Pre-SIHH 2018: A. Lange & Sohne 1815 “Homage to Walter Lange”. In honour of company founder Walter Lange, who passed away in January 2017, A. Lange & Söhne is enriching the 1815 model family with an extraordinary complication.
In fact, the 1815 “Homage to Walter Lange” has a stoppable jumping seconds hand that dates back to a 150-year-old invention conceived by Ferdinand Adolph Lange.
In honour of company founder Walter Lange, who passed away in January 2017, A. Lange & Söhne is enriching the 1815 model family with an extraordinary complication.
In fact, the 1815 “Homage to Walter Lange” has a stoppable jumping seconds hand that dates back to a 150-year-old invention conceived by Ferdinand Adolph Lange.
In most mechanical watches the seconds hand advances with a smooth sweeping action. Depending on the balance frequency, the hand advances from second to second in five to ten steps. With jumping seconds, instead, the hand advances in full steps of one second allowing the exact measurement of this unit of time.
The 1815 “Homage to Walter Lange” masters both chronometric approaches. The small seconds hand in the subsidiary dial at 6 o’clock maps the frequency of 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour by performing six small steps as it advances from marker to marker. At the same time, the blued sweep seconds hand performs precise jumps from second to second.
Interestingly, it can be allowed to run continuously or immobilised if needed by using the start/stop pusher at 2 o’clock.
This complication - jumping seconds with start/stop function - was especially significant for Walter Lange as it dates back to an 1867 invention of his great-grandfather, Ferdinand Adolph Lange which was later implemented in a timepiece crafted by his grandfather, Emil Lange.
One of Germany’s first patents was granted to A. Lange & Söhne in 1877 for the enhanced design of a mechanism mounted on the three-quarter plate, and was referred to as a “one-second movement with a jumping hand”.
In the 1815 “Homage to Walter Lange”, the seconds jump is controlled according to the flirt-and-star principle, as was originally the case in the historic mechanism. After each full second, one of the six tips of the star liberates the tensioned lever arm, which watchmakers refer to as the “flirt”. It then swiftly rotates by 360 degrees before it is stopped by the next tip. This motion sequence causes the seconds hand to advance by one marker. The ratchet wheel located above the three-quarter plate has a dual function: it stores the power needed for the seconds jump, and at the same time causes the sweep seconds hand to stop.
The newly developed movement has a special calibre designation: L1924. It refers to Walter Lange’s birth year. Additionally, the first three digits of the reference number, 297, recall his date of birth, 29 July. With a case diameter of 40.5 millimetres, the 1815 “Homage to Walter Lange” comes in three editions: 145 watches in white gold, 90 in pink gold and 27 in yellow gold.
These uncommon numbers are derived from important milestones of the Lange family’s history. From 7 December 1845, when Ferdinand Adolph Lange originally established the company, exactly 145 years elapsed until 7 December 1990, the date on which Walter Lange registered Lange Uhren GmbH. Precisely 27 years will have passed between this date and 7 December 2017, the day on which the new model that pays tribute to Walter Lange is being unveiled. The price of the A. Lange & Söhne 1815 “Homage to Walter Lange” in gold (yellow, white or pink) is Euro 48,200.
In addition to these limited edition pieces, A. Lange & Söhne will also produce a one-of-a-kind 1815 “Homage to Walter Lange” with a black enamel dial and a case crafted from stainless steel, a material that the German brand has reserved for only a very few exclusive and special timepieces. The steel version will be auctioned off for a charitable purpose in 2018. alange-soehne.com
In fact, the 1815 “Homage to Walter Lange” has a stoppable jumping seconds hand that dates back to a 150-year-old invention conceived by Ferdinand Adolph Lange.
In most mechanical watches the seconds hand advances with a smooth sweeping action. Depending on the balance frequency, the hand advances from second to second in five to ten steps. With jumping seconds, instead, the hand advances in full steps of one second allowing the exact measurement of this unit of time.
The 1815 “Homage to Walter Lange” masters both chronometric approaches. The small seconds hand in the subsidiary dial at 6 o’clock maps the frequency of 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour by performing six small steps as it advances from marker to marker. At the same time, the blued sweep seconds hand performs precise jumps from second to second.
This complication - jumping seconds with start/stop function - was especially significant for Walter Lange as it dates back to an 1867 invention of his great-grandfather, Ferdinand Adolph Lange which was later implemented in a timepiece crafted by his grandfather, Emil Lange.
One of Germany’s first patents was granted to A. Lange & Söhne in 1877 for the enhanced design of a mechanism mounted on the three-quarter plate, and was referred to as a “one-second movement with a jumping hand”.
In the 1815 “Homage to Walter Lange”, the seconds jump is controlled according to the flirt-and-star principle, as was originally the case in the historic mechanism. After each full second, one of the six tips of the star liberates the tensioned lever arm, which watchmakers refer to as the “flirt”. It then swiftly rotates by 360 degrees before it is stopped by the next tip. This motion sequence causes the seconds hand to advance by one marker. The ratchet wheel located above the three-quarter plate has a dual function: it stores the power needed for the seconds jump, and at the same time causes the sweep seconds hand to stop.
The newly developed movement has a special calibre designation: L1924. It refers to Walter Lange’s birth year. Additionally, the first three digits of the reference number, 297, recall his date of birth, 29 July. With a case diameter of 40.5 millimetres, the 1815 “Homage to Walter Lange” comes in three editions: 145 watches in white gold, 90 in pink gold and 27 in yellow gold.
These uncommon numbers are derived from important milestones of the Lange family’s history. From 7 December 1845, when Ferdinand Adolph Lange originally established the company, exactly 145 years elapsed until 7 December 1990, the date on which Walter Lange registered Lange Uhren GmbH. Precisely 27 years will have passed between this date and 7 December 2017, the day on which the new model that pays tribute to Walter Lange is being unveiled. The price of the A. Lange & Söhne 1815 “Homage to Walter Lange” in gold (yellow, white or pink) is Euro 48,200.
In addition to these limited edition pieces, A. Lange & Söhne will also produce a one-of-a-kind 1815 “Homage to Walter Lange” with a black enamel dial and a case crafted from stainless steel, a material that the German brand has reserved for only a very few exclusive and special timepieces. The steel version will be auctioned off for a charitable purpose in 2018. alange-soehne.com
When and where will the auction take place?
ReplyDeleteNot yet specified. We guess it will be announced on occasion of SIHH 2018 (January 15-19).
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