A. Lange & Söhne Minute Repeater Perpetual Watch Review
The A. Lange & Söhne Minute Repeater Perpetual invites the wearer into a world where excellence is the norm. Its specification includes a combination of two high complications, a Grand Feu enamel dial and a platinum case. The finishing is also executed to an exalted standard, distinguishing this limited-edition watch as a rare expression of fine watchmaking. Angus Davies employs his finest linguistic skills to understand what lies at the heart of Lange.
Made in Glashütte
In Germany, like most countries, there are a number of regional accents. However, if you ever visit Saxony, armed with your best schoolboy German, don’t be too disheartened if you are unable to understand the lingo. The Hochdeutsch (High German) taught in English classrooms is seldom spoken in Dresden or Leipzig. In this area, once part of the DDR, locals speak Sächsisch, a regional dialect that even has the capacity to bamboozle native German speakers from other regions of the country.
Witness a conversation between two Dresdeners and you may hear them say ‘nu’, a word that can mean ‘yes’ or ‘now’. It doesn’t end there. For instance, ‘neee’ is an emphatic ‘no’, while the word ‘nuni’ can be translated as ‘not now’.
At Lange’s Manufactory, located in Glashütte, approximately 30 km south of Dresden, Sächsisch is widely spoken. Thankfully, whenever I’ve visited the company’s premises, there have always been several staff on hand, happy to converse in perfect English. However, should you ever have the opportunity to tour the company’s impressive facility, you will discover there is another language spoken fluently by all of the brand’s workforce: excellence.
Over the years, while reviewing several Lange models, I’ve sought to convey this excellence. The firm’s unwavering quest for advancement is palpable. Those of you not fully conversant in excellence may struggle to spot the subtle enhancements made when holding a new reference. Imagine being a Lange engineer, going home with a series of macro shots of a new watch after a few years of hard work and your wife says, “Let me see what you’ve done”. It must be difficult to explain away those late nights spent at the office have culminated in what appears to be a series of minuscule updates and the subtlest of changes. Accusations of infidelity are a distinct possibility.
The problem for practitioners of excellence is that they are subject to the law of diminishing returns with less and less to show for their efforts. Unquestionably frustrating, it’s an unwavering pursuit practised by all employees working at Lange’s Manufactory.
Step back in time and revisit 1994, the beginning of the A. Lange & Söhne renaissance. The firm unveiled four new models, including the now-iconic Lange 1. Contrast this model, featuring an outsize date, with today’s Lange 1 and it’s reasonable to say that ‘only their mother can tell them apart’. However, there are small improvements and changes that confer advancement, yet so subtle that 1994 models have sidestepped obsolescence and lost none of their appeal.
Advancement can sometimes slip beneath the radar with little fanfare; however, there are some creative minds at A. Lange & Söhne who devote themselves solely to creating new models. On this occasion, the über-luxury firm has created the Lange Minute Repeater Perpetual, a watch housed in a sublime 40.5 mm platinum case that unites two high complications and incorporates an inordinate amount of artisanal craftsmanship. Just for a moment, I implore you to set aside the mediocrity typical of everyday life and enter a world of excellence.
A. Lange & Söhne Minute Repeater Perpetual – dial
The first thing to ensnare the purist’s heart is the dial’s epidermis. Formed of 18-carat gold, it is dressed in a lustrous coat of black enamel. In Switzerland, this artisanal epidermis is referred to as ‘Grand Feu’ and is the preserve of Haute Horlogerie. This time-consuming technique involves using an enamel powder formed of silica and crushed oxides. The dial blank, gold in this instance, is dipped in alcohol and dusted with the enamel powder. Initially, this mixture is applied to both sides of the dial to prevent it from warping. The purpose of the alcohol is to help the enamel powder adhere to the gold dial until it has melted and fused with the base (or subsequent) layers. The dial is placed in an oven (circa 800°C) and fired for a period determined purely through experience.
Once the dial has been removed from the oven and allowed to cool, it is dusted with more enamel powder and fired again in the oven. This process is repeated several times. Unfortunately, due to the extreme temperatures of the firing process, a high percentage of dials won’t make the grade, their appearance blighted with bubbles or cracks. Indeed, most dial specialists state that 60%-70% of all Grand Feu dials will be rejected at this stage. Thereafter, those dials that pass muster are polished.
