The Lange 1 is a crucial watch for the story of modern A. Lange & Söhne. It was one of four pieces with which Günter Blümlein and Walter Lange relaunched the brand in 1994. Its offset time display, with each unit of time displayed independently, and large date were a revelation in watch design and remain relevant today.
The sixth year of the revived brand coincided with another milestone in A. Lange & Söhne’s history. The year 2000 would be exactly a century since the reference 41000 Jahrhunderttourbillon, a pocket watch that is the stuff of legend. Made for the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900, on its gold case was a richly detailed enamel depiction of the goddess Minerva with Paris as her backdrop. It featured a hinged case that revealed the calibre with a tourbillon at its heart. It is understood that the Lange 1 Tourbillon was created to celebrate the centenary of this impressive pocket watch, adding yet more meaning to a reference that is rightly judged a modern classic. The tourbillon iteration was, in some ways, the ultimate expression of the line. The fact that it managed to accommodate a tourbillon while remaining within the classical case proportions that the brand constrained itself to early in its story, was doubly commendable. After all, the tourbillon watch featured the same 38.5mm case diameter and was a meagre 0.4mm thicker than the Lange 1.
The Lange 1 Tourbillon was created in a series of 250 examples in pink gold, wearing the reference 704.032. Another 150 were made in platinum (reference 704.025) with 165 clad in honey gold (reference 722.050) released in the years that followed. The brand celebrated the 20th year of the Lange 1 (in 2014) with a 20-piece series of the Lange 1 Tourbillon Handwerkskunst in platinum. This was followed by another limited series of 25 pieces on the 25th year of the Lange 1 – this featured a white gold case with a solid silver dial and blue accents. There exist a small number of unique iterations of the aesthetic.
The piece in question here was the very first example of the limited reference 704.025 created in platinum. The three parts of this white metal case feature contrasting finishing. The rounded bezel is high polished, while the flat midcase adorned in horizontal satination meets the double faceted rim of the exhibition caseback. The lugs, simple and tapering, feature a marginal facet. At 10 o’clock is the pusher to quickset the large date complication.
Aside from the inclusion of the tourbillon, exhibited on the dial side, there are several small details that distinguish the Lange 1 Tourbillon. The solid gold, silvered dial retains the proportions of the main time display, the date, and the up-down power reserve indicator. However, the subsidiary seconds register is entirely subsumed within the primary time display and occupies a much smaller footprint.
The hours are denoted by a quarter chapter of applied white gold Roman indices, with the remaining hours denoted by diamond-shaped applied markers. Outside this sits a printed black chapter of minutes. At the heart of this display is a dial with a stepped detail, with ‘Tourbillon’ printed in black. The subsidiary register features printed graduations at 10-second intervals. The twin apertures of the date are framed by white gold windows, and the lancet-style are fashioned from the same material, tying the dial aesthetic together in a satisfying fashion.
Where the subsidiary seconds register would be on the Lange 1, lies the remarkably miniaturised tourbillon. Supported on the dial side by a black-polished, crescent-shaped bridge, the tourbillon completes a revolution once a minute, on an axis crowned with a brilliant-cut diamond ensconced in gold chaton. The carriage is designed to bring to mind the one that featured in the Jahrhunderttourbillon, especially in the form of the three arms. Notably, the tourbillon carriage spins in a counterclockwise direction. Underneath the tourbillon is visible the baseplate adorned with perlage. Pulling out the crown to set the time hacks and the second and the tourbillon.
On the movement side, the caseback rim is engraved with details such as the brand mark, serial number out of 250, place of origin, as well as precious metal hallmarks. The calibre L961.1, typical of the Lange 1 Tourbillon offering till 2010, bears all of the brand’s hallmarks. The large German silver bridge wears a warm tone and is decorated with Glashütte ribbing, its edges are finely bevelled and mirror polished. The jewels visible on the bridge all feature gold chatons and heat-blued screws. On this bridge are also engraved the jewel count, the positions the calibre is adjusted to, as well as the brand mark and movement number.
The bridge anchoring the fixed fourth wheel of the going train and the tourbillon on the movement side is beautifully hand-engraved in a floral motif, with another diamond anchoring the arrangement. The floral engraving also finds its way to the other visible bridge, that anchors the third wheel of the going train. The gold wheels have a beautiful openworked form that reveal yet more of the perlage-covered baseplate.
The watch comes on a fresh large-grained black leather strap secured by a substantial signed white gold deployant clasp from specialist maker Brogioli.
The Lange 1 Tourbillon is a watch imbued with occasion and a heritage that goes back more than 100 years. This example, which is the first of the limited series of 150 in platinum and first retailed in 2003 represents an early moment in the story of the revived brand. It was a time when A. Lange & Söhne adhered much more closely to the classical principles that marked its rebirth.
