Lange 1 Time Zone: As you may have already read, last year we visited the A.Lange & Söhne manufacture in the humble town of Gläshutte and while there we decided to shoot a few pieces, one of them being this beautiful Lange 1 Time Zone. The first thought that came to mind about the Lange 1 Time Zone, was that this watch is about efficiency in all aspects of the word. Inspired by the iconic Lange 1. It has been said that the Lange 1 has probably won more prizes than any other wristwatch of the new era, which then spurred the development engineers of Lange to endow it with a separate time-zone indication. No minute of the day, or night for that matter, is unaccounted for, with the trusty Lange in-house Calibre L031.1. The style of this watch is, of course, akin to every other watch crafted by Lange & Söhne, with the utmost importance being precision.
The main dial displaying the wearers home time or if they wish the time of the country they are visiting for pleasure or business, is placed in the traditional location of the Lange 1 at 9 o’clock. Looking closely at the main dial which, features circular gaining, you’ll find diamond-shaped batons and polished Roman numerals at the 12, 3 and 9 o’clock positions that are highlighted by Javelin-style hands available in; yellow gold, pink gold and blued steel subsidiary dial, displaying the running seconds.
The Lange 1 Time Zone shows the day and night phases with small arrows that rotate, along either bright or dark segments both for home time and for the time zone selected with the city ring. These two indicators are separate and synchronised, positioned on the home main dial at 12 o’clock and the other on the time zone sub dial at 8 o’clock, which is a welcome convenience. Through use of semi blue lines, day and night are indicated, helping to simplify the reading of time in a rush. The dial is available in solid silver in a trio of appliqués to choose from; Champagne and Argenté Rhodié. The watch is manually wound and will provide up to 72 hours via its Doppelfederhaus of impressive precision, this reserve of power is indicated by the up/down gauge positioned at 3 o’clock.
Turning the timepiece over and peering through the sapphire display back you’ll see the movement. Consisting of twin mainspring barrels, the signature Gläshutte ¾ plate and bridges which are constructed of untreated German silver. Another wonderful touch is the balance cock and intermediate wheel cock, both personally engraved by hand. The type of escapement is a lever, joined by screwed, polished gold chatons. The calibre Lo31.1 is made up of 417 components and this I believe to be a feat of excellence, when considering each one is assembled by hand, you have to respect the attentive and skilful nature of the timepiece. It also has, shock-proofed glucydur screws, a Nivarox balance spring with a frequency of 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour and a whiplash precision index adjuster with a patented beat adjustment mechanism.
The 41.9mm case in 18-carat gold, pink-gold or platinum, is nicely sized and sits on the wrist well. For winding and setting the timepiece, moderately sized fluted crown affords comfort, it also has a pusher at 10 o’clock for switching the least intricate piece of the timepiece, the simplistic and iconic outsized date display. Located at 8 o’clock is a pusher that allows the wearer to advance the city-ring. The glass used to seal the watch is classic anti-reflective sapphire crystal with an exceptional hardness of 9. The Lange 1 Time Zone is affixed to the wrist via a hand-stitched crocodile strap complementing the superiority of the watches unsurpassed precision. The strap features the iconic Lange prong buckle in solid gold or platinum held closely by coved style lugs.
A.Lange & Söhne’s mission, is to offer you nothing but the best and they have indeed created a multiple time zone wristwatch worthy of such praise. The Lange 1 by itself is a timepiece that has stood the test of time and with every iteration only gets better. But while the Lange 1 Time Zone offers a more chaotic dial layout it still provides a clean and clear reading in all aspects. This timepiece has been created for a particular person in mind, one that desires to carpe diem et noctem, a watch to capture the adventure that time offers, accompanied by a relentless piece of complex and unforgettable engineering.
The Lange 1 Time Zone is available in 18-carat pink and white gold with the option of the Champagne or Argenté Rhodié dial as mentioned priced at £34,000 and £35,600 respectively. There is also a platinum version that is priced at £44,200.
For more information on the Lange 1 Time Zone, visit the official A.Lange & Söhne website.
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