A. Lange & Söhne is paying tribute to its modern founder, Walter Lange, with the creation of a special 1815 model with a stoppable jumping seconds hand complication that was invented by the original company founder Ferdinand Adolph Lange.
Walter Lange died in January 2017, and his life and work will be celebrated a year later at SIHH in Geneva with the launch of the 1815 ‘Homage to Walter Lange’ timepiece at the centre of events.
The timepiece has both a small seconds indicator and a jumping seconds hand on the same dial.
The jumping sweep seconds hand with the start/stop function was especially significant for Walter Lange because it dates back to an 1867 invention of his great-grandfather, Ferdinand Adolph Lange. It was first implemented in a watch crafted by his grandfather, Emil Lange.
One of Germany’s first patents was granted to A. Lange & Söhne in 1877 for the enhanced design of a mechanism mounted on the three-quarter plate, and was referred to as a “one-second movement with a jumping hand”.
“An 1815 with jumping seconds likely corresponds to what Walter Lange would have deemed the perfect watch. It is totally reduced to the essence while impressing the enthusiast with a puristic yet technically exciting complication,” the company says.
The limited edition 40.5mm watch, which houses the specially developed L1925 movement, is offered in three configurations: 145 watches in white gold, 90 in pink gold and 27 in yellow gold.
Steel versions with black or white dials have also been made. No pricing has been announced.
