The Art of Waiting In his photo series “The Art Of Waiting”, Clemens Poloczek, creative director at iGNANT Productions, showcases a new perspective of the classic 1815 ANNUAL CALENDAR.

Portrait in schwarz-weiß, 1815 JAHRESKALENDER am Handgelenk. Clemens Poloczek für A. Lange & Söhne

“Why always close in on the product? If you show everything from the start, the excitement is lost,” Poloczek says. His visual approach is to change the perspective of things and turn stories related to them into an experience.

He does not ask the obvious questions concerning mechanisms and materials. He is interested in finding out “who the wearers of the watch are – what they look like, how they move, how they do things.” Waiting, for instance, is a trivial topic at first sight, but it permeates our everyday lives. For Poloczek, that is exactly what’s appealing: exposing the aesthetics of everyday objects. Explaining his interpretation, Poloczek says: “These people wait emphatically; they don’t get nervous but instead succumb to the situation.”

The images taken by André Hemstedt and Tine Reimer are contrastive. “Today, waiting is perceived as being negative – but there’s nothing you can do about it.” We spend a considerable portion of our lives waiting in different positions: lying, sitting, leaning. The photos focus on the ways and styles of waiting of an individual – someone with a classic annual calendar on the wrist.

The 1815 ANNUAL CALENDAR is precisely handcrafted and consists of 345 parts. Poloczek is fascinated by the “preciousness, the tangible artisanal perfection”. The timepiece with analogue date, day and month displays as well as a moon-phase display is only vaguely depicted in most images. Its aura unfolds in the mind of the sensitive observer, a person in the know.

Black and white photography of a modern concrete staircase. Clemens Poloczek for A. Lange & Söhne.

Black and white photography of the 1815 ANNUAL CALENDAR. Clemens Poloczek for A. Lange & Söhne.

The sturdy three-quarter plate made of untreated German silver, the blued screws, the screwed gold chatons and the hand-engraved balance cock are already considered hallmarks of historic pocket watches. Characteristic elements and developments from Ferdinand Adolph Lange’s prolific career were elegantly echoed and translated into the present. Featuring a peripheral railway-track minute scale, Arabic numerals and blued-steel hands, the dial is inspired by the design of classic timepieces as well.

Poloczek was surprised to see that despite its historic roots, the 1815 ANNUAL CALENDAR harmoniously blends into the modern context and thus expresses its progressive personality. “With its classic and decidedly reduced design, it matches the zeitgeist of the new generation,” Poloczek adds. “The digital era makes us yearn for haptic experiences and analogue values. The annual calendar delivers exactly that, as vibrantly confirmed by the images – also, or especially, because the focus is not solely on the watch.”