Magazine Feature Glashütte Glow: The A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Lumen

This story was originally published in Hodinkee Australia & New Zealand Volume 1. Get your copy here.

Photography by Greg Delves.

If we’re to look amongst the uppermost echelons of established watchmaking, there are clear throughlines from brand to brand. Across decades (if not centuries) of horological supremacy, complications both traditional and innovative, and levels of demand vastly outweighing supply, there’s one thing that sets A. Lange & Söhne well apart from the rest: the Saxon watchmaker rarely oversteps the Teutonic guidelines defined in its 1990 revival. Whereas Audemars Piguet has the Royal Oak Concept, Patek Philippe does haute joaillerie, and Vacheron Constantin is celebrated for its expertise in handcrafts, A. Lange & Söhne tends to be quite rigid in its conviction of doing things “properly”. You won’t find them incorporating nu-school gimmicks like carbon composite cases or, heavens forbid, dress watches in non-precious metals (with a couple of exceptions). Only with the Lumen range will you find A. Lange & Söhne lets its hair down, and it works oh so well.

Part of the charm of any A. Lange & Söhne Lumen model is that they’re as rare as hen’s teeth, but it’s not the main reason why they’re such a treat. For a design to be successful in any context, it has to work just as well in its most basic, stripped-back form. This is a Lange 1 we’re talking about, though, and even if we hadn’t had proof from its preceding Lumen variants, the fact that it’s an absolute belter should hardly be a surprise.  
 
With all the complications, indications, and luminous elements added, the A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Lumen respects the groundwork laid out by Messrs Blümlein, Klaus, and Meis, which prioritised a dial design that scratches a very particular part of the observer’s brain. To jog your memory on these three musketeers: Günter Blümlein was vital in forming LMH, which would become Richemont today; Kurt Klaus is the legendary watchmaker behind IWC’s perpetual calendar; and Reinhard Meis is the oft-underappreciated genius behind Das Tourbillon, the book that got him hired by Blümlein as the main driving force for design.

Back to the new A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Lumen, and the layout is actually mirrored when compared to the original, while picking up its defining features without disturbing the golden ratio sensibility that makes it work. The power reserve has transformed into a day indicator, but its pinion is still perfectly aligned with the middle of the date window and the pinions of the other two sub-dials, in the legendary 1:1.618 ratio that defines their placement. 
 
Since the 2009 unveiling of the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève Aiguille d’Or-winning Zeitwerk “Luminous”, we’ve been treated to seven iterations of glowing Lange models. The Lange 1 is a significant member of this exclusive club, not only because the first official “Lumen” model was the 2013 Grand Lange 1, but also because the new Tourbillon Perpetual makes it the most represented A. Lange & Söhne model in the collection. Over the years, this collection has become one of the, if not the most, sought-after by collectors, which over time has steadily seen more complicated models given the illuminated treatment.

So, how exactly does the latest in the Lumen series go about its business? If you’re familiar with the regular Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual, the layout is much the same, retaining the Golden Ratio-inspired layout, but with a few notable changes that pertain to its Lumen-ness. The time-telling sub-dial is restrained to just a minute track, allowing a greater view through the smoked sapphire, while the Roman numerals are applied atop lumed bases for a very cool underglow effect. The day/night indicator that usually sits here has moved and now arrives in the form of a disk laid on top of the moonphase display, rotating once per day and covering the glowing moon with a star-studded half during the night hours.

Thanks to the aforementioned sapphire that coincidentally only lets in lume-charging UV light, you’ll be treated to the ghostly green glow of the Dresden Opera-inspired outsize date, as well as the leap year indicator neatly tucked away at the very bottom of the dial. That trapezoidal window continues the shape of the arrowhead-like month pointer, referring to the peripheral (and of course, lumed) date track that makes this uber-complicated Lange a breeze to read, even in this much busier execution.

Those of you who need a bit less of the lyrical waxing and a bit more of the cold, hard facts, here are a few that will make even the most hardcore spec sheet lovers leave their indifference behind. The L225.1 calibre that features in the Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Lumen is all-new and impressive both from a technical and an artisanal perspective. Focusing on the former first, the tourbillon is actually only visible via the caseback, with the filigree cage hidden from the limelight and adjusted with a set of eccentric weights. The hairspring is of A. Lange & Söhne’s own making (a rarity among even the most respected haute horlogerie brands), with its 21,600vph beat interrupted by a patented arresting spring that hacks the tourbillon for the most accurate time-setting possible. A. Lange & Söhne was the first to implement this feature, and still proudly caps the tourbillon with a faceted diamond end-stone.

Aside from the tourbillon, this new Lange 1 also features a perpetual calendar. I’ve spoken about how its dial-side execution respects the aesthetic roots of the watch that defined the revived A. Lange & Söhne brand, but there is still more to mention when it comes to its operation. It has enough torque to instantly and simultaneously jump all its indications right at midnight, but A. Lange & Söhne also has a genius solution if you do happen to let the 50-hour power reserve wind down. There’s no crown-operated trickery here (it’s still about tradition, remember), so caseband pushers will have to do, but rather than making you tediously adjust each function separately, it’s been designed with a single corrector that advances all the perpetual calendar indications in sync.

Tying all of these elements together is A. Lange & Söhne’s finishing, which continues to be of an extremely high standard. The silver-toned elements are a particular stand-out against the German silver majority, courtesy of the hand-engraved and black-polished steel cocks for the tourbillon and intermediate wheel, and the new “two-tone” execution of the three-quarter winding rotor. The former is the absolute highlight, both for the uniqueness of their hand-engraved finishes as well as their sharp interior angles. The latter is a Lange first, as the brand is using white gold for the main structure of the oscillating weight, complemented by an outer rim made using a chunk of platinum for optimal inertia. And the rest? Well, it’s only the stellar smattering of chaton-set ruby bearings, delectable Glashütte ribbing, and contrasting straight-graining across the rest of the movement. Perhaps the only downside is that to appreciate the movement, you’ll first need to pry your eyes away from the softly glowing dial.

Hodinkee Australia & New Zealand Vol. 1 is available now, with three different cover stars: A. Lange & Söhne, Rolex and Vacheron Constantin editions. Order your favourite cover online here, or from newsagents around the country.