Glashütte Original Senator Tourbillon
The Glashütte Original Senator Tourbillon features a Panorama Date and is equipped with a flying tourbillon. Having recently returned from Glashütte, Angus Davies waxes lyrical about this sublime product of Saxony.
– protected designation of origin’ (PDO)
Aceto Balsamico di Modena, Champagne, Scotch Whisky, Proscuitto di Parma are examples of goods with ‘Protected designation of origin’ (PDO). In force within the European Union and the United Kingdom since 1992, the purpose of these regulations is to identify those products that are produced, processed and prepared in a specific geographical region which also adhere to traditional production techniques.
Earlier this year, the German authorities passed a law that legally protects the designation of origin for watches made in Glashütte. Similar to Champagne, the designation ‘Glashütte I/SA’ on the dial of a watch indicates the product has been manufactured within the region to a minimum standard. Within this watchmaking enclave of Saxony, ‘more than 50 per cent of the added value must be generated in the region of origin’. Furthermore, the regulations specify that ‘essential stages of manufacture’ must take place in Glashütte, eg manufacturing or finishing of movement parts.
Glashütte Original – a firm that can legitimately apply ‘Glashütte I/SA’ to its products
When a consumer selects a product marked with the name of the German town, they can be sure that it is imbued with a high degree of quality and authenticity. One of the prestigious names that can legitimately apply ‘Glashütte’ to its products is Glashütte Original.
Image – Glashütte Original Manufactory
Recently, I had the pleasure of touring the company’s vast Manufactory where I witnessed, at close quarters, high-end watchmaking taking place. It was wonderful to see cutting-edge machines making parts to exacting tolerances while working alongside time-served hands, employing traditional techniques to impart post-dated joy.
Glashütte Original Senator Tourbillon – it’s actually a flying tourbillon
It was during my time at Glashütte Original that I had the opportunity to examine a Senator Tourbillon, sporting a dark grey grained dial. Although there are many clues as to this watch’s place of origin, eg the movement’s three-quarter plate, nothing says Glashütte more than a ‘flying tourbillon’.
Image – A model of a flying tourbillon
While there are several beautiful flying tourbillons produced by some very prestigious names in Switzerland, it is Glashütte where the complication originates from.
Alfred Helwig – inventor of the flying tourbillon (1920)
The German Watch Museum Glashütte is just a short stroll from Glashütte Original’s headquarters. Located on Schillerstraße, the museum is home to an array of exhibits from pendulum clocks to pocket watches. It charts the history of watchmaking within the town, harking back to 1845 when Ferdinand Adolph Lange established his watchmaking business in Glashütte.
Image – German Watch Museum Glashütte
Among the many exhibits on display within the museum, Alfred Helwig’s work is prominently featured. Helwig (1886-1974) was a master watchmaker who eventually worked at the German Watchmaking School Glashütte. Over the years, he became an expert in the fields of chronometry and, specifically, tourbillons.
Image – Alfred Helwig (1886-1974)
The tourbillon was patented in 1801 by Abraham-Louis Breguet. It was designed to mitigate the adverse effects of gravity acting upon the escapement and regulating organ. Originally intended for use in a pocket watch, held in a vertical position, the gravity-defying mechanism has since been adapted for use within a wristwatch.
In 1920, Alfred Helwig invented the flying tourbillon. With a conventional tourbillon, the carriage is sandwiched between the mainplate (or lower bridge) and an upper bridge and typically rotates 360° every 1, 4 or 6 minutes. The flying tourbillon eschews an upper bridge and is cantilevered. The beauty of this latter form of tourbillon is that the wearer is afforded unimpeded views of the escapement and regulating organ in motion. Indeed, this visual spectacle grants sight of the pallet lever kissing the escape wheel, the balance wheel oscillating to and fro and the hairspring pulsing with life.
Glashütte Original Senator Tourbillon – ref. 1-94-03-04-04-04
Unveiled at Baselworld 2013, the Glashütte Original Senator Tourbillon has worn well with no signs of ageing. Part of this model’s charm is that it incorporates several traditional stylistic elements. For example, the watch is endowed with silver-toned poire-style hour and minute hands which converse with Roman numerals, while a chemin de fer frames the horological vista.
