Presented today by at A. Lange & Sohne at SIHH 2016, the new Richard Lange Jumping Seconds is a masterpiece of technical perfection. The Richard Lange Jumping Seconds combines the utmost precision with outstanding legibility thanks to an integrated jumping mechanism. Launched in a limited edition of 100 watches, the A. Lange & Sohne Richard Lange Jumping Seconds has a price of Euro 78,000.
Presented by at A. Lange & Sohne at SIHH 2016, the new Richard Lange Jumping Seconds is a masterpiece of technical perfection.
Crafted from platinum, the 39.9 mm case frames a rhodié-coloured regulator dial with the large seconds circle at the top. The smaller hour and minute circles arranged beneath it are shifted to the left and right.
A red indicator – inside a triangular aperture in the dial where the hour and minute circles intersect – reminds the owner to rewind the watch ten hours before the power reserve is depleted.
The new 2.5 Hz (21,600 vph) L094.1 hand wound manufacture calibre stands out with an ingenious arrangement that distributes constant-force generation and the seconds jump to two interacting wheel trains.
The first wheel train extends from the mainspring barrel to balance and in one-second intervals uniformly delivers energy to the escapement via a constant-force device which compensates not only the gradually waning force of the mainspring but also offsets possible torque fluctuations while the seconds jump is executed. The result is a constant amplitude across the entire power reserve range of up to 42 hours.
The mainspring barrel powers the jumping mechanism via the second wheel train whose task is to convert the balance frequency of six semi-oscillations per second into one single step of the seconds hand.
A. Lange & Sohne explains: "As was already the case with Ferdinand Adolph Lange's invention, this process is controlled by a five-point star attached to the escape wheel arbor. It can be observed beneath a transparent sapphire-crystal disc as it rotates about its own axis, together with the escape wheel, once every five seconds. Every second, one point of the star liberates the so-called flirt. This long lever, powered by the mainspring, then executes an instantaneous rotation through 360 degrees, after which it is arrested by the next point of the star. The 360-degree rotation, transmitted by the wheel train connected to the fourth-wheel arbor, moves the seconds hand to the next full-second marker. At the same time, the jump switching impetus is used to deliver fresh energy to the remontoir spring of the constant-force escapement."
The balance wheel, with eccentric poising weights and free-sprung balance spring, contributes to the superior rate accuracy of the watch.
Thanks to the ZERO-RESET mechanism equipped with a multi-disc clutch, when the crown is pulled, a complex system of levers blocks the balance and the seconds hand jumps to the zero position making it very easy to synchronize the watch.
The finishing of the 390-part movement meets the highest standards with bridges made of untreated German silver and decorated with Glashütte ribbing, hand-engraved balance cock, eight screwed gold chatons.
Launched in a limited edition of 100 watches, the A. Lange & Sohne Richard Lange Jumping Seconds (ref. 252.025) has a price of Euro 78,000. alange-soehne.com
- Check out more SIHH 2016 novelties here
Reinterpreting the guidelines of scientific observation watches - mechanical timepieces reduced to the function of time measurement and devoted entirely to achieving the highest degree of accuracy - the Richard Lange Jumping Seconds combines the utmost precision with outstanding legibility thanks to an integrated jumping mechanism which makes it possible to display the time in strict one-second intervals, exactly 60 steps per minute.
The jumping seconds mechanism is not a novelty in A. Lange & Söhne's history. Ferdinand Adolph Lange developed a "one-second movement with a jumping hand" as early as 1867, an invention which was awarded with a patent ten years later.
Crafted from platinum, the 39.9 mm case frames a rhodié-coloured regulator dial with the large seconds circle at the top. The smaller hour and minute circles arranged beneath it are shifted to the left and right.
The first wheel train extends from the mainspring barrel to balance and in one-second intervals uniformly delivers energy to the escapement via a constant-force device which compensates not only the gradually waning force of the mainspring but also offsets possible torque fluctuations while the seconds jump is executed. The result is a constant amplitude across the entire power reserve range of up to 42 hours.
The mainspring barrel powers the jumping mechanism via the second wheel train whose task is to convert the balance frequency of six semi-oscillations per second into one single step of the seconds hand.
Thanks to the ZERO-RESET mechanism equipped with a multi-disc clutch, when the crown is pulled, a complex system of levers blocks the balance and the seconds hand jumps to the zero position making it very easy to synchronize the watch.
Launched in a limited edition of 100 watches, the A. Lange & Sohne Richard Lange Jumping Seconds (ref. 252.025) has a price of Euro 78,000. alange-soehne.com
- Check out more SIHH 2016 novelties here
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