Introducing Shaped Lange Makes A Return With The Cabaret Tourbillon Honeygold

Unlike its Holy Trinity peers or many other fine watchmakers in its price point, A. Lange & Söhne rarely produces shaped watches. To date, there have only been two non-circular Langes: the Arkade, a tonneau-shaped model that formed part of the German brand's inaugural range in 1994 but left production in 2005; and the Cabaret, a rectangular design that debuted in 1997, left regular production in 2010, and has been sporadically revived since, most recently in 2021 with the limited edition Cabaret Tourbillon Handwerkskunst in platinum.

Good things come to those who wait, and now 2026 sees the Cabaret return once again in the form of the similarly limited Cabaret Tourbillon Honeygold, which, as its name implies, is cased in Lange's proprietary Honeygold alloy and sports a more classic design than its previous incarnation.

Let's start with the case material (which, actually, is also the dial material). For those not familiar with it, Honeygold is an 18-karat gold alloy that Lange reserves for only a select few models with a distinct, warm hue somewhere between pink and white gold. While Lange hasn't disclosed its precise mix, they have revealed that it's “75% pure gold with copper and zinc proportions” and say that it's significantly harder than other gold alloys.

It's a gorgeous material, but what's particularly impressive with this Cabaret is how it's used in its dial. The main dial is one solid piece of Honeygold, where the frames, scales and A. Lange & Söhne wordmark have been sculpted out of the material and hand-finished, with the carved layer below featuring a subtly matte black-rhodiumed finish. Applied numerals, lozenges and the two subdials, which are affixed from the back, complete the dial, with that tourbillon in pride of place in a Mickey Mouse-shaped arrangement between the small seconds and power reserve indicator. The upper tourbillon bridge and the top side of its cage have been black polished.

This Cabaret is mechanically impressive, too. When the Cabaret Tourbillon first debuted in 2008, it boasted the first-ever movement with a stop seconds mechanism for a tourbillon. The Cabaret Tourbillon Honeygold maintains this feature, and also offers an impressive hand-wound 120-hour power reserve from two barrels. Its calibre L042.1 is finished beautifully and traditionally: the three-quarter plate is resplendent with côtes de Genève (or Glashütte ribbing, as Lange calls it), while the engraved tourbillon cock and intermediate-wheel cock are hand-engraved. This is in contrast to the 2021 platinum model, which had a grained three-quarter plate and lozenge-engraved cocks. It's all in untreated German silver, naturally.

The A. Lange & Söhne Cabaret Tourbillon Honeygold is a limited edition of 50 pieces. While typically, Lange doesn't communicate the exact pricing of many of its high-end pieces like this, HODINKEE ANZ can confirm that the retail price for this Cabaret is “in the range of €300,000”.

Personally, I haven't yet met a Lange I haven't liked, but there's something particularly compelling about a shaped Lange, maybe because they're so unusual. There aren't many watchmakers making shaped, complicated, exquisitely finished movements like this, either, which makes the Cabaret Tourbillon Honeygold even more special.

My only real objection is that it's so expensive (but no Lange is exactly what you'd call 'accessible' anyway), and that it's so limited. I'd love to see a less complicated Cabaret rejoin the range, even if that's something of a pipe dream: back in 2021, Lange's director of product development, Anthony de Haas, told HODINKEE US that the Cabaret is "definitely a passion project for the company" and stressed that it's never been a big commercial success for the brand. He didn't rule out a return to mainline production then, but it's been 5 years, and this is still just another limited edition... Ah well, guess we'll be patient and see where we land in another 5 years.

Brand: A. Lange & Söhne
Model: Cabaret Tourbillon Honeygold
Reference: 703.050
Dimensions: 29.5 × 39.2mm
Thickness: 10.3mm
Case Material: 750 Honeygold
Dial: 750 Honeygold, black-rhodiumed
Indexes: High-relief in 750 gold
Water Resistance: Not stated
Strap/Bracelet: Dark brown hand-stitched alligator leather strap with 750 Honeygold pin buckle

Calibre: L042.1, in-house
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, power reserve indicator, big date, tourbillon with stop-seconds device
Dimensions: 22.3 × 32.6mm
Thickness: 6.4mm
Power Reserve: 120 hours
Winding: Manual
Frequency: 3Hz
Jewels: 47 including 2 diamond endstones
Chronometer Certified: No
Additional Details: Corrector at 3 o'clock above the crown for the date window

Price: Upon request
Availability: Now
Limited Edition: Yes, of 50

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