A horological challenge
With the MINUTE REPEATER PERPETUAL, A. Lange & Söhne launches a watch with a minute repeater, combining it with a perpetual calendar. Each one of these complications alone represents a technical feat in itself, the combination of the two, however, poses an even greater challenge ‒ for the engineers as well as the watchmakers, since the precise tuning and harmonising of all the mechanisms requires a superior degree of technical expertise and craftsmanship.
The elaborately, artisanally finished timepiece boasting an enamel dial crafted in-house comes in a 950 platinum edition, limited to 50 pieces.
The art of crystal-clear sound
Just like all Lange watches with a striking mechanism, the MINUTE REPEATER PERPETUAL is designed to superb acoustic quality standards and has a unique timbre. A lucid, clear, and reverberant sound is assured by the hand-tuned gongs that harmonise perfectly with the acoustic characteristics of platinum, the case material.
When the slide integrated into the left-hand case flank is actuated, the chiming mechanism strikes the hours, sounding at a low pitch, the quarter hours with a double tone, and the minutes that have elapsed since the last quarter hour with a higher-pitched tone.
The completion of a minute repeater is highly elaborate; it also calls for acute hearing and extreme dexterity. All components are carefully harmonised with one another by a Lange master watchmaker. This requires adapting, multiple disassemblies, reworking, reassembly and finally testing. As far as the hammers are concerned, the key issues are material, shape, size, weight, and hardness – and above all, just like with a piano, strike.
A minute repeater with special features
To optimise the operation and functionality of the classic minute repeater, the striking mechanism of the MINUTE REPEATER PERPETUAL was enhanced with further intricate devices, among these the pause elimination feature. It skips the pause between the hour and minute strike when no double tone must be struck for the quarter hours in the first 14 minutes after the top of the hour.
To prevent damage to the chiming mechanism, it was also equipped with a safety device so that the minute repeater cannot be activated while the crown is pulled. Consequently, the crown cannot be pulled when the chiming mechanism is active.
Finally, the patented hammer blocker causes the hammers to dwell in their home position for a fraction of a second after the gongs have been struck. Thus, the re-bounding hammers cannot bounce and strike the gongs again.
Perpetual calendar with Lange outsize date
While the minute repeater chimes the time in the here and now, the technical virtuosity of the perpetual calendar will persist into the distant future. Across decades, the mechanism will assure the precise display of the date, day of the week and month, even taking into account the leap years. The calendar indications must only be corrected by one day but not until 1 March 2100; according to the rules of the Gregorian calendar, the leap year will then be skipped.
This also applies to the moon-phase display that so closely emulates the duration of the synodic orbit of the earth’s satellite that it would take 122.6 years for the display to be corrected by one day. The mechanism is highly sophisticated yet excels with its ease of operation: in typical Lange manner, all calendar indications can jointly be advanced with one single corrector.
An eye-catching detail of the timepiece ‒ the enamel dial
The technical sophistication of this multiple-complication watch is reflected in the high-quality artisanship of the four-part dial. Made of white gold and filled with black enamel, it is crafted in the A. Lange & Söhne manufacture in a time-consuming procedure.
The immaculate, glossy black surface offers the displays and the characteristic Lange outsize date an elegant stage, providing a contrasting backdrop, thus assuring excellent legibility. The subsidiary dial at 6 o’clock showcases the small seconds and the moon-phase display: both moons in 750 gold are surrounded by more than 100 hand-engraved stars.
This exceptional timepiece exhibits a further salient detail: all four dial sections are embellished with a circular lesene, a fine border in white gold. On the main dial, it runs between the outsize date and the Roman numerals; on the subsidiary dials, the lesenes separate the inner display sections from the outer ones.
Movement L122.2
The sapphire-crystal caseback provides fascinating insights into the technical complexity and the high degree of artisanal finishing of the newly developed Lange manufacture calibre. Whether clearly visible or concealed, all 640 parts of the manually wound movement address all expectations that are associated with A. Lange & Söhne’s craftsmanship. The aesthetic highlights include the balance cock that is engraved with a free-hand technique, with the whiplash spring mounted on top. The three-quarter plate made of untreated German silver is decorated with black-rhodiumed engravings. Four screwed gold chatons adorn its grained surface.
The most important elements of the striking mechanism – the two manually bent gongs framing the movement and the two gong hammers – are resplendent in their beauty. The hammers provide an additional focal point: they are elaborately finished with black polish, a technique that involves a considerable amount of manual work. It ensures that incident light is reflected in merely one single direction. Viewed from one perspective only, the surface is jet black, yet seen from all other angles, it appears to have a mirror-like gloss. The barrel bridge, the centrifugal-governor bridge and the gong hammer bridges are adorned with solarisation, creating a visual entity. The most dynamic component of the movement, the centrifugal governor is mounted in an overhung position, making it almost silent when operational. It rotates at a speed of more than 2,000 revolutions per minute when the striking mechanism is running. This guarantees the uniform cadence of the strikes.
Explore further
How can we be of service?
Whether you are in search of a specific model, have questions out of interest or need a service request for your timepiece – we are delighted to help you. We are at your service by phone, email or in one of our boutiques.
