The A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater watch strikes the right note
A.Lange & Söhne marry technical expertise with slick design in the Honeygold Zeitwerk Minute Repeater
Since its inception in Saxony in 1845, A.Lange und Söhne has inhabited a rarefied upper layer of the horological stratosphere. With two opposed windows for the hours and minutes, the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater is a grail piece for the selected few, and first caught our eye with the 2015 platinum version. This time, the pebble-smooth case is made from the Glashütte-based Manufacture's warm-hued Honeygold ® alloy. A sublime grey 925 silver dial contrasts the soft tone of 18K gold with obsessive rhodium-plated details.
For Anthony de Haas, director of product development, a sense of curiosity was key when it came to the design. ”When we developed the first Zeitwerk in 2009, we questioned everything – except the mechanical paradigm. The result is a mechanical watch with a digital display showing the hours and minutes in large numerals. Six years later, we introduced the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater. This interprets a classic complication in a modern way, combining the innovative Zeitwerk movement with an unprecedented striking mechanism.'
The hand-wound 771-part minute repeater audibly tells the time in addition to its display. On demand, it will chime the elapsed hours, 10-minute periods, and minutes through variations in pitch and single/double tones. Anthony says: “With this new version, we are now broadening the focus to include our honey-gold case's unique sonority and acoustic characteristics. This serves as a resonant body, producing a clear, reverberant sound with a warm timbre.”
With this limited series, Lange’s expertise was challenged. Even given the benefit of complete and vertically integrated in-house design and production, de Haas tells us: “We faced a series of challenges evident in the seven patents of the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater: the jumping numerals mechanism and the striking mechanism. The movement requires much more energy than a classic display to actuate the jumping numerals. The other challenge was to perfect the sound of the striking mechanism".
Push the actuator, and a dramatic visual theatre of striking hand-polished gongs ensues, making time almost irrelevant. From the back, the intrinsic detail of the hand-assembled architecture of the Calibre L043.5 is evident, with each visible bridge, angle, and screw hand-polished by Lange artisans. Completing the picture of the pebble-smooth 44.5mm Zeitwerk Minute Repeater, the impression is one of understated extravagance.
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Thor Svaboe is a seasoned writer on watches, contributing to several UK publications including Oracle Time and GQ while being one of the editors at online magazine Fratello. As the only Norwegian who doesn’t own a pair of skis, he hibernates through the winter months with a finger on the horological pulse, and a penchant for independent watchmaking.
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