Last week at the SIHH 2015 along with the amazing presentation of the new A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater in platinum we presented you here, our friends from Saxony unveiled new design accents for three Saxonia family classics. As part of the revamping of the Saxonia watch family, the watches have been fitted with a new dial design that further enhances their intrinsic gracefulness. The three revamped models are the Saxonia, Saxonia Automatic and the Saxonia Dual Time. “Never stand still” is not only Walter Lange’s personal motto but it also motivates the product developers at A. Lange & Söhne to continue improving their perfect creations. Their tireless pursuit of the perfect watch has inspired the discreet dial design refinements of these three Saxonia models. Particularly in a watch family innately characterised by such elegance and purity, each element, be it ever so small, has a visual impact on the overall appearance of the respective model.
Posts filed under A Lange Sohne
SIHH 2015: Introducing the New A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater in Platinum. Live Pictures and Pricing.
This year at the SIHH 2015 just like last year, some of the most expected novelties were those from A. Lange & Söhne. This year, the experts from Saxony surprised us with an amazing timepiece that unfortunately feel somewhat short when compared with the Terraluna launched last year and reviewed here. The new Zeitwerk Minute Repeater in platinum is an impressive minute repeater that taps into the best from A. Lange & Söhne in terms of research, development, technology and craftsmanship.
This is not your average minute repeater, this is a water resistant decimal minute repeater —hammers the minutes in fractions of 10 minutes instead of quarter hours as with traditional repeaters— with constant-force escapement and it is fitted with a push piece to activate the minute repeater mechanism opposed to having a lever. However, when it comes to acoustics and sound level, we think the timepiece falls short.
Experience: 20 Years of A. Lange & Söhne. Like a Phoenix Rising from the Ashes in 1994.
No other event has spurred the renaissance of fine watchmaking in Saxony like the presentation of Lange & Söhne’s first four timepieces 20 years ago. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, what must be Germany’s most famous watch brand took the stage of time. The beating heart of a flourishing region, it has long since regained its place among the world’s best watch brands. After the presentation of the quartet of new watches from A. Lange & Söhne on 24 October 1994 in the residential palace in Dresden, the world of fine watchmaking would never be the same. Congratulations to everyone at A. Lange & Söhne for this amazing milestone!
Suddenly, exclusive mechanical timepieces no longer came from Switzerland alone, but also from Saxony once more. Indeed, with their new technical ideas, individual signature construction and supreme perfection of craftsmanship, the four watches on exhibition set a new standard. This historic moment was the culmination of four years of intensive development work.
News: Presenting the New A. Lange & Söhne Richard Lange Tourbillon 'Pour le Mérite' Boutique Edition. Unveiled at the NYC Boutique Opening.
Last night September 25th, 2014 at the opening of the new A. Lange & Söhne boutique in New York City, the brand presented the boutique edition Richard Lange Tourbillon 'Pour le Mérite' in 18K white gold with blued hands and blue hour markers. With its regulator style that expresses the ultimate in precision, the Richard Lange Tourbillon 'Pour le Mérite' is a complication that unites A. Lange & Söhne’s unique fusée-and-chain transmission and a one-minute tourbillon with a patented stop-seconds mechanism. This timepiece whose name pays tribute to what is probably the most inventive mind in the Lange watchmaking dynasty will only be available only at A. Lange & Söhne boutiques.
Insider: A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Up/Down Updated Model. Bigger, Better and Nicer than the Original Model.
The A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Up/Down was updated this year and presented at the SIHH as one of the novelties from the manufacture. The 1815 Up/Down ref. 234.026 in white gold is one of the most classic looking watches from this manufacture and one of our favorite ones. Also available in pink gold and yellow gold, this watch is now fitted with a case measuring 39mm in diameter —opposed to 36mm in the past— and only 8.7mm in thickness. The case features polished and satin brushed areas to provide a perfectly balanced case that is not only very elegant but extremely well crafted at a level that can only be described with the word 'perfection'.
News: A. Lange & Söhne Sponsors the 'Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este'. A Special Unique Piece of the Lange 1 Time Zone was Created for the Competition.
