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Kit O. Payumo

Stellar

Welcome the most awesome time-only watch yet, and it’s by A. Lange & Söhne

Many would say, “what’s the big deal?” It tells the time, that’s it. Well, there lies the rub: for A. Lange & Söhne, telling “just the time” IS a big deal. Simply because they’ve found a way to tell it with even greater accuracy. This is why the exemplary A. Lange & Söhne watches bearing the title “Pour le Mérite” exist in a line-up of already exemplary A. Lange & Söhne watches.

First off, the exclusive timepieces bearing the name “Pour le Mérite” have all featured a fusée-and-chain mechanism, and, thus, bear the distinction of having the best rate accuracy over the entire A. Lange & Söhne range. Indeed, first introduced in 2009, the words “Pour le Mérite” was put forward by the German watchmaker to exemplify “an ambitious tribute to precision in its purest form,” the sole objective of which is to make the best even better.

As of 2016, only four watches have left the A. Lange & Söhne manufactory floors bearing the distinction, two of which have been previous versions of the watch featured here, 50 made in platinum and 200 in pink gold, with both featuring white enamel dials many consider to be the most stunning in the world.

Yes, that's a silver dial you're looking at, albeit in stunning black

This new 40.5 mm white gold version of the RICHARD LANGE “Pour le Mérite” features the same lay out but that’s all. As previously mentioned, this is a time-only watch so this new RICHARD LANGE “Pour le Mérite” presents just the hours, minutes and seconds but this time on a silver dial with a stunning deep-black finish accentuated by bright-white Roman numerals. Small Arabic numerals in red for 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes round things out by adding handsome nuances of color to the underlying black-and-white design.

Turn the watch over, and you’ll see what all the fuss is about. To the uninitiated, initial reaction would probably be that, for a time-only watch, the caliber L044.1 movement is overly decorated, that is until the fusée-and-chain mechanism stops all naysayers dead in their tracks.

Essentially, the fusée-and-chain provides more constant force to the escapement by balancing out the reduced torque provided by the mainspring as it winds down. This translates to stable energy output throughout the entire power reserve, and is achieved by a better gear ratio from the chain wound around a cone-shaped gear.

When the watch is fully wound, the chain pulls at a smaller circumference of the fusée. As the mainspring winds down, the chain then begins pulling at its wider level, thus delivering constant torque. Think of it like the gearing of a bicycle except that the gear ratios are infinitely variable rather than fixed.

And to banish any lingering doubts as to why the RICHARD LANGE “Pour le Mérite” is such a big deal, the chain alone is composed of 636 tiny, hand-assembled components to which the watchmakers at A. Lange & Söhne have added a technical refinement: two separate mechanisms that block the winding system before its fully wound and fully unwound states. This prevents the chain, which is only 0.25 millimeters thick and 156 millimeters long, from being overstressed.

Many 16th, 17th and 18th century pocket watches were equipped with a fusée, but today very few watch manufacturers are capable of transposing and fitting this rather large mechanism within the confines of a wristwatch. Obviously, A. Lange & Söhne is one of the few.

The superbly decorated L044.1 movement featuring the fusée-and-chain mechanism

At the heart of the calibre L044.1 lies a freely oscillating Lange hairspring that powers the large screw balance at a frequency of 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour. With four solid-gold poising screws, its moment of inertia can be adjusted precisely to the torque delivered by the fusée. And with the finissage of all the movements parts typical of the Saxon watchmaker, including the wide striping on the three-quarter plate made of German silver, the gold chatons, the straight graining of the upper side of the chain, as well as the engravings on the balance cock, escape-wheel and fourth-wheel cock, and you have a watch that is practically a work of art.

And did we mention that this exclusive timepiece is a limited edition? Yes, the RICHARD LANGE “Pour le Mérite” is limited to only 218 pieces, significant in that 218 is the current number of global points of sale at which A. Lange & Söhne timepieces are available. Best of all, this new RICHARD LANGE “Pour le Mérite” in white gold costs 30% less than the pink gold version. So what’s not to like?

“The fusée-and-chain provides more constant force to the escapement by balancing out the reduced torque provided by the mainspring as it winds down”

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