A quarter of a decade after its modern reinvention in 1994, A. Lange & Söhne introduced its first steel sports watch. The A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus marked the German watch manufacturer’s first foray into stainless steel, having previously exclusively employed ‘noble metals’. While the A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus launched into a highly saturated market, it offered its own spin on the steel sports watch category, with a distinctly elegant streamlined appearance and a circular bezel that deviated from the slew of angular releases.
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Now, four years later, the German watch manufacturer has launched its first self-winding chronograph. The A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus Chronograph largely resembles that of the three-hand model, with the exception of two new centrally-mounted hands to denote elapsed minutes and seconds, respectively. Within the 42.5mm stainless teel case, the matte black dial is framed by a palladium-coloured flange ring with a printed two-part minute scale, while the hour and minute hands take on the lancet shape typical of the brand.
Inspired by the Five-Minute Clock in the Dresden Semper Opera, the date and day-of-the-week displays take on an oversized appearance. To mark the opening of the Opera House in 1841, Court Clockmaker Johann Christian Friedrich Gutkaes created a digital clock, something that was uncommon at the time. He was both an apprentice master and father-in-law to Ferdinand Adolph Lange, the founding father of Glashütte precision watchmaking.
The pushers on the side of the watch work to serve double duty. When the crown is pushed in, the pushers operate the chronograph, however, when the crown is pulled out, they’re used to set the day and date. What’s more is, when the chronograph function is reset, the minute and seconds hands engage in a sort of ‘dance’ with each other. When the pusher at 4 o’clock is operated, the minute hand jumps back to zero in the conventional manner, while the red seconds hand “covers the entire distance travelled beforehand within a fraction of a second — one full revolution for each measured minute.”
A. Lange & Söhne explains that: “If the minute counter has not reached 30 minutes yet, the two hands will move counterclockwise. If the minute counter has passed 30, the hands will go clockwise. At high speed, the chrono seconds hand performs a full revolution for every minute required to reach the full hour.”
Despite its external beauty, it’s what’s inside the A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus Chronograph that counts (literally). The timepiece is powered by the new L156.1 Datomatic calibre which allows for the ‘dancing’ hands upon the push of the reset-to-zero function. Notably, the calibre also expands the chronograph’s measuring range from 30 to 60 minutes.
A boutique-only release, the A. Lange & Söhne Odysseus Chronograph is available in a limited release of 100 examples.
Words by John Deckard