A grey grained dial
Glashütte Original does offer a limited edition version of the watch with a white dial and blued steel hands. However, the grey dial with its grained epidermis would be my choice.
The flying tourbillon is positioned at 6 o’clock. Fitted with a blue tipped hand, the 60-second tourbillon also serves as a small seconds display. A neat track, located slightly below the main dial plane, denotes the seconds and tastefully frames the rotating cage.
Panorama Date
A Panorama Date is positioned in the upper region of the dial. Employing two discs to impart meaning, the Panorama Date displays information in a widescreen format. This form of large date display is unique to Glashütte Original, eschewing any frame between the tens and units discs. The two discs sit at the same height with only a faint arcing line disclosing they are separate from one another. The dial aperture revealing the date is stepped, introducing an enchanting play with depths.
White gold case
Measuring 42mm in diameter, the Glashütte Original Senator Tourbillon is housed in an understated 18-carat white gold case. This noble metal seems perfectly at ease with the dial. Luxurious and seemly, it is the very antithesis of conspicuous consumption and gauche conduct.
While the case measures 42mm in diameter, the German marque has equipped the model with a supremely slender bezel, affording more room for the grey vista and thereby allowing each dial indication sufficient room to breathe.
Calibre 94-03
Consistent with most watches from this region, the Senator Tourbillon is fitted with a three-quarter plate. In this instance, it is adorned with a stripe pattern, similar in concept to Côtes de Genève motif. A three-quarter plate proffers greater stability than the numerous small bridges widely employed in Swiss watchmaking.
The mainplate is embellished with perlage, the upper surfaces of the tourbillon carriage are mirror-polished and blued screws are much in evidence. Consistent with Swiss exemplars of Haute Horlogerie, this German horological aristocrat is refined to the highest order. Bevelled and polished surfaces abound.
The hairspring is fitted with a Breguet overcoil, a detail that enhances isochronism. The balance wheel doffs its hat to watchmaking tradition, incorporating 18 weighted screws. Two diamond endstones sit at the heart of the tourbillon, further heightening the perception of luxury.
When it comes to the Calibre 94-03, Glashütte Original has not abandoned practicality. Indeed, the movement is automatic, making it ideal for daily wear. An openworked 21-carat oscillating weight is visible to the rear via a sapphire caseback. It’s not full size, occupying approximately ⅔ of the verso movement plane. It runs in a trottoir, a channel that accommodates the rim of the weight, mitigating the overall height of the movement.
A product of Glashütte
Whilst touring Glashütte Original’s Manufactory, I saw several gorgeous watches. However, I was particularly drawn to the Senator Tourbillon. Its dial is not overburdened with needless indications or garish details. On the contrary, it efficiently enunciates the hours, minutes, seconds and date. Nothing necessitates thumbing an instruction manual, everything is eminently clear and intelligible.
However, the apparent simplicity of the dial belies the model’s complexity. Indeed, the dial’s sumptuous grained surface, the stepped date aperture and the small seconds track are just some of the tiny details that enrich the overall appearance of this watch.
But ultimately, all roads lead to the movement. The Calibre 94-03 draws on the vast talents of the company’s craftspeople. Flawless finishing sits alongside technical virtue. Herr Helwig’s invention is displayed front of house, defying gravity and indulging horophiles with a spectacular choreographed dance.
The Glashütte Original Senator Tourbillon is worthy of bearing ‘Glashütte I/SA’ on its dial. It upholds the principles of the legislation, underpinning the ‘Protected designation of origin’ (PDO). Moreover, this model joins other illustrious luxury goods that are sometimes imitated but are seldom matched. On this occasion, authenticity is assured.
Further reading
https://www.glashuette-original.com/
Technical specifications
- Model: Glashütte Original Senator Tourbillon
- Reference: 1-94-03-04-04-04
- Case: 18ct white gold, diameter 42mm, height 13.7mm, water resistance 5ATM (50m), sapphire crystal to the front and exhibition case back.
- Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds on tourbillon, Panorama Date
- Movement: Calibre 94-03; self-winding movement, frequency 21,600 vph (3Hz), 50 rubies and two diamond endstones, power reserve 48 hours ± 5%
- Strap: Louisiana Alligator nubuck leather strap with fold fastener
- Price: £95,700 (RRP as of 12.12.2022)