1815 Homage to Walter Lange
World War II had a devastating impact on German watchmakers. Factories in Germany were seized by the Soviet Union to mass produce watches. The highly-reputed German watchmaker A. Lange & Söhne was one such brand to fall prey to the terminal effects of war. Following the reunification of Germany, factories which had been seized by the communist state were handed back to their original owners.
Founded in 1845 by Ferdinand Adolph Lange, A. Lange & Söhne was well known for their exquisitely hand finished, complicated pocket watches commissioned by German royalty and watch connoisseurs.
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World War II had effectively shut down all watchmaking at A. Lange & Söhne for several decades. Walter Lange, the great-grandson of Ferdinand was instrumental in reviving the fallen giant. Aided by the then watch industry legend Günter Blümlein, Walter re-established A. Lange & Söhne in 1994 after a gap of 40 years.
Walter Lange sharing a lighter moment with Günter Blümlein in the presence of greatness
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To commemorate the life and work of Walter Lange and his priceless contribution to the company, A. Lange & Söhne released the 1815 'Homage to Walter Lange' at the 2018 SIHH, a year after his demise.
Through his tenure, Walter always wanted to produce a watch that featured the Jumping Seconds Mechanism. However, he never found the support he needed from his team to do so as the movement was both complex to make and extremely costly to mass produce. From a business perspective, it just didn't make sense. Therefore, following his demise, it was only fitting that the company paid tribute to him by finally launching the 1815 with jumping seconds. It’s a pity he wasn’t around to see it himself. He would have been very proud.
Image Credit: langepedia
Dial View
The jumping seconds mechanism was patented by Emil Lange in 1877 over 140 years before the 1815 Homage was released in 2018.
Found in pocket watches, this complication was a predecessor to the chronograph movement and even more complex to execute. A first look at the 1815 draws your attention to not one but two running second hands. The first is the jumping second hand mounted on the central arbor, 'ticking' along, momentarily pausing at each second marker on the periphery of the dial. This is different from the smooth sweeping movement of the second hand seen in traditional mechanical watch. A mono pusher positioned at 2 o'clock on the case is used to actuate the start and stop of the centre second hand much like a chronograph, albeit without a reset option. This functions as a timer of sorts, to record time up to a minute, independently of the watch itself. In contrast the subsidiary dial at 6 o’clock sports a hand that displays seconds with smooth and steady progress.
The movement in the 1815 Homage to Walter Lange is reminiscent of movements found in vintage pocket watches featuring the jumping seconds mechanism.
The Complex L1924 Caliber
The L1924 calibre that powers the 1815 is named for Walter Lange's date of birth. The multi-tier construction of the 1815 as seen through the open case back leaves you admiring the movement of the watch as much, if not more than the dial layout reminiscent of a pocket watch.
The L1924 houses a column wheel found in traditional chronographs but with a few interestingly named additional parts referred to by Lange as the, "flirt" and "star". The flirt and star system, working in conjunction, contribute to the torque required to power the jumping second hand, one indice at a time.
The jumping seconds mechanism in action.
Video Credit: A. Lange & Söhne
253 parts, mostly made of German silver power the L1924 movement and the mechanically wound timepiece at 21,600 vibrations per hour (vph). 36 jewels of which three are set in gold chatons provide stability to the inner workings of the watch that has a 60-hour power reserve.
How many were made and why?
The resurgence of A. Lange & Söhne in 1990 inspired 90 of the 1815 timepieces to be made in 18 karat pink gold. A further 145 pieces in 18 karat white gold were produced to mark the successful working of A. Lange & Söhne over 145 years between its inception in 1845 and revival in 1990. Lastly, 27 watches were cased in Walter Lange's favourite... a yellow gold case to mark the 27 years that have passed since the brand's resurgence.
The Yellow gold, White and Pink gold iterations of the 1815 Homage to Walter Lange.
All the variants have been designed with a silver dial, black printed numerals in sync with the German approach to legibility and blue hour, minute and second hands to tell time.
One uniquely designed stainless steel watch with a black enamel dial was made for auction to pay tribute to Walter Lange's philanthropic nature. A. Lange & Söhne rarely made watches in stainless steel and this deviation from the norm design helped the watch to sell for $852,525 during the Phillips auction in 2018.
Image Credit: LANGEPEDIA
The 1815 Tribute to Walter Lange impresses you with the simple and understated dial contrasted with it's complex, decoratively designed case back. It represents the work of generations of watchmakers and a brand that started with a team of three employees in a dated facility to transform over time to a state of the art watchmaking facility that now houses eight hundred staff!
It is a recognised fact in watchmaking circles that the same care and attention to detail is given to every single watch assembled in A. Lange & Söhne irrespective of its price point. Each timepiece after initial assembly is taken apart completely to be rechecked for human error during hand-finishing and then re-assembled before it is dispatched from the factory. This meticulous process across all of the watchmaker’s watches sets the brand apart from most of its competitors.
Closing Thoughts
The 1815 Tribute to Walter Lange represents the many facets of Walter Lange's life's work including resurrecting his brand to its former glory and beyond as well as setting the highest standards of watchmaking instrumental in producing watches that are robust, easily serviceable and visually stunning.
German automobile engineering has led the world for as long as one can recall. Watchmakers like A. Lange & Söhne, leading from the front will hopefully one day achieve similar domination over all that is high and mighty in the world of horology.
One of Walter Lange's most famous quotes reads, "Here's something one should expect not only of a watch but also of oneself: to never stand still."
Ironically the jumping second hand on the watch built to pay tribute to him does stand still, albeit momentarily, before it moves on to endlessly record the passage of time.
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