glashütte watchmaker Alfred Helwig in 1920, within...
With the preferred MichaelC greyscale color palette, this is one attractive offering. The dial is really amazing. So simple and clean, highlighting the awesome tourbillon aperture.
. . . when an obvious development catches everyone unaware. Yes, there have been previous Senator tourbillons - the Meißen model from several years back comes to mind - but this design seems so natural that I'm amazed by its announcement, yet somehow equa...