A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Movement Observations

Dan003 · 2017-08-12T04:58:15Z

Explore the A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk's intricate movement with collector Dan003's observations on its second hand, minute disc 'arming,' and structural changes. Expert insights reveal manufacturing nuances.

Dan003

WPS member · A. Lange & Söhne forum

22 replies7983 views2 photos

Dan003's detailed observations on his new A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk sparked a technical discussion among collectors, delving into the intricacies of its unique digital display movement. His post highlights specific behaviors of the second hand and minute disc, alongside a subtle structural change in the movement, inviting experts to shed light on these fascinating details. This thread remains a valuable resource for understanding the Zeitwerk's engineering nuances.

Hi guys,

I have owned a brand new white gold Zeitwerk for two weeks (since 29 Jul). I have made some observations that I hope some connoisseur and a Lange expert can shed light on.

(1) The second hand always land on position of 12 o'clock - when I left the Zeitwerk to wind down completely by itself on three occasions, the second hand always stop at the 12o'clock position. Is this mechanism similar to that in the latest version of the Lange 1?

(2) No noticeable 'arming' of the minute disc - I noticed from videos that were uploaded on YouTube, that the minute disc would move a little, a few seconds before the minute switches. In fact, according to Mr Peter Chong's explanation on the mechanism, this 'arming' process would occur about 8 seconds before the minute switches. However, I could not observe this 'arming' process in my Zeitwerk. The minute disc simply switches exactly at the 60th second (i.e. 12o'clock).

(3) There is a structural change to an observable part of the movement - I have highlighted this part using a forumer's Zeitwerk (Alex83; I hope you don't mind me using your photo as a reference) and a photo of my Zeitwerk. Its the part where the blue screw resides. In my Zeitwerk, the part with the blue screw is not a single piece with the part above it.

Thanks!

Photo of forumer Alex83

My Zeitwerk

Key Points from the Discussion

The 'arming' of the minute disc, a slight pre-switch movement, is a side effect of the mechanism's development and its observability can vary based on individual watch tolerances and adjustments by the watchmaker.
The 'arming' process involves a tiny misalignment or gap between the pallet jewel of the Y-lever and a notch on the yellow gear, allowing a slight turn of the lower blue wheel before it's stopped.
A subtle evolution in the Zeitwerk's movement over the last 2-3 years might explain why newer models, like Dan003's, no longer exhibit the noticeable minute disc 'arming' seen in older versions.
The stopping of the second hand at the 12 o'clock position when the watch winds down is a feature present in several Lange models, including the 1815 U/D, Richard Lange PLM, 1815 RPC, and the revamped Lange 1.
The grey gear wheels under the minute discs block and stop the lower blue wheel, which is connected to the main barrel and under tension, facilitating the re-winding of the dark blue spring during the minute transition.
Dan003 provided video evidence of his Zeitwerk's minute switch, demonstrating the absence of the 'arming' phenomenon, which contrasts with earlier observations and discussions.

The Discussion

TheMadDruid

Aug 12, 2017

There are several models of Langes that have this feature-the 1815 U/D (which I think was first); the Zeitwerk; the Richard Lange PLM; and the 1815 RPC; and most recently the revamped Lange 1. When Lange first released the U/D the press release indicated this feature. Since then, Lange has not advertised this feature-they just let the new owner find out for him/herself that the feature exists.

Dan003

Aug 12, 2017

This finding is quite unexpected for me...Initially I thought it was just a coincidence that the second hand stop at the same position three times in a row..

Alkiro1

Aug 12, 2017

I can answer to your second and third point. Lange probably made a subtle evolution of the mouvement recently (over the last 2 or 3 years may be. I can't tell you when exactly) which could explain your first point because with my Zeitwerk, you can notice a little move of the minute disc around 6 seconds before 60 seconds (or 12 o'clock). I would say it's an "upgrade" compared to mine. Cool! I hope you still enjoy it. As you can notice on my shots below, I have the same mouvement than Alex83 comp

skyeriding

Aug 12, 2017

The "arming" is a little side effect of how the mechanism was developed, and my little theory is that it may or may not be observable depending on how the tolerances are set for each Zeitwerk. To understand that, we need to understand roughly how the movement works first... If you want to see the arming occur on the movement side, have a look at this image (taken from Peter Chong's article of Zeitwerk): This is the mechanism under the "anchor" steel bridge you see on the Zeitwerk movement. Its h

Thomahof

Aug 12, 2017

And the people explaining the movement features must surely be crazy too. I'm a university professor of psychology - I know crazy when I see it. Thomas

TheMadDruid

Aug 12, 2017

I wrote to Lange and got the confirmation that it was not a coincidence!

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A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Movement Observations

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