The new A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar ‘Lumen’ has two grand complications and is legible in the dark.
The new A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar “Lumen” combines superlative complications and craftsmanship with a new level of transparency through its sapphire-crystal dial and caseback. The platinum timepiece combines a tourbillon and a perpetual calendar “into the unmistakable design of the Lange 1, whose off-center dial configuration is prominent yet at the same time harmonious,” according to the brand. The first Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar watch was introduced in 2012.
Fourteen years on, the new “Lumen” version offers exceptional transparency and contrast. The watch’s dark dial is complemented with rhodium luminous gold hands and white scales for maximum legibility. The watch’s enhanced legibility extends to the movement with its light, highly polished surfaces contrasting with darker or matte elements. The light color of the watch’s platinum case provides a perfect frame for its deeply colored dial.
The watch’s transparency is crucial for its luminescent properties. The light passing through the dial “charges” the luminescence of the displays underneath its surface. All of the watch’s displays visibly glow in the dark, allowing it to be read equally easily by day or night. “The luminescent is standard Super-Luminova,” said Anthony de Haas, A. Lange & Söhne’s director of product development. However, “it comes in [two] different ways, fluid or as a thin layer, and both are used in the watch.”
Problem Solving
According to de Haas, the two most difficult challenges in crafting the watch stem from its luminescence. “The biggest challenges were creating the dial with all its luminous effects and implementing it into an already very complicated watch, whilst keeping the extra thickness under control.” The watch marks the first time that a luminous moon phase display also has an integrated day/night function. The timepiece’s leap year display is positioned at six o’clock.
Lange’s keen attention to detail and finishing extends to the movement visible through the watch’s transparent sapphire-crystal caseback. Its central rotor is another example of the watch’s contrasting elements. The rotor is constructed of 18-k white gold for the first time, and its external centrifugal mass in 950 platinum provides additional momentum. The 18-k gold is dark black rhodium finished, complementing the platinum mass’ lighter surface.
Shooting Stars
Lange is known for intricate carvings and impeccable finishing on its movements’ surfaces. A group of small stars and a shooting star are engraved into the Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar Lumen’s tourbillon cock and its intermediate wheel-cock. This unexpected and rarely used decorative engraving design has its own meaning, according to de Haas. “We liked the idea of giving a little ‘hint’ to Lumen also on the movement-side,” he said. “Similar to the ODYSSEUS, which doesn’t have the [usual] floral pattern but waves of water,” giving another distinction.
Like all A. Lange & Söhne timepieces, the new Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar “Lumen” is assembled at least twice to ensure its timekeeping accuracy. It features the brand’s caliber L225 self-winding movement. The movement’s “constructive complexity makes it possible to unite a tourbillon, perpetual calendar and moon phase display,” according to the brand. The movement also equips the timepiece “with functional particularities such as a stop-seconds mechanism and the outside date. The refined composition of lavish decorations emphasizes the manufacture’s quest for perfection.” That is clear to see.