In the year 2000, the impressive LANGE 1 TOURBILLON had its debut as the world’s first wristwatch with the unusual combination of a tourbillon, an outsize date, a three-day movement and a power-reserve indicator. In a 25-watch limited edition in white gold, it now completes the ten-part special series that celebrates the 25th anniversary of the LANGE 1.
A watch for special occasions – this is how the LANGE 1 TOURBILLON was described when it was first presented. A. Lange & Söhne saluted the transition from the 20th to the 21st century with it, continuing a tradition that dates back to the belle époque in Paris. Lange’s first centennial tourbillon – still in a pocket watch format – attracted global attention at the 1900 Paris Exposition.
In 2010, as part of the “165 Years – Homage to F.A. Lange” anniversary collection, the LANGE 1 TOURBILLON was one of the first three watches of the manufactory with a case in honey gold, a material used exclusively by Lange. When the LANGE 1 celebrated its 20th birthday in 2014, it was introduced as the fourth model of the HANDWERKSKUNST series in a limited edition of 20 platinum-cased watches with rare movement decorations and a black enamel dial.
Like all ten special editions of the anniversary collection, the 2019 version of the LANGE 1 TOURBILLON is presented in silver and blue. The 38.5-millimetre white-gold case sets the stage for a solid-silver, argenté-coloured dial that contrasts with the blued steel hands. The inscriptions are printed in blue, including the numerals of the outsize date.
Suspended between two diamond end stones, the one-minute tourbillon features a stop-seconds mechanism. The patented system allows the balance inside the rotating tourbillon cage to be stopped instantaneously. It is clearly visible in a generous aperture in the dial and through the glass units disc of the outsize date.
The tourbillon cock, prominently integrated into the dial, is decorated with the black polishing technique. On the movement side, the tourbillon bridge and the intermediate-wheel cock are engraved by hand. The colour concept is echoed in the blue-filled recesses of the engraving.
The unifying anniversary collection signature, a relieved depiction of the outsize date, is located on the intermediate wheel cock.
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The ten timepieces of the “25th Anniversary” collection
LANGE 1 191.066, 250 watches – January 2019 (SIHH)
GRAND LANGE 1 MOON PHASE 139.066, 25 watches – February 2019
LITTLE LANGE 1 181.066, 25 watches – March 2019
LANGE 1 TOURBILLON PERPETUAL CALENDAR 720.066, 25 watches – April 2019
LANGE 1 TIME ZONE 116.066, 25 watches – May 2019
LANGE 1 MOON PHASE 192.066, 25 watches – July 2019
GRAND LANGE 1 117.066, 25 watches – July 2019
LANGE 1 DAYMATIC 320.066, 25 watches – August 2019
LITTLE LANGE 1 MOON PHASE 182.066, 25 watches – September 2019
LANGE 1 TOURBILLON 722.066, 25 watches – September 2019
About A. Lange & Söhne
Dresden watchmaker Ferdinand Adolph Lange laid the cornerstone of Saxony’s precision watchmaking industry when he established his manufactory in 1845. His precious pocket watches remain highly coveted among collectors all over the world. The company was expropriated after World War II, and the name A. Lange & Söhne nearly vanished. In 1990, Ferdinand Adolph Lange’s great-grandson Walter Lange had the courage to make a new start. Today, Lange crafts only a few thousand wristwatches in gold or platinum per year. They are endowed exclusively with proprietary movements that are lavishly decorated and twice assembled by hand. With 63 manufacture calibres developed since 1994, A. Lange & Söhne has secured a top-tier position in the world of watchmaking. Brand icons such as the LANGE 1 with the first outsize date in a regularly produced wristwatch and the ZEITWERK with its precisely jumping numerals display rank among the company’s greatest successes. Sophisticated complications such as the ZEITWERK MINUTE REPEATER, the TOURBOGRAPH PERPETUAL “Pour le Mérite” and the TRIPLE SPLIT reflect the manufactory’s determination to achieve ever new pinnacles in horological artistry.
LANGE 1 TOURBILLON “25th Anniversary” Ref. 722.066 Technical Specification
Movement
- Lange manufacture calibre L961.4, manually wound, crafted to the most exacting Lange quality standards, decorated and assembled by hand;
- precision-adjusted in five positions;
- plates made of untreated German silver;
- steel tourbillion cock on the dial side, with black polishing;
- blue intermediate wheel and tourbillion cock engraved by hand, engraving of the Lange outsize date on the intermediate wheel cock
Movement parts
- 381
Jewels
- 51, of which 2 diamond endstones
Screwed gold chatons
- 8
Escapement
- Lever escapement
- Oscillation system
- Shock-resistant screw balance; balance spring manufactured in-house with a frequency of 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour
Power reserve
- 72 hours when fully wound
Functions
- Time indicated in hours, minutes and subsidiary seconds; one-minute tourbillon with stop-seconds mechanism;
- Lange outsize date; power-reserve indicator AUF/AB
Operating elements
- Crown for winding the watch and setting the time;
- button for quick outsize date corrections
Case dimensions
- Diameter: 38.5 millimetres;
- height: 9.8 millimetres
Movement dimensions
- Diameter: 30.6 millimetres;
- height: 5.9 millimetres
Case
- White gold
Dial
- Solid silver, argenté
Hands
- Blued steel
Glass and caseback
- Sapphire crystal (Mohs hardness 9)
Strap
- Hand-stitched alligator leather, blue, grey seam
Buckle
- White-gold deployant buckle
Limited edition
- 25 watches, engraved 01/25 … 25/25
A. Lange & Söhne LANGE 1 TOURBILLON “25th Anniversary” Gallery
