March 28, 2024
Front of A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Tourbillon Handwerkskunst

To commemorate Berlin Wall collapsed 20th anniversary, Lange was released the Lange 1 Tourbillon Handwerkskunst. It’s everything you’d expect from Lange and more. This 20th anniversary edition just only limited to 20 pieces   Front of A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Tourbillon Handwerkskunst
Everything about this edition is classic. Lange 1 Tourbillon Handwerkskunst case is a round 38.5 mm in platinum; a classic size that’s bound to satisfy us all. Then, there’s the classic highly polished bezel with the highly brushed sides; very dressy, very casual and very ingenious. Closer looks are what define Lange’s aptitude in symmetry. Further careful inspection reveals the main dial to be not galvanized silver, but enameled. That explains why the lanced rhodiumed-gold hands vault out more than usual . Across the bottom, the tourbillon cock is specular polished. Chamfers are gleaming, as is the wide decouverture around the center screw. That other gleaming thing that you see as a tourbillon bearing is a diamond.

If you’re a Lange 1 fan then you’re already sold on this model. But what you’re loving is the grey-on-black outsized date. What else? The circular graining on the circumscribed running seconds at 7 o’clock. Look closer into that seconds dial and you’ll find “Made in Germany” hidden in plain sight.Side of A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Tourbillon HandwerkskunstAround the back, the L961.3 manufacture movement has a very special three-quarter plate made of untreated German silver. There’s no Glashütte ribbing here, but heavy dressage. Sunburst cutouts reveal the twin mainspring barrel and fellow wares.

Like every A. Lange & Söhne movement, it’s a feast for the eyes and a pleasure to behold. The only problem is not knowing where to start – the blued screws or the gold chatons? The hand-engraved intermediate and balance wheel cocks or the tourbillon-bridge? There are 378 parts to admire here, and you can admire them ticking for three full days. As you may have guessed, Lange’s patented tourbillon stop-seconds mechanism immobilizes the tourbillon cage at the pull of the crown. A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Tourbillon Handwerkskunst caseback
The Lange 1 Tourbillon Handwerkskunst embodies the kind of excellence that we’d expect to find. There’s balance, symmetry, luxury, enameling, finishing, rarity and, above all, respect. Respect for the craft that kept this manufacture ticking for the half-century during which it could not produce.