As previously mentioned, the dial of the A. Lange & Söhne Minute Repeater Perpetual is executed in black. This is the most challenging colour of all to execute, revealing even the smallest of imperfections. Nevertheless, the in-house enamel specialists based at the Manufactory have chosen to rise to the challenge, creating glorious dialscapes. The benefit of an enamel dial is that, unlike many dials, its lustrous appearance will never diminish with the onset of years.
The lancine-style hour and minute hands are formed of 18-carat gold and work in concert with Roman numerals, again formed of gold, to denote the time. Two subdials, residing at 3 and 9 o’clock, share collective responsibility for displaying all the perpetual calendar indications (see later), save for the prevailing date which is shown via two apertures just below noon. The day and leap year are displayed at 3 o’clock, while the day and month are shown opposite at 9 o’clock.
Located at 6 o’clock, a third subdial incorporates a moon-phase display. It features a wonderfully detailed depiction of the night sky as well as a small seconds indication. The entire horological vista is framed with a chemin de fer, granting peerless readability.
A. Lange & Söhne Minute Repeater Perpetual – case
The case is formed of 950 platinum, the ultra-desirable noble metal which is notably dense. When creating a housing for a minute repeater mechanism, the interior of the case is specifically designed to optimise sound. A slide on the left flank of the case actuates the chiming sequence.
Despite its extraordinary mechanical complexity, the Lange Minute Repeater Perpetual is not unwieldy. On the contrary, measuring 40.5 mm in diameter with a thickness of 12.1 mm, its exterior dimensions are surprisingly modest and, by default, the model proves very wearable.
To the rear of the case, a pane of sapphire crystal grants sight of the Lange manufacture calibre L122.2.
Lange manufacture calibre L122.2
Minute repeater
The calibre L122.2 is a newly developed hand-wound movement. This is not to say that Lange has never made minute repeaters or perpetual calendars before; it has. Indeed, Langephiles will undoubtedly point to the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater and Richard Lange Minute Repeater as examples of the brand’s expertise in creating chiming watches. Moreover, the Grand Complication, a watch endowed with a grand strike and small strike, minute repeater, perpetual calendar and a rattrapante, is another impressive demonstration of the marque’s expertise in this field. Quite simply, the German brand has repeatedly demonstrated its excellence in crafting high complications.
It is widely believed that minute repeaters originated from Germany in the first half of the 18th century at a time when street lighting was almost non-existent. By simply moving the slide on the left flank of the case, the watch will chime the hours, quarters and minutes, indicating the prevailing time aurally. The mechanism is highly complex, employing a series of racks, snails, levers and wheels to orchestrate the sonorous performance.
Interestingly, A. Lange & Söhne has chosen to add a few enhancements to this new model. For instance, when chiming 2:17, the sequence would be two low tones (hours), one double tone (quarters) and two high tones (minutes). With the Minute Repeater Perpetual, if the time is 2:08, ie no quarters, it immediately transitions from hours to minutes with no unnecessary pause.
Beneath the aforementioned dial, there is much complexity at work. When the twin hammers are striking the gongs, there are a myriad of parts in motion. Unfortunately, some newbies to minute repeater ownership have been known to pull out the crown during the chiming sequence and adjust the motion works, resulting in mechanical carnage. In order to prevent this from happening, Lange has equipped the calibre L122.2 with a ‘safety device’.
In addition, the Glashütte firm has fitted the movement with its ‘patented hammer blocker’, a feature that ’causes the hammers to dwell in their home position for a fraction of a second after the gongs have been struck. Thus, the re-bounding hammers cannot bounce and strike the gongs again.’
A personal highlight is watching the rapid twirling of the centrifugal governor, visible to the rear. Similar to an ice-skater spinning on the spot with arms outstretched, the governor rotates at its maximum speed, said to be more than 2000 revolutions per minute, during the chiming sequence, controlling the cadence of the strikes.
