Having barely emerged from commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of its founder Ferdinand A. Lange and the inauguration of its new high-tech Manufacture, A. Lange & Söhne maintained its dynamic momentum by presenting seven new models at the SIHH 2016. These included a Dataograph Perpetual Tourbillon and a Lange I Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar. The more affordable and yet equally well-crafted self-winding Saxonia Moon Phase asserts itself as the perfect Haute Horlogerie watch for daily wear. This elegant and functional watch is matched by a precision equaled only by the authenticity of its personality.
A recurrent A. Lange & Söhne visual leitmotif since 1994, the famous outsize date prominently set at 12 o’clock in its split double aperture ensures matchless readability. Its two generous numerals shine even more brightly in that they enjoy a monopoly on the solid steel dial with its baton-type hour-markers. This useful complication nonetheless shares the spotlight with the function that lends its name to this eminent new member of the Saxonia family, the moon phase. Naturally adopting the brand’s characteristic understated approach featuring subtleties perceived exclusively by connoisseurs and aesthetes, the solid gold moon disk owes its intense deep blue shade to a patented coating process. In addition, only a very patient observer will be able to count off the 852 stars laser-cut into the upper coating on the same disk.
While appearance certainly matters, cadence is equally important, and technical excellence is a virtue that Lange takes extremely seriously. The self-winding Caliber L086.5 revealed through the back is already the 16th movement from the Saxony-based Manufacture equipped with this astronomical complication. The precision of its seven-stage transmission is such that it reproduces the cycles between each new moon with a 99.998% degree of accuracy, equivalent to a one-day difference every 122 years. The latter may be corrected via a dedicated pusher at 4 o’clock. Also visible through the back of the admirably pure white or pink gold case, the large central rotor is fitted with a platinum centrifugal oscillating weight guaranteeing a rating regularity every bit as reliable as German luxury cars. This powerful “engine” sweeps around the high-end movements of the Manufacture- made movement with its free-sprung Lange balance spring, its three-quarter plate in non-treated German silver and its hand-engraved balance bridge, while ensuring a comfortable power reserve by means of a single barrel. Beneath the elegance of apparent simplicity lies substantial technical complexity.
Case : Polished and brushed 18K pink or white gold, sapphire case-back, water-resistant to 30m
Diameter : 40mm
Movement : mechanical self-winding (Caliber L086.5, 72-hour power reserve), 325 hand-decorated and assembled components, in-house balance spring
Functions : hours, minutes, small seconds with stop-seconds function, outsize date, moon phases
Dial : solid silver, gold hands
Strap : handsewn alligator leather, gold pin buckle
