"Flying Tourbillon" In the early 1920s Albert Helwig, Technical Director of the Deutsche Uhrmacherschule invented what is now commonly known as a flying tourbillon: ??My idea of constructing the free-standing cage that is without a bridge, was to make a tourbillon as flat as possible ? The weight of the cage is only 700 milligrams; no one believed that it would be strong enough. Therefore, I tied a string on one side of the cage and another one on the other side but with a weight of 250 grams. I then hung this in the display case at the entrance hall to the Deutsche Uhrmacherschule and left it hanging there for 4 weeks, which stopped all critics?? Flying tourbillons were made as masterpieces by the best students of the Deutsche Uhrmacherschule in Glashütte, according to the principals and under the direction of Professor Alfred Helwig. They represent the ultimate achievement in the making of revolving escapements.

Alfred Helwig One of the most eminent German precision watchmakers. He was apprenticed to Master Watchmaker Gustav Dunkel from 1900- 1904, then entered the Deutsche Uhrmacherschule, which he finished the following year. His great ability was noticed by Bavarian Master Watchmaker Georg Braun, who offered him a position in his firm. However, one year later the young Helwig returned to Glashütte and found employment in the Glashütter Präzisions-Uhrenfabrik AG, where he worked until 1908. During this time his horological interests evolved and he began to focus on chronometry. For that reason he went to Hamburg to acquire practical knowledge in the production of precision timekeepers, working for a year at the Chronometerwerke Hamburg. In 1909 he returned to Glashütte to polish his knowledge, returning afterwards to the Glashütter Präzisions-Uhrenfabrik for 2 years. During this time he also became an independent chronometer maker. On April 1, 1913, he found the fitting place for his talents at the Deutsche Uhrmacherschule, where in time he became professor and director of practical watchmaking, staying until his retirement. During WW I he was drafted, but as soon as the war ended he came back to the school. Very organized and disciplined, as demanding of himself as he was of his students, he knew how to encourage them to work to the best of their capabilities, while conserving their enthusiasm for horology. From own experience he knew exactly how a talent is best nourished and he employed this understanding with great success. In the workshop he hung up the motto: ?We don?t train only watchmakers, we train watchmakers to become extraordinary people with character?. Despite his professional discipline he was also very understanding and he allowed his students small pleasures, even if they were not exactly within the school philosophy. For instance, in the middle of summer he would allow a student to go and buy ice cream for the entire class. To avoid the school director?s anger, he gave the student an empty marine chronometer box to hide the ice cream in. When the director intercepted the student in the entry hall, he thought that the student was carrying a fragile and expensive marine chronometer and allowed him to pass. During Helwig?s years at the school many wonderful improvements in the field of horology were done by his students as well as himself and many excellent watches were built. In 1922 Helwig became a master. After WW II and under Communist rule, he was so appreciated that on his 64th birthday, his students all donated their monthly rations (in Eastern Germany food was rationed then) to make a large cake for him. Helwig wrote articles, pamphlets and books, of which the best known is ?Drehganguhren? and ?Die Feinstellung?, coauthored with Dr. K. Giebel (the ice-cream opposing director), which is one of the most comprehensive works on technical watchmaking. He was an enthusiastic advocate of automobiles, being the second in Glashütte, after Emil Lange, to have a driver?s license and he worked on car engines, probably with the same precision as he worked on watches. In one of his letters he writes: ?I used to have a Bugatti (1925) and whenever I drove through Glashütte people hid behind their curtains and made the sign of the cross?. Alfred Helwig died on May 18, 1974, and was laid to rest with other accomplished members of the DUR. On the 25th anniversary of his death Glashütte Original introduced a new model, called ?Helwig?, employing his flying tourbillon. Only 25 pieces were made.