With the glamour of the 20s, this will be the third time that A. Lange & Söhne supports the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. In 2014, this exclusive competition of classic cars and visionary concept designs will evoke the atmosphere of “The Roaring Twenties”. The owner of the most elegant car will win a unique timepiece from A. Lange & Söhne. The 85th edition of the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este will be held in Cernobbio, Italy from May 23rd thru 25th, 2014. A. Lange & Söhne takes the stage as sponsor of this traditional competition that celebrates the motor car as design icon and art object. The theme of this year’s event, “The Great Gatsby”, promises to conjure up the glittering atmosphere of the “Roaring Twenties”, setting the scene in front of the impressive backdrop of the Grand Hotel Villa d’Este and its landscaped grounds on the shores of Lake Como. The lavish aesthetics underlying the Hollywood film versions of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s celebrated 1925 novel constitute the basis for the supporting events and the choice of vehicles. The programme will be rounded off by a special exhibition to mark the 110th anniversary of the Rolls-Royce brand and the “100 years of Maserati” jubilee.
In the view of A. Lange & Söhne CEO Wilhelm Schmid, the Concorso d’Eleganza represents a logical complement to the brand’s commitment to the cultural field and he mentions: "Both the automobile sector and fine watchmaking have marked historically important milestones in the development of technology and design that creates interesting cross-connections which make this event so attracive to our customers". A. Lange & Söhne has created an individual special model of the Lange 1 Time Zone for the competition. Its hand-engraved case back in white gold displays the competition's coat of arms.
On the city ring of this time-zone watch, central European time is represented by the town of Como. Wilhelm Schmid will present this unique watch to the winner of the 'Best of Show' category at the award ceremony on May 25th, 2014.
For more info on A. Lange & Söhne click here.
SIHH 2104: A. Lange & Söhne Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase. Live Pictures and Pricing.
During the SIHH 2014 in Geneva, A. Lange & Söhne officially unveiled the new Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase that gives the exactly calculated to 122.6 years moon phase display a shiny appearance on the dial. A patented method of coating the moon's disk gives this astronomical complication a highly detailed appearance. The moon is a fascinating celestial body. It determines not only the tides, but also affects the rhythm of life of many creatures and plants. A moon phase display is therefore highly appreciated by many watch lovers. This new watch is available in three different metals: platinum, 18K pink gold and 18K yellow gold.
Since its relaunch, the Saxon manufacture has presented twelve models with such a complication. However, never before the moon phase display has been so prominent as it is in the new Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase. The popular astronomical display received a large stage on the dial. You can now clearly see how the moon phase display follows the actual phases of the moon in a remarkably realistic manner because it is linked to the continuum of the hour. Thus, it is — just like the moon itself— always on the move and in such small steps that you cannot detect this movement with the naked eye.
In addition, the moon phase indicator represents the time from new moon to new moon with an accuracy of 99.9978 percent. 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 3 seconds , the average synod lunar months. For simplicity, the cycle is therefore rounded in most classical moon phase displays to 29.5 days. This leads per cycle to a deviation of 44 minutes and 3 seconds, which adds up after two and a half years to one day. The much more accurately calculated seven-gear on the Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase reduces the deviation per lunar cycle to less than a minute. Once set up properly, you would have to correct the display by one day after 122.6 years. With a corrector push piece between 7 and 8 o'clock on the case band, the display can be adjusted.
The solid gold moon disc testifies the perfection claim of the Lange product developers. The result of extensive research and development work is a patented coating process that through an unparalleled color brilliance and sharpness of all the details meets the highest aesthetic standards. Due to interference effects —the superposition of reflections— all non-blue color components of the incoming daylight are absorbed. So is in the eye of the beholder an intensely blue color impression. The more than 300 stars of different size are cut so sharply drawn with a laser that they act like a miniaturized representation of the Milky Way.
