Lange continues to roll out exceptional models
The brand’s new collection merges traditional Saxon watchmaking with contemporary sophistication
Richard Lange Jumping Seconds
LAUNCHED nine years ago, this 39.9 mm model which puts the spotlight on the seconds – the smallest of the three units of time – is still setting benchmarks in precision timekeeping and legibility.
The latest version, the fourth Richard Lange Jumping Seconds, comes in a white gold case. Its dial is rendered in 750 pink gold – which has 75 per cent purity – marking the fourth such dial in Lange’s collection.
Richard Lange was the firstborn son of the marque’s founder, Ferdinand Adolph Lange, and this model is a tribute to his significant contributions to precision watchmaking.
The superb accuracy of the Jumping Seconds rests on a patented constant-force escapement, a jumping seconds and a zero-reset mechanism, all uniquely fused together.
Tremendous energy is required to pump this highly sophisticated timepiece. The constant-force escapement keeps a rock-steady flow of energy for the jumping seconds hand to tick precisely 60 times a minute.
The zero-reset mechanism is also an energy guzzler. The escapement ensures that when the crown is pulled, the seconds hand instantly snaps to zero, allowing time to be set with perfect accuracy.
A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU
Friday, 2 pm
Lifestyle
Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself.
With the seconds taking centre-stage, the largest of the three time circles on the dial is given to that unit; the two smaller ones below, on the left and right, indicate the hours and minutes.
A triangular indication where the hour and minute circles meet turns red 10 hours before the power reserve (42 hours) is exhausted – a reminder to rewind the watch.
The Richard Lange Jumping Seconds is equipped with a hand-wound movement, made in-house. The elegant timepiece, a limited edition of 100 pieces, is worn on a dark-growth leather strap which has a 750 white gold-prong buckle.
1815
In his quest for perfection, Ferdinand Adolph Lange would have found it in the 1815, a timepiece named after the year of his birth. A discreet classic three-hand watch, simple and easy on the wrist, it has many traditional references that hark back to the watchmaking days of yore.
Lange’s founder had a vision of pocket watches that were elegant, yet precise and functional at the same time. The 1815 follows this tradition, with the latest model in a graceful and unpretentious 34 mm case, in 750 pink or white gold.
An ideal companion for a business day, the timepiece recalls the marque’s earlier pocket watches. The time is indicated by three 750 gold hands on a blue dial displaying a railway-track minute scale, Arabic numerals and a subsidiary seconds.
The white gold model is paired with a blue leather strap, while the pink gold watch comes with a reddish-brown leather strap. The 1815 is powered by a hand-wound movement with 72 hours’ power reserve.
Minute Repeater Perpetual
Encased in 950 (95 per cent pure) platinum, this 40.5 mm timepiece with a gold and black enamel dial incorporates two of the most sophisticated horological complications. The 50-piece limited-edition minute repeater and perpetual calendar watch, elaborately finished by hand, runs on a new in-house, hand-wound mechanical movement with 72 hours’ power reserve.
Each of the complications represents a technical feat. When combined, they pose an even greater challenge to make. As Lange explains, “precise tuning and harmonising of all the mechanisms requires a superior degree of technical expertise and craftsmanship”.
This involves orchestrating 194 parts for the minute repeater alone, including the gong hammers and gongs that produce the melodies signalling the hours, quarter-hours and minutes.
Add in the perpetual calendar, and the task multiplies, growing exponentially more complex. The artisanally finished movement that keeps the double complication ticking consists of 640 components.
The resulting crystal-clear sound, enhanced by the acoustic properties of platinum, shows that Lange is up to the task. The perpetual calendar is also impressive, requiring a correction of one day only on Mar 1, 2100.
The moonphase display needs to be corrected by just one day as well, in 122.6 years’ time. Despite the intricacies involved, the adjustments can be made with a single corrector. Both moons on this display are in 750 gold, surrounded by more than 100 stars – all hand-engraved.
The Minute Repeater Perpetual is paired with a hand-stitched alligator strap with a deployment platinum buckle.
Zeitwerk Date
The Zeitwerk is almost as recognisable as the Lange 1, widely seen as the face of the brand. Unlike most timepieces, in which the numerals are arranged around the edge of the dial, this mechanical digital timepiece has prominent hour and minute numerals lined from left to right on the dial’s centre.
Based on a jumping numerals mechanism with a precisely jumping digital display, the Zeitwerk, launched in 2009, has expanded its line to models that are luminous, indicate the time acoustically, and show the date as well.
The Zeitwerk Date was first introduced in 2019, in white gold. Apart from the jumping numerals mechanism, it also has an innovative date ring circling the dial. Made of printed glass, this displays the numerals 1 to 31.
A small colour segment on a ring under the date ring performs one step exactly at midnight. The current date appears in red and, over the course of a month, it moves around the dial to complete one full revolution. It can be seen at a glance how far the month has progressed. The date can be corrected with the pusher at 8 o’clock.
The latest Zeitwerk Date model is available in a 44.2 mm case in 750 pink gold, framing a grey dial like the original. Nestled underneath is a hand-wound mechanical movement with a power reserve of 72 hours.
The timepiece is paired with a dark-brown, hand-stitched alligator strap, with a 750 pink gold-prong buckle.
Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.
