SIHH 2011 A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Striking Time

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Nearly two years ago, when A. Lange & Söhne announced the beginning of a new epoch with the LANGE ZEITWERK and its unusual design hallmarks, the declared objective was to depart from the beaten track. So it is no coincidence that the first chiming Lange watch is a “ZEITWERK” as well. Additionally, its mechanical design concept offers ideal prerequisites for the integration of a strike train. When the numeral discs are advanced, a sizeable force vector is unleashed, so after the switching cycle, enough energy remains for other purposes. These reserves are now used by the chiming mechanism to tension the springs that actuate the two hammers. They are made of black-polished steel and are integrated in the dial layout on either side of the subsidiary seconds. The one on the left strikes the hours, the one on the right the quarter-hours. The two gongs are also readily discernible: they are suspended in a recess between the dial and the bezel. In quarter-hour intervals, the mechanism triggers a strike on one of the two gongs. A higher-pitched tone signals the quarter-hours and a lower-pitched one sounds at the top of the hour.

In precision watchmaking, the quarter-hour chime is a rare and decidedly useful function. The ability to turn it on or off is just as welcome: Actuating the push piece at 4 o’clock causes the chiming mechanism to remain mute. The mode is easy to verify, because a glance through the sapphire-crystal glass shows whether or not the hammers are deflected away from the gongs. Incidentally, the hammers are also A Resonant Masterpiece: LANGE ZEITWERK STRIKING TIME, retracted when the crown is pulled. This allows the time to be set in either direction without activating and inadvertently jamming the chiming mechanism.

With its precisely jumping numeric display, the LANGE ZEITWERK STRIKING TIME also stands for uncompromising lucidity in style. The large hour and minute numerals in adjacent apertures always deliver an unambiguous reading of the current time. Accompanied by a soft click and hardly perceivable by the human eye, the numerals advance minute by minute, powered by the patented constant-force escapement. The grand jump takes place at the top of the hour when all three numeral discs advance simultaneously by exactly one increment. Now, the captivating progression of time is enriched by an acoustic accent every fifteen minutes.

Needless to say, the manufacture calibre L043.2 inside the LANGE ZEITWERK STRIKING TIME fulfils all expectations that watch lovers around the world associate with the venerable marque A. Lange & Söhne, including the lavish manual decoration of all movement parts as well as the balance wheel with eccentric poising weights and Lange’s proprietary balance spring. The sonorous timepiece comes in a 44.2-millimetre white-gold case with a black dial or in a limited edition of 100 platinum-cased watches with rhodiumed dials. With its bold design vocabulary and its exceptional quarter-hour chime, the third stroke of genius that bears the name LANGE ZEITWERK takes centre stage as a resonant masterpiece.

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