What sets watches with a striking mechanism apart?
The great complications in watchmaking artistry include the tourbillon and the perpetual calendar ‒ as well as the minute repeater. Owing to its supreme degree of sophistication and complexity, only experienced watchmakers who have mastered this specialist field of artisanship are capable of crafting watches featuring this complication. Every single timepiece requires a substantial amount of time for completion; hence, merely a small number of watches can be produced within a year.
Since the re-establishment of A. Lange & Söhne in 1990, several masterpieces with a striking mechanism have been developed by our manufacture. Discover the models from our current collection here as well as watches from past years:
MINUTE REPEATER PERPETUAL
A minute repeater and a perpetual calendar – that is music to the ears of many watch aficionados. But as if that were not enough: in the new MINUTE REPEATER PERPETUAL, our watchmakers have equipped both complications with additional sophisticated functions. These include the typical Lange outsize date, the pusher for jointly advancing the calendar indications, the patented hammer blocker and the pause elimination when the repeater sequence is activated. This striking composition provides unambiguous readings of all displays, paired with a lucid, reverberant sound.
The artisanal finish of the timepiece is also peerless. In an elaborate procedure, the black enamel dial is crafted in our manufacture. Moreover, the black polish of the gong hammers and the engraving of the lunar disc involve many hours of manual work. With this exceptional symbiosis of technical finesse and artisanal skill, we have once more given precision watchmaking a new impetus.
ZEITWERK MINUTE REPEATER
The ZEITWERK MINUTE REPEATER is the only mechanical wristwatch that combines a jumping numerals display with a decimal minute repeater. Since 2015, it has enjoyed a privileged status among wristwatches with a striking mechanism: with a single actuation of a pusher, it sounds the hours, ten-minute intervals and minutes.
In 2020, the sequel to the platinum version, a white-gold version with a deep-blue dial, limited to 30 pieces, was launched. In 2023, A. Lange & Söhne presented a model version that also comes in a limited edition of 30 watches ‒ in Lange-exclusive honey gold (HONEYGOLD®) with a grey dial.
RICHARD LANGE MINUTE REPEATER
Since 2022, the RICHARD LANGE MINUTE REPEATER has impressed aficionados with its classic elegance. In this timepiece, the elaborate striking mechanism plays the leading role. When the slide integrated into the left-hand case flank is actuated, the striking mechanism chimes the hours, quarter-hours and minutes.
The white enamel dial has a 750-gold core and is crafted in-house. The RICHARD LANGE MINUTE REPEATER comes in a limited edition of 50 watches in platinum.
ZEITWERK DECIMAL STRIKE
Launched in 2017, the ZEITWERK DECIMAL STRIKE features a self-activating striking mechanism that sounds two different individual tones: a low-pitched tone for the hours and a high-pitched tone for the intermediate ten-minute intervals. Whereas classic striking mechanisms sound the hours and quarter-hours, its ten-minute striking mechanism chimes synchronously with the digital time indication.
The two hammers that are visible on the dial side consist of polished steel and, like the hammer bridge, are decorated with an elaborate tremblage engraving.
The case of this distinctive model, limited to an edition of 100 watches, is crafted from Lange-exclusive honey gold (HONEYGOLD®).
GRAND COMPLICATION
The seven complications of the GRAND COMPLICATION include a rattrapante chronograph with a minute counter and flying seconds as well as a perpetual calendar with a moon-phase display. This masterpiece, introduced in 2013, also incorporates a minute repeater with a grand and small strike (grande sonnerie/petite sonnerie).
Every quarter-hour, the grand strike first indicates the full hour on the low-pitched gong, followed by the quarter-hours with one, two or three double tones. The small strike sounds the quarter-hours with double tones, without chiming the hours beforehand. Only at the top of the hour, the elapsed hours are struck on the low-pitched gong.
ZEITWERK STRIKING TIME
With the ZEITWERK STRIKING TIME, A. Lange & Söhne introduced the first mechanical wristwatch with a jumping numerals display for hours and minutes as well as a visibly configured striking mechanism in 2011.
Thanks to the striking mechanism that activates itself, the ZEITWERK STRIKING TIME chimes the full hours with a low-pitched tone and the intermediate 15-minute intervals with a high-pitched tone. The gong hammers are made of black-polished steel and are harmoniously integrated in the dial design.
Complications
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