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Going Digital: The A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Striking Time

It’s a testament to A. Lange & Söhne’s watchmaking prowess that in 2009 they took home the Aiguille d’Or at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève—the ‘Oscars of watchmaking’, so to speak.  This was the first time in history that a non-Swiss brand had won the award, with the win going to the Lange Zeitwork reference. A few years later A. Lange & Söhne extended the capabilities of this reference with the Zeitwerk Striking Time reference 145.029 in 18k white gold which retails for $129,565 (based on current USD/CHF exchange), followed by references in pink gold and platinum.

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The Zeitwerk collection as a whole pays tribute to a longstanding tradition of highly legible and eye-catching date displays in German watchmaking. Lange took things a solid step further with the Zeitwork, employing two such displays to show the hours and minutes of time, both employing instantaneous jumping mechanisms (one per disc, and thus three in total). This may sound like a rather simple thing—trust us, it’s not. Both the power demands and the additional stresses that come with this type of mechanism are anything but simple or easy to execute, but Lange being Lange, it is one of many complications they’ve become masters of over the years.

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The digital display of time simultaneously serves two purposes for the Zeitwerk Striking Time.  First, it plays a “modernizing” role in that this is a format for reading time that we’re familiar with from laptop computers and mobile phones.  Second, it pays tribute to the famous digital clock which is perched above the stage of the Dresden opera house. King John of Saxony insisted on including this clock when commissioning the building circa 1870.  The king had grown weary of hearing the click of pocket watch covers opening or, even worse, the chiming of such watches in the middle of a performance. His hope was that, by supplying a public clock, the audience would learn the time more silently.

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Returning to the Zeitwerk Striking Time, centered below the hour and minutes apertures we find a sweeping seconds dial on which the time is marked by a flawlessly polished leaf seconds hand.  The seconds are marked in increments of ten and surrounded by a railroad track chapter ring. At what is usually “12 o’clock” on a watch dial, the Zeitwerk Striking Time offers an “up down” power reserve.  When the indicator points at “AUF” (up in German) the manually wound movement can run for 36 hours without additional winding. The wearer will know that the watch will soon run out of power once the indicator begins to point towards “AB” (down in German).  The total power of the watch is divided into 12 increments (each division being three hours) which are demarked by the same railroad track design we see on the seconds dial. The Lange family holds two important patents for development of up down power reserve indicators.

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The brushed German silver bracket outlining the hours, minutes, and seconds subdial is more than just an aesthetic feature—it’s actually one of the main supporting bridges of its caliber.  Typically hidden within the case, this bit of trickery not only adds a layer of visual complexity, but also allows for a slightly more slender overall case measurement. A close observer will note that adjacent to the five seconds mark is a recessed spot on the bridge which presents a jewel from the movement.  The theme here is that Lange wants the wearer to have a direct visual connection to the inner workings of the Zeitwerk Striking Time without resorting to conventional skeletonizing practices. To the left and right of the 45 and 15 seconds markers, you’ll note the two black polished strikers for its repeater caliber.  

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These components, along with the gongs encircling the perimeter of the dial, kinetically distinguish the Zeitwerk Striking Time from its immediate predecessor.  They form a quarter sonnerie complication, meaning that every fifteen minutes the right striker taps the gong, producing a pleasing and high tone that audibly marks the passage of time.  At the change of an hour the left striker goes to work, producing a single lower but equally enjoyable timbre. This is a playfully mischievous update to the time display originally developed to silence precisely such noises from pocket watches during opera performances. 

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One can almost imagine contagious smiles breaking out during the Lange whiteboarding session when the sonnerie addition was proposed. There is no need to worry that the Striking Time will disrupt a meeting, sleep or opera performance. Adjacent the right striker, on the outer perimeter of the case there is a push button to declutch the strikers, silencing them until they are welcome to resume their auditory duties.

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Turning the watch over, a display caseback presents a tapestry matchless finishing that has become synonymous with modern-era Lange watchmaking.  Foremost is the elegant hand engraving on the swan’s neck balance cock, which holds the freesprung balance wheel.  This design is a hallmark of German watchmaking, and ensures that each example of the reference is truly unique.    The mainplates of the movement are decorated with Glashütte ribbing (similar to Geneva stripes), while the components are held together by both blued and black polished screws.  Perlage is presented from the depths of the movement. The wearer can enjoy watching the manual wind movement charge the barrel as the crown is turned. 

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A Bit of History

Modern Lange watches represent a second life for the brand which began in 1989.  During a press conference on November 9 of that year Günter Schabowski, First Secretary of the East Berlin chapter of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) and a member of the SED Politbüro announced that travel between East Germany and West Germany could proceed largely unimpeded.  This is the moment when, at least legally, the Berlin Wall fell. The sledgehammers followed soon thereafter. In the city of Pforzheim, approximately 200 miles away, lived a businessman in the wholesale watch industry named Walter Lange.

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More than fifty year earlier, in 1948, Lange lived close to the East German border with Czechoslovakia in the small town of Glashütte.  In that year his family watch brand, A. Lange & Söhne, was taken from him as part of the East German push to nationalize ownership of enterprise in furtherance of communism. Facing the threat of forced labor in a uranium mine he decided to flee to West Germany. Walter Lange’s watchmaking business had been established by his great grandfather, Ferdinand A. Lange, in 1845—Ferdinand served as an intern to the horologist who designed the Dresden Opera clock.  Walter had long desired to reestablish the family business during his time as a refugee in the West. In 1990 he regained the company name, and in 1994 the brand was reborn and presenting its first new references in four decades.  

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Final Thoughts

The Zeitwerk Striking Time encases some of the best elements of haute horology.  The brand’s history is long and important, and epitomizes the resolve of fine watchmaking to persevere over centuries despite periodic disruptions.  The technical accomplishments needed to bring this history to life could only be accomplished with modern engineering and knowhow, and the visual and audible design features appeal to the soul, reminding the owner that fine watchmaking is as much about emotion as it is about function.

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