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| The Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon |
German luxury watch brand A. Lange & Söhne has created a niche in the world of high watchmaking by producing traditional timepieces with mechanical precision and full, balanced designs.
The seven watches unveiled for 2016, ranging from simplistic beauty to high complications, provide an overview on the skills of this watch brand. A few of the timepieces are now available at retailers, including A. Lange & Söhne boutiques, and the remaining will roll out in the next few months.
The Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon (top photo)
The 41.5mm platinum case houses a black dial with sub dials that indicate all chronograph functions as well as all perpetual calendar indications—including the Lang signature outsized date, the day-of-week, month and leap-year. The “Up/Down” power-reserve indicator is located at the end of the tachymeter.
It is powered by an enhanced, hand-crafted, in-house movement: the manually wound caliber L952.2 (pictured above).
The tourbillon mechanism is exposed by the sapphire-crystal caseback and the open tourbillon bridge.
The column-wheel chronograph has a jumping minute counter and a flyback function. The perpetual calendar is designed to be true until March 1, 2100. The moon phase display is designed not to deviate by a single day for 122.6 years. Three correctors allow the separate adjustment of the moon-phase display, the day of the week and the combined advance of the month and leap-year indications. A rapid-correction pusher at ten o’clock updates all displays at the same time.
The watch is limited to 100 pieces.
Richard Lange Jumping Seconds
This watch is driven by a one-second constant-force escapement with an integrated jumping mechanism. The company says this ensures accuracy down to each second, which can be easily seen with each “jump.” A “zero-reset” mechanism with a multi-disc clutch allows the seconds hand to jump to the zero position when the crown is pulled.
On this 39.9mm platinum timepiece the seconds sub-dial is the largest of the three sub-dials on the rhodium-colored dial. The smaller hour and minute circles are arranged beneath the seconds indicator. This watch is powered by the new manually wound L094.1 manufacture caliber with a 42-hour power reserve.
The watch is limited to 200 pieces.
Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase “Lumen”
This timepiece combines a brilliant moon phase display with a luminous outsize date. The 41mm platinum case houses a dial made of blackened silver with large apertures and black-tinted, semi-transparent sapphire-crystal glass with a coating that blocks most of the visible light but not the UV spectra that allows luminous pigments on the outsize-date mechanism, making it illuminate in the dark.
The moon phase disc (located on the top of the main dial) is made of glass that is first treated with a patented coating process. A laser is then used to cut out 1,164 stars and the moon. A luminous compound behind the lunar disc allows the stars and moon to emit light.
The timepiece is powered by the manually wound caliber L095.4 with a 72-hour power reserve and an “Up/Down” indicator at the 3 o’clock.
The watch is limited to 200 pieces.
Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar in White Gold
This timepiece combines two classic complications with the design of A. Lange & Söhne’s best known watch collection. The calendar consists of a Lange outsized date, retrograde day-of-the-week and leap-year displays and a peripheral month ring. All of the perpetual calendar displays advance instantaneously.
The tourbillon can be seen through the sapphire-crystal caseback. The movement is equipped with Lange’s patented stop-seconds mechanism that brings the balance inside the tourbillon cage to a standstill when the crown is pulled.
The 41.9mm white gold timepiece with a silver grey dial is powered by the automatic caliber L082.1 with a 50-hour power reserve.
Lange 1 in White Gold
This 38.5mm watch is an extension of the LANGE 1 watch collection in white gold with luminous hands and hour markers, and an silver-colored dial, which is now being produced for the 20th year. It complements the models in pink gold, yellow gold and platinum.
It is powered by the manually wound caliber L121.1, introduced in 2015, which combines a large balance wheel with eccentric poising weights and a free-sprung Lange balance spring. It has a 72-hour power reserve, which is indicated with an “Up/Down” display at 3 o’clock.
Saxonia Moon Phase
This 40mm timepiece available in white and pink gold combines a moon phase function and the characteristic Lange outsized date in a classic watch design. The date is located prominently on the silver dial at 12 o’clock and the moon phase at 6 o’clock in the center of a seconds sub dial.
It is powered by the automatic caliber L086.5 with a 72-hour power reserve.
Saxonia Thin
The newest version of this timepiece, introduced in 2011 has a newly designed silver dial and case and is the thinnest timepiece created by the watch brand. The gold baton hour markers have been slightly elongated and shifted closer to the bezel, which complement the retouched, silver dial.
The 40mm case available in pink or white gold is only 5.9mm high. The manually wound caliber L093.1 movement is only 2.9mm high and has a 72-hour power reserve.
The Saxonia Thin, Lange 1 in white gold and the Saxonia Moon Phase are now available. The Lange 1 Tourbillon PC in White Gold is expected to be available in mid-July. The Richard Lange Jumping Seconds, Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon and Grand Lange 1, Moonphase Lumen will be available in the fall.
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