Senator Meissen TourbillonGlashütte Original celebrates Year of the Dragon with exquisite limited edition
Glashütte Original has chosen to celebrate the upcoming Year of the Dragon with an exceptional limited edition of Senator Meissen Tourbillons. The high-end German manufactory has created eight unique timepieces, each featuring a Meissen porcelain dial with a beautifully hand-painted Chinese dragon. Each of the ornamental dragons is rendered in a ceramic paint consisting of pure gold dust.
The paint is bonded to the dial through high-temperature firing, from which the dragons emerge with a matt gold surface. Skilled artists then use an agate tipped pen to lend structure and shimmering hues to the filigreed golden dragon motif. Each of the dragons on the eight unique Senator Meissen Tourbillon Dragon timepieces appears to be playing with a fascinating sphere positioned at hour six on the dial: the sphere is Glashütte Original’s extraordinary complication, the Flying Tourbillon.
This quintessential embodiment of the art of fine watchmaking was developed by Alfred Helwig, the legendary watchmaker who developed the mechanism in 1920 while serving as an instructor at the German School of Watchmaking in Glashütte.
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 subsidiary seconds display is attached to the carriage of the flying tourbillon and is framed by a polished gold second scale for added clarity.
The Senator Meissen Tourbillon Dragon is a picture of stylish classicism in its 40 mm rose gold case, outfitted with exquisite technology. The passing of time is measured by traditionally blued hour and minute hands that glide across the surface of the white Meissen porcelain dial. The hours are marked by hand-painted Roman numerals, which are painstakingly applied to the dial as is the Glashütte Original logo.
The Senator Meissen Tourbillon Dragon is powered by the superbly finished automatic manufacture Caliber 94-11, which can be admired through the antireflective sapphire crystal back of the rose gold case. The 48-hour power reserve makes for easy handling, efficiently meeting the needs of the modern wearer.
The back of the rose gold case is engraved with “1/1”, indicating that each of the eight pieces is truly one of a kind. The Louisiana alligator skin strap and folding clasp, attached to the case by integrated lugs, ensure a comfortable and secure fit.