A new tourbillon wristwatch from German fine watchmaking stalwarts A. Lange & Söhne is not news, in itself. However, the Glashütte-based collectors’ favorite is introducing this complication with a stop-seconds and zero-reset function in a Handwerkskunst edition. As far as we know, this is the first time such functions have coexisted in a tourbillon wristwatch and it is certainly a first in the Handwerkskunst vein; the Handwerkskunst editions have been ongoing since 2011 and the 1815 Tourbillon was introduced in 2014. Basically, this will be the only tourbillon that can be both stopped and have its seconds hand reset to zero in the world, allowing users to set their watches accurately to within one second.
This actually speaks to what we like about this timepiece because it is, first and foremost, a deeply personal treasure. Sure there is very large tourbillon at 6 o’clock (occupying a third of the dial) but apart from that, everything that makes this watch amazing will be known only to the wearer (and the faithful of A. Lange & Söhne of course). From the delicate hand-finishing on the movement – even beneath the dial where no one can see it – to the case and dial, this is a pleasure reserved for the wearer (and anyone he chooses to share it with). On that note, it is also an intensely masculine watch, with that dark dial ( a result of a rhodium treatment on the rose gold material) and somewhat hefty 11mm case height.
This new 39.5mm rose gold watch will be introduced to the world properly at the Salon International de la haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in January 2016. Limited to just 30 pieces, this fifth Handwerkskunst watch features a hand-engraved caseback and rhodiumized rose gold dial. On the dial, the engraving technique used is tremblage, which creates a fine grained texture; it is our understanding that every grain here is effectively individually crafted so just imagine how hard the finishing team worked on it! From the pictures, we see that this contrasts nicely with the hand-polished polished elements in relief, including the logo and numerals.
Specs
- Dimensions: 39.5mm x 11.1mm
- Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds
- Power reserve: 72 hours
- Movement: Mechanical, manual-winding, hand-assembled and decorated, calibre L102.1
- Water resistance: NA
- Material: Rose gold, with hand-stitched alligator strap (deployant buckle)
- Limited to 30 pieces
