2022 has come for A. Lange & Soehne, and the Saxon-based brand has blessed us with a traditional slide-powered minute repeater! The star of this year's selection.
1. A Richard Lange Minute repeater is launched this year. Like the Richard Lange Pour Le Merite, it features a beautiful 3 part dial. This three part enamel dial is crafted in-house and is not contracted out to a dial maker. The joining of the dial is extremely difficult, especially around the 17 second and 43 second areas of the small subdial where the mid-section dial has small points that may crack or chip in the joining process.
The Minute Repeating mechanism is slide powered, very different from the button powered version in the Zeitwerk Repeater. It's also technically superlative - it has a special mechanism to cancel the pause that most minute repeaters have between the hours and the minutes when there are no quarters to chime. The system simply senses after sounding the hours that there are no quarters and the system is smart enough to immediately skip to the minutes. The movement is also thoroughly German, with a true 3/4 plate design and is not a "Richemont" product.
I haven't heard this minute repeater, but I'm sure the tonality will be excellent, the speed should be good, and the volume will likely be medium. I can't wait to listen to this minute repeater. Considering there are only 50 to be made for worldwide consumption, all in platinum. I hope I'll have the pleasure! Here's a video below...
2. The Odysseus is continued in the same form as before, but in titanium. Limited to 250 pieces, so it will definitely be another "impossible" watch to get. Start kow-towing to your dealer now!
3. The Grande Lange 1 is a new version that is significantly thinner. Being 41mm and yet only 8.3mm thick, this Grande Lange 1 will fit under French cuffs for a more elegant look! I'm glad to see Lange addressing this thickness concern I've been having for the past ten years! The movement doesn't see any sacrifices as all performance metrics are equal or better than before!
2022 has come for A. Lange & Soehne, and the Saxon-based brand has blessed us with a traditional slide-powered minute repeater! The star of this year's selection. 1. A Richard Lange Minute repeater is launched this year. Like the Richard Lange Pour Le Mer...
Sometimes steel or titanium even sounds better than platinum! Rose gold generally sounds better amongst the precious metal variants. Platinum, doesn't always sound great.
I'm personally not a fan of the shape of the Odysseus. I don't find the design my thing at all. But there are definitely fans of the Odysseus out there!
It's arguable that the entire Odysseus line was designed to take advantage of the sports watch hype. I still remember 10 years ago when Lange executives like Timo Bobeck were saying that a sports watch wasn't in their DNA.
I'm a little worried about the sound. The Swiss-French brands like Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philippe, and even Jaeger-leCoultre do such a good job... Will the Lange be able to compete objectively?
The nautilus wears like a < 40mm watch.. A better example would be the 1815 40mm version, the thickness is ~ 9mm? I find the proportion would be better if it was a tad thicker
The RL minute repeater is amazing and perfect … enamel, platinum, 39mm! The Grand Lange 1 looks fabulous with the new graining on the dial, and thinner case should be really well received. Titanium Odysseus is very attractive… I’m told its only for the me...
I'm not happy that they made the Titanium Odysseus so hard to get, but oh well, I'm not a fan of the Odysseus - but I feel bad for the people who do like it.
The Germans aren't known for their minute repeaters. But I'm hoping it to have good tonality, a medium to loud volume (not likely due to platinum case), and a good speed (17-19 seconds for the 12:59 sequence).
Good tonality, but not great. Good speed, maybe slightly slow. After one hears the Vacheron Constantin and the Patek Philippes, I feel a little spoiled. The JLCs are super loud too, although tonality and speed can actually vary quite a bit at JLC.
In all honesty, the modern Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, and Audemars Piguet minute repeaters are all very good. Keep in mind, Audemars Piguet makes the most special minute repeaters, as they have a history with Carillons (three gong or more repeat...
I can describe the sound of minute repeaters probably more thoroughly as I describe the tasting notes in wine. Hence why I could be a watch sommelier, but I haven't passed the basic certification for a wine sommelier by the Court of Master Sommeliers. But...
Please don't mistake the brevity of my response for a lack of appreciation as I did absorb all the variables you mentioned and will be sure to listen for them. With gratitude, Edward
They're rare everywhere! Even I don't always get to hear them! But sometimes I get so excited that they sound "better" than they actually are. So I have to go back to my objective reasoning.
There's no question that the Richard Lange Minute repeater is the start of the show, but as you note - impossible to obtain but for a lucky few. So, I'll need to be content just knowing they exist and hope our paths cross someday to see on in the metal. T...