Surpisingly, the
Glashütte Original Alfred Helwig Tourbillon 1920, ref. 1-54-01-01-01-01 has
never been
reviewed here.
So, let's have a look at this limited edition of 25 pieces.
credit: Hodinkee
This watch is a tribute to
Alfred Helwig (1886-1974), who
invented the
flying tourbillon in
1920.
credit: Glashütte Original
The watch's
face is very
pure and
simple, with a
dial made of
solid gold,
silver-
plated by
friction.

The
movement, caliber 54-01, is
gorgeous:
- Three-quarter plate decorated with Glashütte stripes and apparent solarised (double spirals) crown wheel and ratchet wheel, black polished click and click spring.
- Flying tourbillon with a wonderful lyre-shaped cage.

I absolutely
love the
lyre shape of the
upper part of the
case.
credit: @mingwatchchannel
Here's a
diagram detailing some elements of the
caliber, which beats at
21.600 vph (3 Hz) and has a
power reserve of
100 h!
credit: Glashütte Original
And here is a
model of his
flying tourbillon escapement, which
Alfred Helwig made in
1927 to
present his
invention in an
enlarged size.
credit: Watch Test
The
rose gold case measures
40 x
11.60 mm.

The nice
texture of the gold
dial silver-plated by
friction.


And three more
images of the
movement.
credit: @mingwatchchannel
credit: Glashütte Original
The most
beautiful photos of the watch I could
find were made by
The Eclecticum.
Unfortunately, the timepiece is
wrapped in a
plastic protection...

One thing I didn't mention until now is how
much I
like the
onion-shaped crown.
credit: The Eclecticum
So, how do you feel about this tribute Flying Tourbillon?
I personally find it very appealing.
Thanks for looking.
Best, Emmanuel