Yet another giant release from SIHH by this globally revered brand – A. Lange & Sohne for 2014. Watch Report is pleased to introduce the A. Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk Striking time. There haven’t been many releases of minute repeaters this year and fewer still with an in house movement, so this release from this German brand sits at the very top for me.
As this complication came out of the Zeitwerk collection, its brilliance is magnified by the inclusion of both jumping hours and minutes. This timepiece represents the first time in horology that these two complications have been placed together in a single watch.
The Zeitwerk Striking time is driven by an in house mechanical hand wound movement – the Lange manufacture Caliber L043.2, which is comprised of an incredible 528 parts. As such the jewels are also very numerous totaling 78 in all. The L043.2 also features a shock resistant Glucydur balance wheel, which vibrates at a consistent 18,000 VpH. When fully wound, this timepiece carries a minimum of 36 hours of power reserve.
The movement is rather large with dimensions of 36mm for the diameter and 10mm for the height. These proportions fit neatly into the 44.2mm X 13.1mm case, which comes in either 950 platinum or 18kt white gold. At the 2 position on the case is a ridged main crown, which allows for the effortless winding of the watch or the setting of the time. Coming in at 4 o’clock is the actuator for the minute repeater. This repeater emits a low pitch sound for the hours and higher pitches to indicate elapsed intervals of 15 minutes. Completing the aesthetics of the watch is a large square scaled black alligator strap.
The black dial indicates the jumping hours and minutes at the 9 and 3 positions respectively. Perhaps the most incredible thing about this watch is the visible striking mechanism, which can be admired on either side of the large small seconds subdial. In keeping with the dial layout, I am sure that the hours are struck on the left side, while the minutes are struck on the right side. At the 12 position, there is a power reserve display, which is rendered in retrograde format.
