We are no strangers to the high end German watchmaker A Lange n Sohne. The company makes beautiful classic dress watches with exquisitely finished movements. Lange finally introduced a sports version to compete with the other high end watchmakers in this competitive and very lucrative category.
The watch is cased in stainless steel, which is a first for Lange, as the rest of the line up is on the dressier range with gold cases. The case diameter is 40.5mm and only 11.1mm in height. To keep up with tradition, the watch has a big date as all other watches with a date window, however at the 3 o’clock position instead of the typical fashion under 12 o’clock.
In addition to the date window, it also has a day display at 9, to keep the watch dial balanced. Being a sports watch, the case is largely brushed with a large polished bezel to bring a luxurious feel. The large protruding area next to the crownCrown The knob on the outside of the watch that you typically use to either wind the mainspring or set the time [Learn More] are not crown guards but are actually pushers to set the date and day. Being relatively flat, it will reduce chances of accidental change of day or date.
The blue dial is based on a brass plate with grained finishing and looking at the dial, it has a concentric circle that shows 3 steps as you can see in the picture, the inner ring is recessed from the hour markers and then the small seconds at 6 is further recessed with guillocheGuilloche Guilloche is a decorative technique used in a.o. watchmaking, it is an engraving process that creates intricate patterns on the dials and other parts of the watch. It is done by using a rose engine, a specialized lathe with a variety of interchangeable cam-driven patterns. The patterns are created by the movement of the machine's cutting tool over the surface of the metal. Guilloche is considered to be a traditional and labor-intensive technique, it requires a high level of skill and experience to produce good consistent results. [Learn More].
The applied indexes and the hands are finished in the typical Lange fashion, and this being a sports watch, there are luminescence in the hour and minute hands and also the hour markers.
The movement beating inside is the new L155.1 automatic movement beating at 4Hz instead of the normal 3Hz in most of the Lange watches. You can see the typical German 3/4 plate with the hand finished beveling and decorated balanced cock. This being a sports watch, the movement also has stop seconds so you can stop the time while setting the watch. The power reserveRéserve de marche Also known as Power Reserve. A watch's power reserve refers to the amount of time a mechanical watch can run without being wound. The power reserve of a mechanical watch can vary depending on the size of the mainspring, the efficiency of the gear train, and the rate at which the mainspring releases energy. If a watch has a Power Reserve 'complication' it simply means that the status of the power reserve can be seen on the watch itself (either on the dial or movement side of the watch). [Learn More] is 50 hours.
Of course, being a sports watch with 120 meters of water resistence, this Lange comes in a brushed bracelet with quick adjustment so once you have it sized, you can adjust it on the fly to add an extra 7mm of room on a warm day.
It is definitely one of the most highly anticipated releases for 2019 as it was only a matter of time before Lange jumps into the luxury sports watch category. The jury is still out for the success of this watch. Released on 10/24, ready for purchase at A Lange and Soehne Boutique stores and selected retailers for 28,000 Euros including VAT.
I do like the overall design of the watch, with nice dial symmetry, but I do prefer no date and no day, especially with the push buttons on the side of the crown creating imbalance to the case design. I would much prefer a traditional quick set date/date from the crown. Although the bracelet offers a quick adjustment, the links do not taper down enough to demonstrate the elegance of this watch, but instead feels bulky. Although that would have to be tried and tested in the metal for final judgment.