With 69 manufacture calibres developed since 1990, A. Lange & Söhne has secured a top-tier position among the world’s finest watch brands. Its greatest successes include brand icons such as the Lange 1, the first regularly produced wristwatch with an outsize date, and the Zeitwerk, with its precisely jumping numerals, and extraordinary complications such as the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater, the Triple Split and the highly complicated Grand Complication. This year, the marque has debuted the Richard Lange Minute Repeater – an acoustic delight – and a new iteration of the Grand Lange 1 with a grey dial
Richard Lange Minute Repeater
The Richard Lange Minute Repeater is A. Lange & Söhne’s classic interpretation of the acoustic complication. The Saxony-based manufactory has enriched the Richard Lange watch family with a timepiece featuring one of the most elaborate sound functions – a minute repeater, classically executed but contemporarily evolved. With its white, three-part enamel dial, the 50-watch limited edition platinum timepiece is delightfully appealing, not only acoustically but also visually.
The complex design of the timepiece is based on the traditional sound format: when the slide integrated into the left-hand case flank is actuated, the chiming mechanism strikes the hours, the quarter hours, and the minutes. It follows a mechanical programme that with two differently tuned gongs can strike 720 different sequences – one for every minute in the twelve-hour cycle.
The hours sound at a lower pitch, the quarter hours with a double tone, and the minutes that have elapsed since the last quarter hour with a higher-pitched tone. For instance, 1.51 a.m. or 1.51 p.m. would be struck with a low tone, three double tones, and six high tones. When the repeater sequence is activated, the sapphire-crystal caseback reveals exactly how the mirror-polished gong hammers execute the respective sequence of strikes on the two gongs that are wrapped around the movement. A refined system of artistically choreographed racks, snails, levers, and wheels controls the 191-part mechanism.
The Minute Repeater is designed to superb acoustic quality standards. The tuning effort involved corresponds to that of an exquisite musical instrument. A lucid, clear, and reverberant sound is assured by the hand-tuned gongs that harmonise perfectly with the acoustic characteristics of platinum, the case material. As far as the hammers are concerned, the key issues are material, shape, size, weight, and hardness – and above all, just like with a piano – strike. All components are carefully harmonised with one another by a Lange master watchmaker. This requires multiple disassemblies, reworking, reassembly and finally testing. Much of the manufacture time is thus dedicated to perfecting the sound.
The new watch follows the long-standing principle of A. Lange & Söhne that construction and design must interact. The platinum case has a diameter of 39 mm and a height of only 9.7 mm. It features the typical satin-finished flanks and prominently domed strap lugs. The white enamel dial has a solid-gold core and is crafted in-house. It has three parts; the outer ring and the middle part of the main dial as well as the subsidiary seconds dial are hand-crafted individually in an elaborate process before all three parts are joined together.
The white radiant background assures a crisp contrast for the thermally blued steel hands. The printed inscriptions are burned into the surface. They include the slender Roman numerals typical of the watch family. Accentuated by the peripheral railway track minute scale and the subsidiary seconds at six o’clock, they emphasise the classic character of the watch. A fine red line above the twelve adds a subtle colour accent. The watch is worn on a black, hand-stitched leather strap with a platinum deployant buckle.
The sapphire-crystal caseback reveals the entire scope of the new, manually wound movement L122.1. It includes the freehand engraving of the balance cock with the eye-catching whiplash spring. With its lateral setscrew, it can be used to precisely adjust the interaction between the pallet lever and escapement, referred to as the “beat”. Six bearing jewels are set in polished gold chatons on a three-quarter plate made of untreated German silver and decorated with Glashütte ribbing. Four of the chatons are secured with thermally blued screws. The winding train, decorated with solarisation, is visibly integrated into the plate.
The 69th Lange manufacture calibre features a screw balance and a freely oscillating Breguet balance spring made in-house with an overcoiled external Breguet terminal curve. The escapement operates at a frequency of 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour (3 Hertz). The mainspring barrel delivers power for up to 72 hours.
Grand Lange 1
The year 2022 marks the debut of the redesigned Grand Lange 1 with a grey dial and even more elegant proportions. Available in 18-carat white or pink gold, it has a diameter of 41 mm and is just 8.2 mm high. Since 2003, the Grand Lange 1 has been an integral component of the watch collection and was endowed with its own movement in 2012; the latest version features an elegantly reworked design.
The new model excels with a reduced height of 8.2 mm, allowing the watch to snugly embrace the wrist and fit under any cuff. The strict asymmetry of the dial adds extra appeal. The off-centre display of the time includes the Lange outsize date in a gold-framed double aperture, a power-reserve indicator with the characteristic “UP/DOWN” inscription, recessed subsidiary dials with concentric lines and flat appliques. Gently bevelled chamfers assure balanced transitions from the subsidiary dials to the granularly textured main dial. This allows high-contrast highlighting of the hands, the Roman numerals and the lozenge-shaped markers in white or pink gold. The resulting dial is remarkably vivid, exquisitely modelled, and elegant.
To match the respective gold hue, the white-gold version of the timepiece comes with a black leather strap and the pink-gold model is paired with a red-brown leather strap. The quality artisanship extends to the carefully polished prong buckle in white or pink gold, making it an ideal dress watch.
The proven manually wound calibre L095.1 powers the new iteration as well. Due to the enlarged proportions relative to the Lange 1 with hand arbors slightly shifted outward, it respects the model family’s design code down to the smallest detail. Contrary to the Lange 1, it has only one mainspring barrel instead of a double barrel with two stacked mainsprings. But thanks to the larger diameter, it also achieves a maximum power reserve of 72 hours.
The movement, assembled twice, can be admired through the sapphire-crystal caseback. It consists of 397 parts that are elaborately finished by hand, even though they are then concealed beneath the three-quarter plate that is made of untreated German silver and decorated with Glashütte ribbing. Seven of the 42 ruby-red bearing jewels in the movement are seated in mirror-polished gold chatons secured with blued screws. The carefully orchestrated interaction of the various materials and finishes produces a fascinating myriad of colours. The finishing touch is the oscillation system with the classic screw balance and the Lange balance spring. It is located beneath the hand-engraved balance cock that graces every A. Lange & Söhne watch with an artistic signature and makes it unique.
