BEST OF A. LANGE & SÖHNE
Twenty-two years in business (lying dormant for 50 years during the Communist rule), the Saxon-based German brand has scaled new heights with its undisputed ingenuity, annually turning out the most exquisite timepieces to almost unanimous acclaim. Hiren Kumar Bose on the five best watches of A. Lange & Söhne
Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon
A work of horological art, the 41.5mm platinum cased watch has three complications, namely chronograph, perpetual calendar and tourbillion with five supplementary functions. Limited to 100 watches, the Datograph designates a column-wheel chronograph with a precisely jumping minute counter, a flyback function and the typical Lange outsize date. Being a perpetual calendar watch a first correction of the mechanism by one day can wait until the first day of March in the secular year 2100. And because of its stunning mechanical precision, the moon-phase display will only deviate from the true lunation by a single day after 122.6 years. For the first time in a Lange tourbillon with chronograph, the balance beats at a rate of 18,000 instead of the conventional 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour. This corresponds to a frequency of 2.5 hertz. Consequently, stopped times can be displayed with an accuracy of one-fifth of a second. The patented stop-seconds mechanism instantaneously brings the balance wheel inside the tourbillon cage to a standstill when the crown is pulled. This allows the watch to be set with one-second accuracy.
Grand Complication
Beneath the lucidly configured enamel dial, the horological opus incorporates scores of lavishly finished parts, bringing to life the most elaborate complications: Chiming mechanism with grand and small strike, minute repeater, split-seconds chronograph with minute counter and flying seconds as well as a perpetual calendar with moon-phase display. Two carefully hand-wrought gongs produce the seductive tones of the minute repeater and of the hour and quarter-hour strikes. The chiming mechanism automatically indicates the time in the grand strike (grande sonnerie) or small strike (petite sonnerie) modes. Every fifteen minutes, when set to grande sonnerie, it first indicates the full hour on the low-pitched gong and then the quarter-hours with a double strike on both gongs. In the petite sonnerie mode, it indicates the elapsed quarter-hours with one, two, or three double strikes on both gongs. At the top of every hour, it strikes the time in hours on the low-pitched gong. The 50-mm watch’s chronograph is a monopusher type with a rattrapante function and flying seconds , this rare supplementary function makes it possible to freeze stopped times to fifths of a second. A blued-steel hand on the lower subsidiary dial performs five jumps to complete each revolution along its five-second scale while the chronograph is running. The perpetual calendar mechanism emulates the Gregorian calendar. Not only does it know how many days each month has in the course of a year, it is also aware of the fact that February has 29 days in leap years. The mechanism first needs to be corrected by one day in the year 2100. Another special feature of the calendar is that it advances all displays, with the exception of the moon phase, at midnight. Limited to a mere six pieces, the watch’s subdial on the left indicates the date, the upper one the month in the four-year cycle, and the one at right the day of the week. The upper half of the flying seconds dial exposes the blue-enamelled, solid-gold moon disc that precisely tracks the synodic lunation of the earth’s companion.
Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase “Lumen”
The large moon-phase display occupies a prominent position on the main dial. Once properly set, it only needs to be corrected by one day every 122.6 years. Featuring all of the quality highlights of an A. Lange & Söhne timepiece, the manually wound calibre L095.4 is elaborately finished and assembled twice. Different from Lange’s previous moon-phase models with solid-gold lunar discs, the 41-mm platinum-cased watch has a disc made of glass. Initially, its surface is treated with a patented coating process. In a second step, a laser is used to cut out 1164 stars and the moon. Thanks to the luminous compound behind the lunar disc, they shimmer with vibrant radiance. The three-quarter plate made of untreated German silver is decorated with Glashütte ribbing and sets a dramatic stage for the seven screwed gold chatons. A classic screw balance with a free-sprung balance spring crafted in-house assures excellent rate accuracy. And the large mainspring barrel delivers power for 72 hours. The watch is presented in a limited edition of 200 pieces.
Zeitwerk Minute Repeater
Considered a technical sensation, the 44.2 mm watch combines a mechanical jumping numerals display with a decimal minute repeater for the first time. The watch is the first A. Lange & Söhne model with a striking mechanism that sounds the hours, ten-minute intervals, and minutes. The acoustic sequence precisely reproduces the digitally displayed time whenever the striking mechanism is triggered with a pusher. The time is displayed with an hour ring and two minute discs instead of with hands. To rule out mechanical conflicts occurring if the owner were to set the time during a chiming sequence, the watch’s crown cannot be pulled while the striking mechanism is active. This precaution prevents the winding wheel train including the crown from turning while the gongs are being struck, which would waste a considerable amount of energy. Additionally, the switching of the numeral discs is delayed until the chiming sequence has ended. This takes about 20 seconds for the maximum succession of tones at 12:59. The acoustic time indication therefore always corresponds to the time displayed on the dial. To assure that the repeater sequence is not prematurely interrupted due to the depletion of the mainspring’s power – in which case the watch would stop running as well –, the striking mechanism can no longer be activated if the remaining power reserve is less than twelve hours. On the power-reserve indicator, this point is identified with a red mark. Because the mainspring powers the striking mechanism via the ratchet wheel, the number of minute repeater activations and their duration will influence the availability of the underlying power reserve of 36 hours.
Richard Lange Perpetual Calendar “Terraluna”
Reminiscent of those clocks used for precise time reference in watchmaking ateliers and astronomical observatories, the 45.5mm pink/white gold watch has a regulateur-style dial, with overlapping minutes, hours and seconds subdials. Being a perpetual calendar it has the day, month and leap year indication, in addition to Lange’s trademark oversized date window. There’s even a subtle power reserve gauge that indicates the runtime left from its astonishing 14-day mainspring. Turn the watch over and you come across the case back showing the night sky–a disc showing the major constellations of the Northern Hemisphere, surrounding a view of the Earth from above the Pole. The Earth rotates in time with its real-world counterpart, once every 24 hours, while the star chart rotates in the opposite direction, keeping the constellations precisely where they should be. Set into the star chart disc is a moonphase aperture that moves with the night sky and displays the correct moonphase for any given time of the month. It’s so accurate that it only requires resetting once every millennium. In a stroke of pure genius, the positioning of this masterful representation of the heavens on the back of the watch uses the movement’s balance wheel as the Sun itself, steadily swinging back and forth at 21,600 beats per hour while the Earth, stars and Moon move in concert. The overall effect is breathtaking and such a stark contrast to the traditional monochromatic instrumentation of the watch’s dial that it feels like two different timepieces entirely. In typical Lange fashion, all the German silver bridges and plates are hand finished with bevels and chamfers. Screws are blued the old-fashioned way, over a flame, by hand. Gold chatons hold the rubies in place around key friction points. The trademark Lange balance cock is hand engraved with elegant filigree and signed with the initials of the watchmaker. The watch features a constant force escapement for consistent balance wheel amplitude and even timekeeping rate, a feat of watchmaking indeed.