With the combination of decentralized dial design, large date and technically advanced caliber, the Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase bears all the marks of the most famous family of watches from A. Lange & Söhne. The calibre with an impressive power reserve of 72 hours is only 4.7 mm thick thanks to the use of only one barrel. The case, available in yellow gold, rose gold or platinum has a diameter of 41.0 mm. With a balance spring developed and manufactured in-house, a three-quarter plate made of untreated German silver and intricately hand decorated parts, the Lange calibre L095.3 features all the classic elements of the timepieces from this manufacture.
Sticker Price 38,900 Euro for 18K Pink gold or 18K Yellow gold. 50,900 Euro for Platinum. For more info on A. Lange & Söhne click here.
SIHH 2014: A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Jewellery with Mother-of-Pearl Dial. Live Pictures.
In their 60 diamond-set —approximately one total carat— 18K white gold cases measuring 35 mm in diameter and 7.9 mm in thickness, the two new Saxonia Jewellery models constitute a fascinating combination of horological precision, superb artisanship and feminine elegance. The visible facets of all the members of the Saxonia watch family reflect the rich inner life of these timepieces. They represent a perfect embodiment of mechanical precision, sublime craftsmanship and well-balanced design. This also applies to the two new Saxonia models in white ref. 878.029 and brown ref. 878.038 dials. Both of these mesmerizing A. Lange & Söhne ladies’ watches are focusing on the very essence. With svelte hands and baton hour markers in rhodiumed gold, the scintillating white or brown inlaid mother-of-pearl dial indicates the hours and minutes, as well as the seconds on a subsidiary dial. Located at 6 o’clock, the subdial stands in equilibrium with the A. Lange & Söhne signature beneath 12 o’clock.
The cool gloss of 18K white gold emphasizes the graceful silhouette of the two-part case that sparkles with the exceptional fire of 60 brilliant-cut diamonds. Straps in white or brown crocodile leather match the color of the dial and amplify the glamorous charisma of these watches.
The manually wound manufacture calibre L941.2 inside the Saxonia Jewellery assures high timekeeping accuracy. When fully wound, it delivers a power reserve of 45 hours. The movement reflects the ambitious quest for aesthetic elegance down to the smallest detail. Surfaces lavishly decorated by hand as well as the Glashütte ribbing that adorns the three-quarter plate made of German silver manifest the pursuit of perfection as aptly as the screwed gold chatons and the hand-engraved balance cock. The sapphire-crystal case back reveals the movement as a showpiece of mechanical ingenuity, commensurate with the dazzling appearance of the watch.
For more info on A. Lange & Söhne click here.
SIHH 2014: A. Lange & Söhne 1815 in 38.5 mm. Live Pictures and Pricing.
Last week A. Lange & Söhne presented the new 1815 with a 38.5 mm case. The 1815 is a watch with all the unmistakable hallmarks of the A. Lange & Söhne style, the 1815 embodies the paradigmatic ideals of a sleek mechanical timekeeping instrument. Thus, it follows the horological standards upheld by Ferdinand A. Lange, whose birth year is reflected in its name. “Medèn ágan – nothing in excess” is one of the wisdoms of antiquity that advocates moderation and modesty at the entrance to the Temple of Delphi. Ferdinand A. Lange, the founder of the German precision watchmaking industry, may well have adopted it as the motto of his life. As a congenial expression of principles, it also characterises the style of his legendary pocket watches. They comply with his tenet that “each piece be as simple as possible and serve its purpose steadfastly and reliably”. This product philosophy also applies to the 1815. Each detail of its timeless design and each of the 188 parts of its manufacture movement derives its aesthetic appeal from the combination of functional integrity and immaculate craftsmanship.
Noble understatement permeates the finesse of the watch, which is available in 18K yellow, pink and white gold. Its 38.5-millimetre case diameter addresses the preference of many watch connoisseurs. The larger version with a diameter of 40 mm will continue to be available. With its two-tier design and the subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock, the solid-silver dial is reminiscent of Lange’s historic pocket watches. This look is emphasized by a gently contoured bezel and the slender lugs. A railway-track minute scale, black Arabic numerals and blued-steel hands accentuate the classic appearance of the watch and enhance the legibility of its silver face.
