For Watches And Wonders 2023 in Geneva, A. Lange & Söhne brought one watch. One model, albeit a highly awaited one. The Odysseus Chronograph. CEO Wilhelm Schmid explained that this would be such an important piece, it should have the limelight to itself.
The Odysseus Chronograph is a stunner following on a stunner. The Odysseus family was launched four years ago, marking the fine watchmaker’s first foray into the kind of sporty elegant watch market. A daily driver of sorts perhaps from a brand more known for special pieces for special times.
The Odysseus Chronograph uses the brand’s first self-winding chronograph movement. The newly developed L156.1 calibre is a manufacture Datograph movement, and is of course finished and decorated accordingly to the high Lange standards. The rotor mass is in 950 platinum, and fully wound the movement has a power reserve of 50 hours.
The 42.5mm stainless steel case is of three parts, and is meant to handle up to 12 bar of pressure. A combination of brushed matte finishes and chamfered shinier edges helps create a look that is somewhat sedate with a bit of splash.
The watch face is stunning, making excellent use of the large aperture windows for day and date. The black main dial has a textured surface that is accentuated by the white gold baton appliques.
Hour and minute hands are Lange lancet-shaped, the chronograph seconds hand is red (matching the small “60” mark on the inside at 12 o’clock), and the chrono minutes hand has what they call a lozenge-shaped tip but to me looks like a long thin diamond. Running seconds are at 6 o’clock. This makes everything look clean and lean.
The shape of the watch shows more of the specialness of the piece. Specially sealed tapered pushers smoothly flank the crown. In the normal screwed down position, they act as chronograph start, stop, and reset activators. If you unscrew the crown and pull it out one position, those same buttons act to adjust date and day.
The watch has the stainless steel bracelet already familiar to those who know the Odysseus family. This novelty is limited to a hundred boutique-exclusive pieces.
ODYSSEUS CHRONOGRAPH
Ref. 463.178
Movement: Lange manufacture calibre L156.1 DATOMATIC®, self-winding, crafted to the most exacting Lange quality standards, decorated and assembled by hand; precision-adjusted in five positions; unidirectional winding central rotor with 950 platinum centrifugal mass; balance bridge engraved by hand
Movement parts: 516
Jewels: 52
Screwed gold chatons: 4
Escapement: Lever escapement
Oscillation system: Shock-resistant cam-poised balance with four poising screws, superior-quality balance spring manufactured in-house, frequency 28,800 semi-oscillations per hour (4 hertz), precision beat adjustment system with cam and whiplash spring
Power reserve: 50 hours when fully wound
Functions: Time indicated in hours, minutes, and subsidiary seconds with stop seconds; date and day-of-week displays, chronograph with central chrono seconds hand and 60-minute counter
Operating elements: Screw-down crown for winding the watch and setting the time; two buttons for correcting the date and day of week as well as operating the chronograph
Case dimensions: Diameter: 42.5 millimetres; height: 14.2 millimetres
Movement dimensions: Diameter: 34.9 millimetres; height: 8.4 millimetres
Case: Stainless steel
Water resistance: Up to 12 bar (120 metres)
Dial: Brass, black
Hands and appliques: Hours and minutes: white gold, luminous; subsidiary seconds: white gold; 60-minute counter: rhodiumed steel, luminous; red chrono seconds hand: aluminium; baton appliques: white gold, luminous
Crystal and caseback: Sapphire crystal (Mohs hardness 9)
Bracelet: Stainless steel
Buckle: Safety deployant buckle with precision adjustment mechanism for adjusting the length
Limited edition: 100 watches, edition engraving, boutique-exclusive
