Unlike several other brands at Watches & Wonders 2021 (*cough cough – Rolex – cough cough*), the new releases from A.Lange & Söhne certainly did not disappoint.
During the first day of the digital exhibition, 5 new models were announced, which we will briefly talk about here. If you are unfamiliar with this historic brand, you can always refer to our dedicated article!
Now, onto the new releases!
The Two New Lange 1 Perpetual Calendars
The first announcement was already a heavy hitter: this year, we’ll be getting two new Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar models. The first features a rose gold case and a silver dial, and the other, a white gold-salmon pink configuration.
In terms of dial layout and design, it is pretty much the same as the Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar from 2012. That means: month indicator on an outer-circumferential disc (specified with an arrow at 6), a slightly off-centred moon-phase at 7, and a retrograde hand indicating the day of the week at 9. Finally, we can see the proprietary Lange Grand Date Windows at 11, and the time at 3.
The real highlights of these releases are the materials used for the dial and the all new in-house Lange movement. Just to give you an example of the former, the rose gold version’s dial isn’t just silver coloured, but in fact, made from actual silver – a very elegant touch.
Likewise, the salmon-pink hue of the white gold version’s dial owes itself to actual rose gold. This configuration has only been used once before in another Lange timepiece: the Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon.
Powering these two new Lange 1 Perpetual Calendars is the caliber L021.3: a totally new, 50-hour automatic movement which was developed from the cal. L021.1. Apart from the masterful construction and decoration of the movement, one thing that definitely stands out is the 21 carat gold unidirectional rotor.
Retail Price for the Rose Gold-Silver Dial model (ref.345.033): €101,700
Retail Price for the White Gold-Salmon Dial model (ref.345.056): €111,800
The Two New Little Lange 1 Moonphase “Avventurina”
These two new versions of the A.Lange & Söhne Little Lange 1s are no doubt some of the best-crafted creations of Watches & Wonders 2021. They both feature a truly stunning and enigmatic dark blue aventurine dial. With tiny inserts of copper, they produce a spectacular night sky effect which you could quite literally get lost in.
In case you were wondering, the “little” in Little Lange 1 comes from its smaller stature of 36.8mm. The regular Lange 1 clocks in at 38.8mm, but either way, both sizes a truly fantastic and well-proportioned
Speaking of: usually, A.Lange & Söhne’s major weakness is the tichkness of a lot of their watches, but this one has totally remedied that, measuring an impressive 10mm thin!
Two versions of the new Little Lange 1 are available: both are in white gold, but you can choose between a smooth bezel, or one with diamonds.
(note from the translator: holy moly folks… this right here is my new grail)
Retail Price for the non-diamonded bezel version (ref.182.086): €43,900
Retail Price for the diamonded bezel version (ref.182.886): €55,300
The New Rose Gold Triple Split with a Blue Dial
The most critically acclaimed release from A.Lange & Söhne so far this year is no doubt the new Triple Split chronograph. But why? The movement: perhaps one of the most finest in the world.
As if a split-seconds chronograph movement isn’t technically complex enough… a triple-split? That’s just silly… hats off to Lange!
For those unfamiliar with this complication: the Triple Split is an uprecedented progression from the Double Split, which is a function that allows you to time an intermediate value (like the “lap” button), hence the “double” title. As the Triple Split’s name would suggest, it allows you to time two intermediate values (as well as the main chronograph function) up to 12 hours long thanks to its 3 hands.
This absolute gem of a movement – the cal. L132.1 – is made up of 567 components, and has a 55 hour power reserve. At first glance, that may not seem like all that much. But think about the functions that it has to carry out: 55 is actually a hugely impressive number.
Just to give you an idea of how complex this movement is, Lange’s CEO revealed that, when faced with the choice of manufacturing a perpetual calendar movement, a tourbillon, or a triple split, nearly all of the watchmakers at A.Lange & Söhne would choose the first two.
A grey dial-white gold case version was also “offered”, but it sold out almost instantaneously. Like the rose gold and blue dial model, this was also limited to 100 pieces.
In short, these two releases perfectly embody the absurdly genius level of engineering that the folks at Lange have.
Retail Price for the Rose Gold version (ref.424.037): €163,400
Final Thoughts
Once again, Lange has proved that their main focus is quality over quantity (approx. 5,000 pieces produced per year). This philosphy is reflected in this 2021’s releases, too: very few, but very, very nice. In our opinion, our favourites are the new variant of the perpetual calendar, even though the Triple Split definitely stole the show in terms of media coverage.
What do you make of these releases? Let us know in the comments!
-Translated by Patrick R.
