Bold moves

German horologer A. Lange & Söhne has reworked its most complicated wristwatches in precious new materials and colourways

Watches & Jewellery 24 Jul 2023

The 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar from A. Lange & Söhne comes in 18ct white gold, boasting a salmon-coloured dial made from pink gold, as well as features for tracking the lunar cycle and recording simultaneous events

The 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar from A. Lange & Söhne comes in 18ct white gold, boasting a salmon-coloured dial made from pink gold, as well as features for tracking the lunar cycle and recording simultaneous events

There’s little doubt that hardcore horologists will be coveting the latest offering by A. Lange & Söhne. The German watchmaker, which was re-established in 1990 by Walter Lange and has since turned out some of the most sophisticated mechanical watches around, has introduced two of its most impressive complications in new materials.

First off, the Glashütte-based manufacture has welcomed a platinum version of its Lange 1 Time Zone, expanding a collection that was last updated in 2020. The Lange 1 Time Zone was launched back in 2005 with the functionality of tracking multiple time zones. Then, 15 years after its introduction, the model was re-equipped with a new manufacture calibre, the L141.1, providing a 72-hour power reserve and a “daylight saving time” function.

The Lange 1 Time Zone 2023 edition from A. Lange & Söhne
The Lange 1 Time Zone 2023 edition from A. Lange & Söhne

The 2023 edition has a larger time circle on the periphery of the dial for greater visibility. There is also a handy feature for indicating daylight saving time, which turns red to correspond with the selected city. Reimagined in full monochrome, the watch also boasts a rhodium-coloured dial – a first for this model – spun in solid silver and complete with a large date window and power reserve indicator.

The second timepiece, the 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar, celebrates its 10th anniversary with a new version crafted in 18ct white gold and endowed with a striking salmon-coloured dial made from pink gold – the third A. Lange & Söhne watch to adopt this warm golden colour – the other two being the Datograph Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon and the Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar. There are also two other versions (yet to be revealed) that feature a platinum argenté and pink-gold argenté case-dial combination.

The 2023 edition of the 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar from A. Lange & Söhne
The 2023 edition of the 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar from A. Lange & Söhne

The new 1815 (christened after the birth year of house founder Ferdinand Adolph Lange) uses a movement comprising 631 parts, incorporating three mind-bogglingly complex complications into one standout watch. These include a rattrapante, or “split-seconds” chronograph, a type of chronograph with two seconds hands, that allows you to time multiple simultaneous events; a perpetual calendar display, a complication designed to display the day, date and year correctly until the year 2100; and a moonphase, able to track the current phase of the moon in its lunar cycle to such an accurate degree that it won’t need correcting for another 122.6 years.

With only 100 pieces available for purchase and price ‘on request’, the 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar is a horological gem that even the most serious watch collectors may struggle to get their hands on.

alange-soehne.com