THE MECHANICAL FINESSE OF A LANGE WATCH. AND ITS INVENTORS.

Lange’s stop seconds for the tourbillon illustrates how the calibre engineers at the manufactory develop a new movement and what expectations they have. In every project, their objective is to create something exceptional, technically unique and truly useful unlike anything ever created before in exactly the same way.

Hence, the tourbillon in the CABARET TOURBILLON – a mechanism invented to enhance rate accuracy – was refined to perfection, making it possible to set a watch endowed with this complication precisely to the second.
Calibre engineers
THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE WATCHES (14 MB)

USEFUL INNOVATIONS.

It is always an idea that initiates the development of a new Lange watch – a new technical solution with the potential to improve the precision of mechanical timepieces or simplify their operation, for example. That’s how Lange’s calibre engineers understand the concept of a useful innovation. They want to introduce only inventions of this kind in horology. Accordingly, they examine every new idea with respect to the functional benefit that the owner of the watch can derive from it.

3D-model of a watch

THE ENGINEERING OF COMPONENTS.

Only then does the actual development of the movement begin. In this phase, Lange’s calibre engineers rely on 3D workstations with the latest software. With these resources, they navigate through the technical microcosm, define recesses of the plates, position the bores for screws and bearings, and add accurately calculated wheels and pinions. Then, they virtually put the first subassemblies together on their monitors and simulate the motion sequences of certain parts.

engineering drawing

A FEEL FOR MATERIALS AND PHYSICS.

When a new watch is developed, up to 10,000 different dimensions, fits, and tolerances must be defined – and quite a few of them are beyond exact calculation. For instance, there is no mathematical formula for the characteristic Lange click when a push piece is actuated. Nonetheless, the geometric parameters of the associated levers and springs must be specified in the engineering phase. So a calibre engineer’s stock-in-trade necessarily includes a feel for materials and physics.

Movement of the DATOGRAPH PERPETUAL

THE BEAUTY OF THE MOVEMENTS.

Additionally, the newly developed movement must manifest its uniqueness from an aesthetic point of view. After all, it will be visible through the sapphire-crystal caseback. So the engineering phase also involves considerations as to which portions of the calibre will be showcased and how certain parts must be fashioned to contribute to the beauty of the masterpiece.

CONTINUE THE MANUFACTORY TOUR IN THE NEXT WORKSTATION