The lavishly hand-decorated hand wound calibre L051.1 epitomizes Lange’s acclaimed watchmaking artistry with its full unobstructed view via the display case back. The new 1815 showcases classic design and intrinsic values. Many traditional Lange hallmarks are visible through the sapphire-crystal caseback: the three-quarter plate made of untreated German silver, a hand-engraved balance cock, a screw balance, a whiplash spring, screwed gold chatons, and thermally blued screws are manifestations of haute horlogerie at its very finest. This fine calibre composed of 188 parts and 23 jewels —five of which are in screwed gold chatons— provides a power reserve of 55 hours.
The new A. Lange & Söhne 1815 is pure class and one of the best examples from this manufacture from Saxony. The new 1815 will be available in 18K yellow gold, 18K pink gold and 18K white gold.
Sticker Price $27,100 USD for 18K Yellow and 18K Pink Gold. $28,400 USD for 18K white gold. For more info on A. Lange & Söhne click here.
SIHH 2014: Experience the A. Lange & Söhne Pavilion. A Gigantic Perpetual Calendar "Terraluna" as the Centerpiece.
With an oversized representation of the new Richard Lange Perpetual Calendar "Terraluna" in white gold, the German manufacture from Saxony welcomed all the visitors to their pavilion. Meticulously executed and in full functioning order, the gigantic "Terraluna" was a display that you just couldn't miss. Inside the pavilion, a celestial vaulted ceiling adorned the room where amazing timepieces were on display. Champagne, German beer and the traditional pretzels where served all day long. This year at the SIHH 2014, A. Lange & Söhne wowed everyone with 14 watches across their different collections and in a variety of metals including:
Grande Lange 1 Moon Phase in platinum, 18K pink gold and 18K yellow gold. Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar in 18K pink gold. 1815 Tourbillon in 18K pink gold and in platinum. 1815 in 38.5 mm in 18K pink gold, 18K yellow gold and 18K white gold. Lange Zeitwerk Striking Time in 18K pink gold. Saxonia Jewellery in 18K white gold with diamonds and mother-of-pearl dials. Richard Lange Perpetual Calendar "Terraluna" in 18K white gold and 18K pink gold.
Now enjoy the pictures and pretend you came along. For more info on A. Lange & Söhne click here.
SIHH 2014: A. Lange & Söhne Lange Zeitwerk Striking Time in Pink Gold. Live Pictures and Pricing.
Up until now only available in platinum or 18K white gold, this year at the SIHH 2014, A. Lange & Söhne presented the Lange Zeitwerk Striking Time in 18K pink gold ref. 140.032. Three high-pitched chimes and one lower-pitched tone are the sounds with which this fascinating watch announces each passing quarter and full hour. The first A. Lange & Söhne wristwatch with a chiming mechanism is now also available in pink gold. A. Lange & Söhne amazed the watch collecting world when it presented the Lange Zeitwerk Striking Time three years ago. Now, the resonant masterpiece with precisely jumping numerals is also available in pink gold with a silver dial and pink gold hands. With a case measuring 44.2 mm in diameter this watch has perfect proportions and a striking design.
In the Lange Zeitwerk Striking Time, key chiming mechanism components are visibly integrated into the dial design. The black-polished steel hammers can be seen on either side of the subsidiary seconds dial: one on the right for the quarter hours and one on the left for the full hours. The two gongs, embedded in a recess between the dial and bezel, are also readily recognizable. Every 15 minutes, the mechanism triggers the striking of one of the two gongs. The chiming mechanism can be deactivated to prevent any disturbance during the night or at a meeting with a push piece at 4 o’clock that raises the hammers and silences the watch.
The heart of the Lange Zeitwerk Striking Time, the L043.2 manufacture calibre, fulfills all those expectations that watch connoisseurs legitimately associate with the name A. Lange & Söhne: its assets include the lavish decoration of all movement parts by hand as well as the balance wheel with eccentric poising weights and a proprietary Lange balance spring. This amazing calibre is composed of 528 parts, 78 jewels, two screwed gold chatons and provides a power reserve of 36 hours when fully wound.
