A. Lange & Sohne reveals a host of novelties at SIHH 2016
From the highly recognised founder that laid the cornerstone of precision watchmaking industry in Saxony, Germany to becoming nearly vanished in World War II and rebuilding in the ‘90s, A. Lange & Söhne has indeed come a long way, and has remained a strong force in the watch world by continuously creating only the finest and remarkable timepieces
This 2016, at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH), the Saxony-based luxury watch company, A. Lange & Söhne, unveiled the latest masterpieces that would compete with its own brand icons. Known for crafting fascinating complications, the fresh additions in the A. Lange & Söhne are indeed reflections of the manufactory’s determination to achieve ever new pinnacles in horological artistry.
DATOGRAPH PERPETUAL TOURBILLON
The latest masterpiece from Saxony pairs three complications with five supplementary functions. This unique timepiece boasts the black solid-silver dial of the new model contrasts beautifully against the 41.5-millimetre platinum case as well as the hands and hour markers in rhodiumed gold, and the chronograph sweep seconds hand in rhodiumed steel.
This watch designates a column-wheel chronograph with a precisely jumping minute counter, a flyback function and the typical Lange outsize date. Also, it is an instantaneously jumping perpetual calendar with a moon-phase display. All indications of the perpetual calendar – including the outsize date as well as the day-of-week, month and leap-year displays in subsidiary dials – switch instantaneously and thus provide unambiguous readings at all times.
It employs a fascinating tourbillon mechanism that is exposed by the sapphire-crystal caseback and the open tourbillon bridge. The 729-part calibre L952.2 movement flaunts the escapement that rotates about its own axis once a minute inside the filigreed cage. This rotary motion offsets the influence of gravity on the balance wheel with eccentric poising weights. In conjunction with the free-sprung balance spring crafted in-house, it assures excellent rate accuracy across the entire 50-hour power reserve.
With black hand-stitched alligator leather strap and platinum deployant buckle, the DATOGRAPH PERPETUAL TOURBILLON is available in limited edition of 100 pieces.
GRAND LANGE 1 MOON PHASE “Lumen”
Presented in a limited edition of 200 watches, the GRAND LANGE 1 MOON PHASE “Lumen” combines a brilliant moon-phase display with a mystically luminous outsize date that reflects the characteristic style of the brand icon. 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.
The dial of the new model is made of blackened silver with ample apertures and black-tinted, semi-transparent sapphire-crystal glass, and features hands in luminous rhodiumed gold. The special coating applied to the glass blocks most of the visible light but not the UV spectra that “charge” the luminous pigments on the outsize-date mechanism and cause them to glow in the dark. The tens cross is coated with a white luminous compound and printed with black numerals. Different from Lange’s previous moon-phase models with solid-gold lunar discs, the GRAND LANGE 1 MOON PHASE “Lumen” has a disc made of transparent glass featuring black numerals and rotating in front of the luminous background of the date aperture.
Featuring all of the quality highlights of an A. Lange & Söhne timepiece, the manually wound calibre L095.4 is elaborately finished and assembled twice. 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.
Presented in a limited edition of 200 watches, this model comes in a 41-millimetre platinum case, sapphire crystal and hand-stitched alligator leather strap in black.
LANGE1
A. Lange & Söhne is extending the LANGE 1 family with a model in a 38.5-millimetre white gold case. It features luminous rhodiumed-gold hands and hour markers on the argenté-coloured dial which are crisply legible even in the dark.
Combining a large balance wheel with eccentric poising weights and a free-sprung Lange balance spring, the manually wound calibre L121.1, newly presented in 2015, assures superior accuracy. Refinements come to the fore in details such as the instantaneously jumping outsize-date display. The calibre features the proven twin mainspring barrel with a power reserve of three days.
The LANGE1 in white gold comes with black hand-stitched alligator leather strap and white gold prong buckle.
