A testament to the impact a simple outfit change can make, the A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 has received a dark makeover. Initially released two years ago—in white gold with a salmon dial and rose gold with a gray dial—the timepiece marked the German manufacture’s first perpetual calendar which came devoid of other complications.
Here, the Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar takes on a sleek tone, with a 41.9mm platinum case playing host to a smooth black dial. A moon phase has also been added into the mix, injecting a pop of cobalt blue into the otherwise greyscale dial.
Finding harmony through asymmetry, the atypical dial layout features a month ring on the periphery, while an oversized off-centre hours and minutes sundial holds court at 3 o’clock (or in this case, at February). A moonphase complication (which features a spiral guilloché pattern on the lower half) with day/night indicator sits between 7 and 8 o’clock (or June!) and next to it is a day of the week indicator in an arc formation. Each calendar indication can be operated collectively or separately, and, once set correctly, are accurate until 2100.
The perpetual calendar complication has been a hallmark of A. Lange & Söhne for over two decades now, with the creation of the Langematik Perpetual in 2001.
“The commitment to tailor the complex mechanical requirements to the characteristic design of the Lange 1 presented our developers with constructive challenges, as the large peripheral ring has to be advanced instantaneously by 30 degrees from one month to the next. Throughout the month, energy is collected via a cam in order to provide the required power exactly on time, at midnight on the last day of the month,” explains Anthony de Haas, director of product Development at A. Lange & Söhne. “Thanks to this design feature in the Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar, the watch familyʼs distinctive face is maintained. The timepiece is therefore also emblematic of our philosophy to continuously break new ground in the realm of precision watchmaking.”
Visible through the sapphire crystal caseback, the in-house calibre L021.3 is hand-finished and assembled twice. One of the movement’s most striking features is a unidirectional winding rotor crafted from 21k gold, with a centrifugal mass rendered in platinum. Lange signatures include plates and bridges made of untreated German silver and finished with Glashütte ribbing, gold chatons secured with blued-steel screws, and an engraved balance cock. Beating at a frequency of f 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour, it’s equipped with a 50 hour power reserve. As with many A. Lange & Söhne timepieces, the back is just as striking as the front.
The A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar is presented on a black leather strap, with pricing details yet to be announced.
Words by Henry Blake
