The A. Lange & Söhne Grand Lange 1 is almost analogous to modern sports timepieces. It is made of blackened silver with ample apertures and blacktinted, semi-transparent sapphire-crystal glass. The special coating applied to the glass pigments on the outsize-date mechanism and cause them to glow in the dark. It is limites to 200 pieces.
As with the dial, the Grand Lange 1 Moonphase disc is also made of glass, different from Lange’s previous moon-phase models with solid-gold lunar discs. Initially, its surface is treated with a patented coating process. In a second step, a laser is used to cut out 1164 stars and the moon. Moreover, with Lange’s improved moonphase movement, the moonphase calculation is said to be highly accurate. Once properly set, it only needs to be corrected by one day every 122.6 years. Apart from the lume effect, we especially like how the translucent dial gives the watch a skeleton feel, revealing portions of its immaculately finished top plate.
The watch runs on a manually wound calibre L095.4, elaborately finished and assembled twice. The three-quarter plate is made of untreated German silver and is decorated with Glashütte ribbing and fit with beautiful heated blue screws in well cut gold chaton jewel holders. The movement also features a freesprung balance spring with an excellent rate of accuracy. Running on a 3 days power reserve, the 45 jewels movement is cased in a 41 mm platinum case.
All in all, we like the concept of the watch, the ingenuity of the Lumen dial, and the Lange attention to quality engineering and finishing. That said, for sticklers to tradition and puritan classicism, then perhaps the Lumen may be too progressive for you, and even blasphemous. But for the rest of us plebeians, if you can afford it, go get it.