LANGE 1 TOURBILLON PERPETUAL CALENDAR in white gold
The LANGE 1 TOURBILLON PERPETUAL CALENDAR combines two classic complications with the iconic design of A. Lange & Söhne’s most famous watch family. The calendar consists of a Lange outsize date, retrograde day-of-the-week and leap-year displays and a peripheral month ring. The latest model of this horological masterpiece is now presented in a discreet 41.9mm white-gold case with a solid silver grey dial and hands in rhodiumed gold. Its moon-phase display, located inside the subsidiary seconds dial, will even run true for 122.6 years before it needs to be corrected by one day.
The self-winding calibre L082.1 movement provides maximum power reserve of 50 hours. It is equipped with Lange’s patented stop-seconds mechanism. It brings the balance inside the tourbillon cage to a standstill instantly, gently and safely when the crown is pulled. This allows the watch to be set with one-second accuracy.
Lange quality hallmarks include the lavishly decorated movement with hand-engraved tourbillon and intermediate wheel cocks as well as screwed gold chatons.
SAXONIA MOON PHASE
The latest model of the SAXONIA family stands out with its lucid design and the compelling combination of two popular complications: A precise moon-phase display on the top half of the subsidiary seconds dial at six o’clock constitutes the visual counterbalance and the characteristic Lange outsize date set prominently below the twelve o’clock position.
The self-winding calibre L086.5 inside this watch is already the eminent Saxon manufactory’s 16th movement with this popular astronomical complication. The display is connected to the hour-wheel continuum so, just like the moon itself, it is always in motion. It reproduces the period from new moon to new moon with an accuracy of 99.998 per cent, thanks to a precisely calculated seven-stage transmission. Once set, and assuming that the watch runs continuously, the display only has to be corrected by one day every 122.6 years. The intense blue tone of the solid-gold lunar disc is created by a special patented coating process. Then, a laser is used to cut out no fewer than 852 stars. The ample 72-hour power reserve is achieved with only one mainspring barrel. A large central rotor with a centrifugal mass in platinum efficiently delivers the winding power.
The watch comes in 40mm case in white gold, sapphire crystal, dial in solid silver, argenté, and hands in rhodiumed gold and pink gold. The strap, on one hand, is a choice between hand-stitched alligator leather strap in black or in red brown, while the buckle is either white gold or pink gold prong buckle.
SAXONIA THIN
Five years after its debut, the low-silhouette two-hand watch is making a comeback with a subtly reworked dial. Compared with the predecessor model, the solid-gold baton hour markers have been slightly elongated and shifted closer to the bezel. The retouched, argenté-coloured dial in solid silver radiates harmony and balance.
The manually wound calibre L093.1 movement showcases impressively the brand-typical finissage of all components. The classic design elements of each Lange watch, such as the three-quarter plate made of German silver and the hand-engraved balance cock, are lavishly polished and decorated.
The new edition of the SAXONIA THIN has the familiar case diameter of 40 millimetres and a height of 5.9 millimetres. It is available in pink or white gold.
RICHARD LANGE JUMPING SECONDS
The RICHARD LANGE JUMPING SECONDS is the latest model in the series introduced by A. Lange & Söhne in 2006.
The new L094.1 manufacture calibre masters all challenges that are associated with the development of a jumping seconds mechanism. The finissage of the 390-part, manually wound movement complies with the strictest Lange standards. The bridges made of untreated German silver and decorated with Glashütte ribbing, the hand-engraved balance cock, eight screwed gold chatons, as well as lavishly decorated and polished surfaces are some of the artisanal highlights. It has a power-reserve range of up to 42 hours.
This watch is characterised by an intelligent combination of two mechanisms that functionally complement each other: A one-second constant-force escapement ensures ultimate precision. The jumping mechanism guarantees crisp legibility of the time; it advances the large seconds hand by exactly 60 steps per minute. Thanks to the Zero-Reset mechanism, equipped with multi-disc clutch, the watch can be synchronised quickly and comfortably: When the crown is pulled, the seconds hand jumps to the zero position.
Furthermore, the timepiece features the rhodié-coloured regulator dial with its large seconds circle at the top that draws the observer’s attention to the smallest of the three units of time. The smaller hour and minute circles arranged beneath it are shifted to the left and right.
With a diameter of 39.9mm, this platinum timepiece with its prominent regulator dial is being launched in a limited edition of 100 pieces.
