lange & sonhe

SIHH 2010: A. Lange & Sohne Saxonia Annual CalendarA. Lange & Sohne went a long way developing the most complicated in-house movements and an addition to their extensive line of models of an Annual Calendar watch was only a matter of time. I am so glad it is a Saxonia model that successfully combines elegant appearance with intelligent design.A little bit of total disclosure here: when it comes to dressy watches, I am a sucker for Lange. Okay, now that I have said it I can more or less safely admit that my heart is bleeding when I read a torrent of press releases issued by the German manufacture.I mean, some of these models cost like a decent three-bedroom suburbian house and are still out of my reach especially now, when the global financial crisis finally starts showing its ugly face (Yeah, I think this is just the beginning of the real crisis and Greece is just one of the first real countries to call it quits on its enormous sovereign debt. God, I wish I was too pessimistic about this.) Let’s get down to business, though.The new A. Lange & Sohne Saxonia Annual Calendar comes powered by their recently developed L085.1 SAX-0-MAT automatic movement. Designed and built totally in-house, decorated and assembled by hand, this terrific example of German ingenuity sports Lange’s Zero-Reset function that makes the small second hand at 6 o’clock either fall back or spring forward to zero depending whether it is between 0 and 30 or 30 and 60 seconds position.Being an Annual Calendar, the watch is capable to show current date, day of week, month and even moon phase. It is not a perpetual calendar, so you will have to adjust the watch once a year, which is, let’s face it, still rather annoying. On the other hand, a perpetual calendar with leap year function would be a lot more expensive and more demanding to proper servicing, too.The movement seats inside a rather compact white (Ref. 330.026) or pink gold (Ref. 330.032) case 38.5 mm in diameter and only 9.8 mm in height, which is really wonderful for an automatic watch.

A. Lange & Sohne (A Lange & Sons) is a German prestigious watch-*** powerhouse, founded in 1845, in a small town in Saxony, by a young enthusiast watchmaker, Ferdinand Adolph Lange, who initiated a long heirloom of master watchmakers. After a very interesting historical evolution, the brand grew into one of the most appreciated members of the Haute Horology.Nowadays, A. Lange & Sohne belongs to the Richemont Group; and, for the watch-connoisseurs worldwide, the brand's name is synonymous with German finest watch-*** tradition, and elevated quality standards, the embodiment of uncompromising innovation, timeless beauty and mechanical perfection. A. Lange Sohne Datograph Perpetual in White Gold Picture GalleryRecently the brand created another exceptional variation of the remarkable A. Lange & Sohne Datograph Perpetual, a superb elegant timepiece that ingeniously combines a flyback chronograph, a white gold reinterpretation of the perpetual calendar complication smoothly incorporated into the architecture of the stylish grey dial. The sophisticated timepiece features an elegant, satin-polished 18-karat white gold case, measuring 41 mm in diameter, which incorporates two anti-glare coated sapphire crystals and a stylish crocodile leather strap secured to the wrist by an 18-karat, white gold prong buckle.Designed to please the brand's demanding clientele the remarkable A. Lange & Sohne Datograph Perpetual, maintains the u***takable DNA of a classical Lange chronograph watch- the column wheel mechanism, the flyback function, and the jumping minute chronograph counter. The skilled engineering team of the brand masterfully intertwined these function with the zest of the timepiece, a perpetual calendar complication that ensures the outsized date, moon phase, day, month, leap years functions and a day/night indicator. The accuracy of the perpetual calendar mechanism does not require adjustments until 2100, a secular year in the Georgian calendar, and the moon phase indicator has to be corrected once every 122 years.At the heart of this outstanding horological creation beats the in-house highly complicated hand-wound movement, the A. Lange & Sohne caliber L952.1 constructed from 556 individual parts, which reveal extremely delicate manual high-end finish that can be admired, by a true connoisseur's eye, through the exhibition case-back of the watch.Designed for a powerful, charismatic gentleman of the 21st century, keen on supreme beauty and technical excellence, the remarkable A. Lange & Sohne Datograph Perpetual, confers the advantage of 36-hours power reserve, and it will be available for a sky-high price tag of $120,190.00.A. Lange Sohne Datograph Perpetual, 9.3 out of 10 based on 3 ratings