A. Lange & Söhne Handwerkskunst 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar, 421.048FE, White Gold

In 2013, A. Lange & Söhne launched the 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar alongside its most complex watch ever, the Grand Complication (reference 912.032F). Both watches featured a four-register dial layout inspired by a historic pocket watch, the Grande Complication No. 42500.

Four years later the brand gave the 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar the Handwerkskunst treatment. While the line represents the finest, most extensively hand-crafted iterations of current as well historic references, we posit that with this reference the brand went farther than it has done with any of the eight Handwerkskunst references created so far. The finishing is the most extensive and lavish we have seen on any watch from the brand. It was created in a series of 20 pieces.

It features a white gold case that measures just under 42mm across and stands 15.8mm tall. This is more than a millimetre taller than the standard iteration of the watch and its mainly because the Handwerkskunst edition is one of the few wristwatches from the brand to add a half-hunter-style hinged caseback. That this was added for no other reason than to increase the canvas for hand craft speaks to the philosophy at the heart of the programme.

The case construction is simple and robust – the rounded bezel is high polished and meets the horizontally satinated midcase in a stepped fashion. The bezel of the exhibition caseback also joins the midcase in a similar fashion. The midcase is home to the knurled crown that is flanked by two of the three pushers for the split-second chronograph. The third lies at 10 o’clock. These three pushers have rounded tops that are horizontally satinated to match the midcase. Their edges are bevelled and mirror-polished.

The midcase is also home to three correctors for the perpetual calendar – one is located between 3 and 4 o’clock while the other two are at 8 and 9 o’clock. The lugs are simple, marginally tapered and curved down. In typical fashion, the lugs are also slightly stepped from the case. Their 20mm distance is furnished with a leather strap secured by a heavy, white gold deployant clasp.

The 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar features a complex dial – on the outside runs a chemin de fer-style chronograph seconds register. Each of the registers displays two units – the one at 12 registers 30 minutes of elapsed time and also the 42 hours of reserve the mainspring offers. Its counterpart at 6 is home to the running seconds and the moonphase. The register at 3 shows the month and the leap year indication while the one at 9 displays the day and date. The hands, save for the lone stainless-steel one that is heat blued, are white gold and coated in rhodium.  

The craft

Such a layout would not allow for any more complexity by way of adornment, it would seem. However, the artisans of the Handwerkskunst division found a way to not only incorporate craft but use it to better order the dial. The central portion, crafted from solid gold, is excavated to unearth the stars and celestial bodies. These are in fact created in relief, as are the Arabic numerals of the hours chapter. The sky is the result of champlevé-style translucent enamelling, which seals the celestial bodies in a permanently clear nighttime scene. The enamel is level with the relief hours chapter, creating a three-dimensional effect. Drops of the colour of the sky are found in the pearlescent registers – they can be seen in the minutes chapter, the moonphase as well as the leap year and date indicators.

Since the artisans ran out of canvas on the dial side, the decision was taken to include the brand’s first attempt at a hinged caseback with enamel artwork on it. Here is a beautiful, three-dimensional bas relief engraving of the Roman goddess of the night, Luna. She appears here, as she is often depicted, crescent diadem on her head, one hand clutching a veil and the other cradling a torch. She is surrounded by a starry, cloudy night, created in relief in gold and then sealed for perpetuity in enamel. Given Luna’s legend, this is a poetic inclusion in a perpetual calendar watch.

The movement

The craft extends to the manually wound calibre L101.1. The beautiful, tiered 631-part architecture is adorned with the starry night motif as well. The bridges anchoring the balance, rattrapante start/stop function, rattrapante centre wheel, rattrapante clamp are engraved in relief with stars and celestial bodies, surrounded by a backdrop of hand-hammering.

The chronograph levers are vertically brushed while the chronograph and rattrapante column wheels are black polished. The calibre, which beats at a languid 3Hz, offers 42 hours of reserve.

The watch comes with its full set of box, warranty and retail paperwork from 2018.  

In context

This is not only a maximalist expression of the 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar but of the Handwerkskunst programme itself. It is a real show of many of the crafts the artisans in the programme have perfected and deployed, mostly individually, in the five preceding references over the course of almost a decade. That so many of these hand crafts are layered so harmoniously, neither one overwhelming the other, makes the 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar Handwerkskunst such a triumph of considered design.  

Closer look

Condition

This 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar Handwerkskunst is in excellent overall condition. The case and lugs show virtually no signs of wear. The dial, hands, and movement are free from any signs of imperfections and have been well preserved. All hallmarks and engravings are crisp and well defined.

Warranty

The watch comes with a two-year, limited warranty from A Collected Man, alongside a lifetime guarantee of authenticity.