Wunderbar!!! The Teutonic Expressions of A. Lange und Söhne... Zeitwerk and 31 in focus

the richard lange pour le mérite (order of merit)... the pour le mérite being a distinction bestowed to their models with chain and fusée mechanism... a beauty... a challenge would be to get the multi-layer enamel dials right... but if done right, it's a stunner for sure...

i may have just exhausted my German wif the title of the post :) although i don't own a Lange & Söhne, i definitely can appreciate the timepieces that they've brought to the world since they resurrected in 1994... its really not a long time back but they have really accomplished so much since then and introduced some wonderful teutonic expressions in the world of horology...

the men who were there at the beginning... Hartmut Knothe(then CEO), Walter Lange(grandson of Ferdinand Adolphe Lange & guardian of its legacy, the spirit of the brand) & the late Günter Blümlein(Head of Les Manufactures Horlogères)...if u have time, i encourage you to read up more about Mr Blümlein and his legacy... a respected visionary in horology... he knew a thing or two about creating and selling emotion, tradition, dreams in the timepieces for the companies under his charge...

Lange had such a fantastic beginning and with such a great range of watches that were made in just its first 5 years alone... the Lange 1, the Tourbillon Pour Le Merite, the Datograph... at the heart of it, there is a philosophy to strive and build the watch of the future retaining the values of the past... 'state of the art tradition' as they say and today we have a chance to see two of their newer releases where this is evident...

say hello to the Zeitwerk! in the metal the watch is much nicer than press pics i have seen...

a well finished movement wif trademark Lange elements including the superlative finishing...

the different wheels for the hour and minutes digits... not all at the same level and some present had mentioned that they would prefer if it were more flush...

when i first saw the zeitwerks face... the things that popped into my mind was bells, marine instruments and NIGHTWING!! ;)

One in the hand... i'm sure it'll see strong demand... it is priced reasonably too for its level of innovation and its a Lange :)

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A constant-force escapement, also patented, between the barrel wheel and the balance acts as a pacemaker for the jumping advance of the hours and minutes and theres something called a fly governor on the right side... [u don't have to be a genius to figure out the images in my head when 'fly governor' was mentioned ;) spiffy looking outfit, maybe a monocle...]

a watch lover inspecting the fine movement... probably thinking which metal to get it in at this moment ;)

the lange 31...a big watch... 46mm and pretty heavy... a 31 day power reserve is something else though... long PR watches are great coz u don't have to keep on winding them... perhaps in time they could achieve something in a smaller and more wearable size and weight for a classic styled long PR watch... this is no doubt a technical tour de force though...

it too has a constant force mechanism to try and ensure accuracy through its 32 days... oh yes it goes on for more than 31 :)

a much better press pic of the piece...

winding key... which has the overwind prevention mechanism in it...

Joanna Gribben from Lange Academy was the lady present to share with us on the technical achievements and innovations of the 2 watches... Joanna has been with Lange for sometime now, I believe 8 years, and i am sure she is doing an excellent job there... i remember meeting her in 2007 iirc for the House of Lange exhibition in Sentosa... she was my group's guide for the tour around the exhibition and she is definitely a storehouse of knowledge on A Lange & Söhne

other interesting watches and comparisons... the Double Split head to head with the Datograph... both great watches but it will be the Dato for me over the DS. the DS being too big (diameter and thickness) and heavy...

both house fantastic looking multi-layered movement architectures though...

a closer look at the DS movement...

the original 1815... a nice simple classic dress watch... and a good size... the new ones are great too impo

Glashütte three-quarter plate... plates and bridges of German silver... hand engraved balance cock, the gold chatons combined with red rubies and blued screws... its all there...

and the best thing about these events... gives the raphmeister time to catch up with the boyz...

two shots to end... testing a dato perpetual...

& one more of that wonderful DS movement...

i would like to thank once again the great team at Sincere Watch Academy & Lange & Söhne for hosting us and Joanna for sharing with us at this session. I believe that the next talks, colloquiams will be in early Q2 2010 after the SIHH and Basel fairs, so do register at the SWA site.

hope u enjoyed the post... & have a great weekend [5 Dec 09] cheers, raph