With its precisely jumping numerals display, the new member of the Lange Zeitwerk family also represents lucid design and crisp legibility. The large numerals of the adjacent hour and minute indications enable the current time to be read clearly. In fractions of a second, the patented constant-force escapement advances the numerals minute by minute until the full hour when all three numeral discs jump forward simultaneously by exactly one increment. The Lange Zeitwerk Striking Time enriches the exciting interplay of numbers with a unique tone in a quarter-hour cadence for the wearer’s listening pleasure. In all a fantastic complication with exceptional wrist presence.
Sticker Price 48,500 Euro. For more info on A. Lange & Söhne click here.
SIHH 2014: A. Lange & Söhne Presents the Richard Lange Perpetual Calendar Terraluna. Live Pictures and Pricing.
A. Lange & Söhne wowed the industry with the unveiling of the horological masterpiece the Richard Lange Perpetual Calendar "Terraluna". This fascinating perpetual calendar aside of providing you with four precise jumping displays for the date, day, month and leap year, includes a patent pending orbital moon phase display, a constant force escapement that delivers accurate timekeeping with an outstanding power reserve of 14 days. The watch is available in 18K white gold or 18K pink gold is fitted with two sides equally impressive and very unique in terms of complication and functionality.
Fitted with a solid and robust case measuring 45.5 mm in diameter and 16.5 mm thick, the watch stands out with the regulator layout of scientific precision watches. The movement side presents an innovative and useful orbital moon-phase display that depicts the constellation of the earth, moon, and sun. The circles of the time indication and the perpetual calendar apertures characterize the design of this new watch. The large minute circle is at the top of the dial, while the smaller dials for the hours and seconds are beneath it, shifted toward the right and left.
As was already the case with the Richard Lange Tourbillon “Pour le Mérite” presented in 2011, this dial design was inspired by a great historic role model: Johann Heinrich Seyffert’s 1807 regulator from the world-famous timepiece collection of the Mathematics and Physics Salon. With his ingenious designs, Seyffert helped transform Dresden into a hub of precision horology in the early 19th century. A great advantage in precision pocket watches, the regulator format was appreciated not only by time-keeping services and observatories, but also by watchmaking manufactures where it was used for synchronizing new timepieces. This is because it provided an accurate display of the minutes and seconds.
Beneath the characteristic Lange outsize date —the first one in a model of the Richard Lange collection, incidentally— two smaller apertures show the day of the week on the left and the month on the right. Thanks to this arrangement, the calendar displays can be easily read at a glance. The calendar is mechanically programmed to correctly display the different durations of the months in a year as well as those in leap years until 2100. The leap-year indication is located in a small round window on the right-hand side of the 15 of the minute circle. All displays of the calendar switch forward instantaneously to assure unambiguous readings at all times. To keep the power for the switching process as low as possible, the required energy is gradually built up via a cam and then released abruptly at midnight.
An exciting technical innovation can be seen on the movement side: there, the patent-pending orbital moon-phase display shows the location of the moon relative to the earth and the sun – for the first time ever in a wristwatch. The display consists of three discs. On the star-studded celestial disc, the moon –visible through a round aperture– orbits around the earth anti-clockwise once a month. The mechanism reproduces the synodic month of 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 3 seconds so precisely that it takes 1058 years before the display needs to be corrected by one day. Beneath it, the lunar disc rotates, featuring two round new moons. The progression of the moon phases can be observed through the aperture in the celestial disc. In the constellation view, the position of the sun is occupied by the balance. On new-moon days, the dark moon stands between the earth and the sun. It appears as a bright sphere on the opposite side of the earth on full-moon days. Thus, the position and phase of the moon are indicated simultaneously. In the center of the display, the earth rotates about its own axis once a day. It is daytime on the half that faces the sun, or the balance, and night-time on the other. The peripheral 24-hour scale provides a time-of-day reference for the northern hemisphere.