Perpetual Calendar
The perpetual calendar dates back to the 18th century when Thomas Mudge (1715-1794), an English watchmaker, equipped a pocket watch with the complication. His invention was able to determine the length of each month (28, 29, 30 or 31 days) and advance the date to ‘1’ as appropriate, even taking into account leap years. Assuming the mainspring is always sufficiently tensioned, the perpetual calendar will not require manual adjustment until 2100.
Finishing
A. Lange & Söhne crafts some of the finest watches in existence with commensurate finishing and the Minute Repeater Perpetual perpetuates this reputation. The three-quarter plate, a regional delicacy, is formed of untreated German silver and features black-rhodiumed engravings. Four screwed chatons punctuate the mechanical vista, thermally-blued screws abound, anglage is much in evidence, solarisation adorns the ratchet wheel and perlage graces the mainplate.
The balance cock is hand-engraved with an intricate motif. The pattern, imparted with a burin, is unique to the artisan responsible for its creation. Incidentally, should you ever visit the Manufactory and present your Lange for inspection, they may be able to tell you who was responsible for the artisanal motif on your watch.
Arguably, ‘black polish’ is the most highly prized form of finishing, found on only the finest exemplars of Haute Horlogerie. Sometimes termed ‘mirror polishing’ or ‘poli plat’, the technique is used exclusively on steel parts. When viewed from one angle, the component appears black; however, when viewed from an alternative perspective, it may appear near-white. The technique involves placing a flat component upon a zinc plate that’s smeared with diamond paste, and then moving it in a circular motion. This prolonged process begins with a coarse paste before moving to increasingly finer grains. To achieve a flawless result necessitates an inordinate amount of time and, of course, patience. The upper face of the swan neck and the tip of the escape wheel cock are imbued with said mirror-like gleam. However, the ultimate expression of mirror-polish fetishism is unquestionably the reflective appearance of the minute repeater hammers, the culmination of hours of work.
A. Lange & Söhne Minute Repeater Perpetual – closing remarks
Since 1994, when the reborn brand unveiled its four inaugural watches, Lange has become synonymous with crafting sublime expressions of high watchmaking. The movements, fusing technical virtuosity and exalted finishing, are highly prized by the cognoscenti; attributes immortalised with the advent of the Minute Repeater Perpetual.
Objectively, nobody needs a Minute Repeater Perpetual in their lives; however, the very creation of such watches enriches the soul and perpetuates artisanal know-how and watchmaking craft for future generations to enjoy.
The dial of the Minute Repeater Perpetual meets all functional requirements. Despite the vast amount of information shown, nothing overwhelms the wearer and the readability is beyond reproach. However, it is the glorious lustre of the black enamel backdrop that is truly exceptional. I cannot imagine how many dials will be discarded in the making of all 50 limited edition examples of the Minute Repeater Perpetual, but there will inevitably be many that fail to pass muster, destined for recycling.
Platinum is not a very malleable metal, again making it difficult to work with, but as you may have deduced by now at the Lange Manufactory, there is a culture of horological masochism where shortcuts are seldom countenanced. The resultant appearance of the case is understated and refreshingly discreet.
It would be very easy to talk about Lange and perfection in the same sentence; however, this would be a mistake. Perfection is a point far on the horizon, an unattainable moving destination that almost disappears from view. While most companies accept this premise, Lange continues in its quest for perfection and by default pursues excellence every day. Yes, ‘excellence’, that word again. In Glashütte, the word may be expressed in Sächsisch, but its meaning is understood around the globe.
Further reading
https://www.alange-soehne.com/
Technical specification
- Model: A. Lange & Söhne Minute Repeater Perpetual
- Reference: 607.091FE
- Case: 950 platinum, diameter 40.5 mm, height 12.1 mm, water resistance 2 ATM (20 m), sapphire crystal to the front and exhibition caseback.
- Functions: hours, minutes, subsidiary seconds with stop seconds, striking mechanism with minute repeater, perpetual
- calendar with displays for outsize date, day of week, 24-hour display, month and leap year, moon-phase display
- Movement: Lange manufacture calibre L122.2, hand-wound movement, frequency 21,600 vph (3 Hz), contains 54 jewels, power reserve 72 hours when fully wound, 640 components
- Strap: black hand-stitched alligator leather strap, deployant buckle in 950 platinum
- Price on request
- Limited Edition: 50 pieces