1815 Moon Phase "Hommage to F A Lange" - a pictorial | A. Lange & Söhne

1815 Moon Phase "Hommage to F A Lange" - a pictorial

Two years ago, A Lange & Sohne paid tribute to the founder of the German watchmaking dynasty with the "Hommage to F A Lange" edition, comprising three iconic timepieces:

* The TOURBOGRAPH "Pour le Merite"

* The LANGE 1 TOURBILLON

* The 1815 MOON PHASE

The hallmark of these limited edition (265 pcs) masterpieces is a totally new alloy of remarkable hardness and radiance: 18 carat honey-colored gold.

I was fortunate enough to lay my hands on one such piece and made a hasty post about it, but promised to take some proper pictures when I have the time.

The 1815 Moon Phase is characterised by its meticulously guilloched central segment dial, the blue lustre of the moon phase indicator and of the hands, and superb sunburst finishing of the movement. The outer portion of the three-quarter plate displays the hand-engraved signature "A. Lange & Sohne/Sa." and the balance cock carries unique hand engraving, a task mastered by only a handful of watchmakers at Lange.

Rather than using the rounded value of 29.5 days for the lunar month, the 1815 MOON PHASE operates on a mean orbit of 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 3 seconds. Each watch is delievered with a moon phase time table. So long as the watch runs without interruption, it offers astronomic precision for 30 generations - the moonphase display would have to be corrected by a day in 1058 years!

Without further ado...here are some wonderful pictures taken by my friend Ogyia:

Escapement:

Hacking and balance - the balance spring operates at the rate accuracy of 100 nanometres (about 1/100 part of the diameter of a human hair). Truly mind-boggling...

Screwed gold chatons:

The guilloched central dial:

Superbly engraved balance cock:

The immaculately finished three-quarter plate:

Hope you enjoyed these pictures.

Sam

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I have to send mine back to Lange: one endstone is missing ;-)

By: COUNT DE MONET : February 12th, 2012-02:56

Wow, what lovely pictures from this romantic watch: the aura is fully present on the pictures. The first one looks nearly like painted, very atmospheric. Let us see if someone else is also missing one stone ... . Regards Moritz

Sorry to hear that Moritz...

By: samwan : February 12th, 2012-03:39

Hope it will be fixed soon Best Sam

You may recall that I had to send mine back too!...

By: CR : February 12th, 2012-21:22

It ran intermittently -- would stop before being fully wound down. Seems like Lange's factory-fresh deliveries of this model aren't quite up to par as far as reliability goes. I haven't had a problem since getting it back. I hope you get yours back soon!

There is no diamond endstone in this MP! Nobody noticed that? :-)

By: COUNT DE MONET : February 13th, 2012-05:22

Hello there certainly, I recall your technical problems with your MP but what I ment with an endstone missing was sarcastically ment: Sam must have mistakenly attached a picture from a L1 Tourbillon to this post. Or deliberately to test us? Regards Moritz

Ahh, okay -- that escaped me! NOW I get it! [nt]

By: CR : February 13th, 2012-17:55

No message body

I noticed it right away...

By: patrick_y : February 13th, 2012-21:20

Scared me for a moment, thought there was something wrong with my memory. Then I realized...

Sharp eyes Moritz!

By: fernando : February 13th, 2012-23:13

You are referring to the second to last pic. I suppose. Sam must have slipped that one in to confuse us.

You can not imagine how long an inspection takes ...

By: COUNT DE MONET : February 14th, 2012-05:17

before I say "Yes, I buy it!". And I found already quite a few flaws ... not with a Lange yet though! Regards Moritz

LOL

By: samwan : February 14th, 2012-03:07

You are absolutely correct Moritz.... My bad. Two of the pictures are indeed taken for my Lange 1 Tourbillon. I am impressed Sam

I have also sometimes the feeling something is missing with this model...

By: COUNT DE MONET : February 14th, 2012-05:14

like a minute repeater function to add more mechanical complexity to it and enhance also the romantic mood. Was thinking that you might also have this feeling ... . But with a repeater function equiped it would have been out of reach for me, so all is fin...

The alternative is to get a MR pocket watch

By: samwan : February 14th, 2012-05:22

I know it's not the same, but is certainly the next best thing. This is a video made of a piece that I own, at 1/50 of the price of a MR wrist watch... www.youtube.com Best Sam

Indeed: a pocket MR! I mised a good one recently

By: COUNT DE MONET : February 14th, 2012-05:31

It was the first that I have ever tested, found it quite good in sound and pace, wanted to thing about it before buying and what can I say: was gone when I went back! But yours on the video sounds great: clear and calm in pace, not too rushed, very nice t...

Superb photos, Sam. A good idea to post this topic on a Sunday morning.

By: amanico : February 12th, 2012-03:24

Thank you so much for the morning pleasure. Best, Nicolas

Thx Nico

By: samwan : February 12th, 2012-03:41

Oygia and I worked for a whole Sunday afternoon (well...he worked and I simply nosed around) so more nice pictures of several other pieces are on the way. Stay tuned. Cheers Sam

With pleasure! [nt]

By: amanico : February 12th, 2012-03:44

No message body

Thanks a lot Samwan for these superb pics.

By: foversta : February 12th, 2012-08:40

This 1815 Moonphase was a watch which led to mixed emotions when it was released due to the comparison with the Emil Lange. But I like it a lot and the "homage style" is perfect for this complication. Thanks a lot! Fx

To be honest, it wasn't love at first sight

By: samwan : February 14th, 2012-03:08

but somehow it grew on me.... Best Sam

It has the same influence on me Sam... [nt]

By: foversta : February 14th, 2012-11:43

No message body

wonderful pictures

By: donizetti : February 12th, 2012-10:14

thanks a lot! What an exquisite piece! Best Andreas

Great awesome photos of a much deserved piece!

By: BluNotte : February 12th, 2012-16:41

You are a very blessed man Sam! Continue to wear it in the best of health! Stephen

Thank you, thank you Stephen [nt]

By: samwan : February 14th, 2012-03:08

No message body

Lovely pics. Sam!

By: fernando : February 12th, 2012-17:43

And what a good number you have too! Thanks for sharing. Fernando

Are you wearing yours often Fernando?

By: samwan : February 14th, 2012-03:09

Or are you sticking to your Langematik Perpetual? Best Sam

I've given up ...

By: fernando : February 14th, 2012-03:24

setting the moonphase Sam - too much hassle. So just set the time & wear occasionally. The perpetual is easier to adjust with the quick date change button, so gets a bit more wrist time; plus the fact I like to see the 3/4 rotor in action Best fernand...

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