The ambitious precision goals of Lange’s product developers come to the fore not only in the configuration of the moon-phase display mechanism, which consists of three solid white-gold discs, but also in its design. To achieve a vivid and aesthetically sophisticated image of the orbiting moon-phase display, they chose a special coating process. On the celestial disc, for example, interference effects absorb all of the non-blue color spectra of the incident light. The result is a deep-blue surface studded with more than a thousand high-contrast, sharply contoured stars.
At the 6-o’clock position, a power-reserve indicator in the form of a circumferential ring tells the owner when the time has come to replenish the movement with fresh energy via the winding crown. The Lange manufacture manual wound calibre L096.1 is crafted to the most exacting Lange quality standards, decorated and assembled by hand; precision-adjusted in five positions with a twin mainspring barrel, constant-force escapement with remontoir spring produced in-house, a three-quarter plate made of untreated German silver and a balance cock engraved by hand. This fascinating calibre is composed of 787 parts, 80 jewels —one screwed in a gold chaton— and provides 336 hours of power reserve —14 days— when fully wound while beating at a frequency of 21,600 vph.
The 18K pink gold model ref. 180.032 is fitted with a hand-stitched reddish-brown crocodile strap with Lange deployant buckle, while the 18K white gold model ref. 180.026 comes with a black crocodile strap also with Lange deployant buckle.
Sticker Price 18K white gold 186,000 Euro and 18K pink gold 185,000 Euro.
For more info on A. Lange & Söhne SIHH 2014 Novelties click here.
News: Pre SIHH 2014 A. Lange & Söhne Unveils the Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase. More Than 300 Laser-Cut Stars on its Moon Phase Disc.
Pre SIHH 2014, A. Lange & Söhne unveils the new Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase that gives the exactly calculated to 122.6 years moon phase display a shiny appearance on the dial. A patented method of coating the moon's disk gives this astronomical complication a highly detailed appearance. The moon is a fascinating celestial body. It determines not only the tides, but also affects the rhythm of life of many creatures and plants. A moon phase display is therefore highly appreciated by many watch lovers.
Since its relaunch, the Saxon manufacture has presented twelve models with such a complication. However, never before the moon phase display has been so prominent as it is in the new Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase. The popular astronomical display received a large stage on the dial. You can now clearly see how the moon phase display follows the actual phases of the moon in a remarkably realistic manner because it is linked to the continuum of the hour. Thus, it is — just like the moon itself— always on the move and in such small steps that you cannot detect this movement with the naked eye.
In addition, the moon phase indicator represents the time from new moon to new moon with an accuracy of 99.9978 percent. 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 3 seconds , the average synod lunar months. For simplicity, the cycle is therefore rounded in most classical moon phase displays to 29.5 days. This leads per cycle to a deviation of 44 minutes and 3 seconds, which adds up after two and a half years to one day. The much more accurately calculated seven-gear on the Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase reduces the deviation per lunar cycle to less than a minute. Once set up properly, you would have to correct the display by one day after 122.6 years. With a corrector pushpiece between 7 and 8 o'clock on the case band, the display can be adjusted. The solid gold moon disc testifies the perfection claim of the Lange product developers. The result of extensive research and development work is a patented coating process that through an unparalleled color brilliance and sharpness of all the details meets the highest aesthetic standards. Due to interference effects —the superposition of reflections— all non-blue color components of the incoming daylight are absorbed. So is in the eye of the beholder an intensely blue color impression. The more than 300 stars of different size are cut so sharply drawn with a laser that they act like a miniaturized representation of the Milky Way .
With the combination of decentralized dial design, large date and technically advanced caliber, the Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase bears all the marks of the most famous family of watches from A. Lange & Söhne. The calibre with an impressive power reserve of 72 hours is only 4.7 mm thick thanks to the use of only one barrel. The case, available in yellow gold, rose gold or platinum has a diameter of 41.0 mm. With a balance spring developed and manufactured in-house, a three-quarter plate made of untreated German silver and intricately hand decorated parts, the Lange calibre L095.3 features all the classic elements of the timepieces from this manufacture.
For more info on A. Lange & Söhne click here.
