Lot 53

Hellmuth Bach

An important heavy Jülich pocket watch with flying one-minute tourbillon in the Glashütte tradition according to Alfred Helwig with power reserve indicator

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Hellmuth Bach was a watchmaker in Jülich. In 1983, he made a flying five-minute tourbillon with lever escapement, two gearing spring barrels and a differential 42 hours up and down movement in the style of the German Watchmaking School in Glashuette, which was modelled on Helwig's masterpiece from 1922.

The group of tourbillon makers around Alfred Helwig
From 1921 to 1937 Alfred Helwig (1886-1974) and his pupils at the German watchmaking school in Glashuette produced about 20 different tourbillons which were issued with special numbers between 7 and 36, because they were such outstanding pieces. The watches were created in four different versions: the 5-minute tourbillon with lever escapement, the 1-minute tourbillon with lever and with chronometer escapement (with chain/fusee as well as with parallel twin barrels); the most frequently used mechanism, however, was the 1-minute tourbillon with chronometer escapement and consecutive twin mainspring barrels - 13 of it were produced altogether.
This example by Hellmuth Bach is also of this type.
In a regular tourbillon watch the carriage is fitted in a plate and secured by a bridge; when Alfred Helwig, however, developed the flying tourbillon and produced it during his time at the German watchmaking school in Glashuette, he fitted the lower carriage bearing in the plate and the upper bearing beneath the carriage. The top of the carriage has no pivot or bridge. Because the carriage was extremely light and fine, Helwig proved its strength by hanging a 200 g weight on the carriage - after eight days the carriage was fitted back in its movement, thus convincing every last nonbeliever. There is no doubt that the small number of flying tourbillons created as masterpieces by the most talented pupils of the German watchmaking school under Helwigs tutelage mark a high point in the history of German horology and represent the ultimate achievement in the making of revolving escapements.