A. Lange & Söhne

Firstly, but perhaps not foremost, none of the promotional materials show the buckle side of the watch with the rubber strap, so here is a shot of it:

As you can see, it is a nice and heavy white gold piece with polished bevels and satin flats. It has the famous Lange "bar" in the middle that holds the buckle flat when engaged -- a welcome touch particularly in a sport piece.

Also missing from most reviews and the original literature is a lume shot:

This was still quite visible after more than eight hours overnight, as is to be expected in a modern luxury watch.

Now on to some more subjective, yet relevant, opinion! In a word, I believe that ALS has "nailed it" with this piece and I will give supporting arguments for this.

Pushers

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One of the original criticisms of the Odysseus was regarding the pushers on either side of the crown. The argument went that these led to an unbalanced look and that they were too obtrusive. To my view, these pushers add a great deal to the sporty character of the piece in a powerful way. We all own chronographs with pushers on the side and these were some of the original sport/tool watches ever made. Has a chrono ever been accused of being unbalanced due to the pushers on the side? I think not. And the Odysseus pushers are quite streamlined and "lower" than most chrono pushers, so they add a certain elegance to the design. Two other things to note are that few manufacturers do "pusher feel" quite as well as Lange, and quite frankly, the watch would look a bit "dull" as a sport watch if it were perfectly round. 

Integration of Strap to Case

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The argument against this design has been that the strap should be curved and fitted to the case in much the same way that Rolex does with the Oysterflex on their tool watches. Certainly, in the promotional materials, the photos of the watch make the integration look somewhat awkward. In reality, what I see is something very similar to the strap and lug attachment found on the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, a piece that I own more than one of. It appears quite appealing and sporty in much the same way as the AP, only done in the Lange way. I personally am a big fan of ALS so this is much appreciated. The attachment does not look awkward at all, but rather sporty.

Dial Layout/Hands/Fonts

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Another target of the critics has been the dial layout -- comments include that it is distracting to have the "day" on it/the seconds hand should encompass the whole dial/it looks "plain". I feel that with the dial, ALS has adhered to their established design language quite elegantly. The double windows for day and date obviously reflect the Zeitwerk and the seconds subdial is identical to what is found in the Saxonia and 1815 families as well. The minutes, hours and second hands are all of the same design found in other families of the manufacturer, further connecting the watch. And the typefaces, in Engraver style, are found throughout the ALS families of timepieces. Also important to note, the seconds sub-dial is considerably larger (relative to the rest of the dial) than found in other families: this is a nod to the sporting nature of the watch and the likelihood that it will be used to actually time certain events.

Departure From What ALS Is Known For

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This has been a common criticism of the Odysseus ever since it was introduced. "Oh the horror: an ALS in steel! On a rubber strap!" I suppose there is a place for this discourse among purists, but I love the manufacturer so the fact that they have come out with a piece that is more shock resistant and water resistant than the rest of the line is a big win in my opinion. Not that it is a surprise, but the brilliant movement finishing that was not sacrificed one iota is icing on the cake. 

So, yes, I am very happy with this watch. I believe that most of my positive opinions would be the same if it were made in steel on a rubber strap. While that seems more "appropriate" to a sport watch, I for one might still take it in the white gold because I love that material (I own a white gold Daytona.) On the leather strap, FWIW, I find there is a disconnect from the sporting nature because of the fact that leather deteriorates in water. I do think it is good looking on the leather, however. On a bracelet, well, my opinion will be reserved for another day!

More posts: 1815Royal OakSaxoniaZeitwerk

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