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A. Lange & Söhne

Mechanical and Horological Excellence

I was able to see some marvelous watches today. I had an appointment to see the Richard Lange Perpetual Calendar today, I have been crushing on the Terra Luna for quite some time. I love that is has twin barrels and a remontoire as part of the overall escapement architecture… not to mention the remarkable moonphase dial that makes up the back side (B Side? Second A Side?) of this watch.

I may be due for a major life moment soon, and have been thinking about the Richard Lange watches. It is either the Terra Luna, or the Tourbillon “Pour le Merite” Tourbillon with its fusée-and-chain transmission going through to the tourbillon at the escapement end of the power train.

I don’t have much affinity nor affection for chronographs. The only ones I have are IWC Pilot Chronographs and a 1963 Sea-Gull, but I got to see both a Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold Lumen, as well as “just a regular” Datograph Up/Down… and all I can say is “wtf wow!” I’m still not interested in owning one, but it did raise the question on how to define what the best chronograph is.

Some remarkable watches. Real watchmaking craft. I had a great afternoon!

I wore my 31 Monats Werk, out of respect for the house. My mad crush on the Lange 1 Time Zone remains intact, and that may have to scratch an interim itch till I can justify one of the Richard Lange gear trains.

I’m here for the horological geekdom 🤓

Terra Luna A-Side

Terra Luna B-Side

Terra Luna with my 31 and the Lange 1 Time Zone in black and white gold

Datographs

A Lange & Söhne excellence

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Technically impressive, but it lets me a bit cold.

By: amanico : July 3rd, 2024-20:48

I much prefer this one: ...

More logical with hour and minute on same plane...

By: mdg : July 3rd, 2024-21:35

...even though I have a hard time reading all regulator-style watches...

More my taste. ;)

By: amanico : July 3rd, 2024-21:55

Terra Luna is just a nice watch with nice discs on the back that rotate at a set speed.

By: patrick_y : July 4th, 2024-17:18

I'm not THAT impressed with the Terra Luna. Sure, it's nice, it's complex, and it's double sided. But the back astronomical indications are just set discs that rotate at a specific speed. It's not THAT complex. Plus the Terra Luna is a little thick. I pre...

One person's pain is another person's pleasure!

By: CR : July 4th, 2024-17:34

I know you've heard me say this before. I LOVE winding the ZW! Crisp, stiff, precise. It speaks to me: "Yes, I'll allow you to wind me, but you'll have to work for it."

Oh man!

By: patrick_y : July 4th, 2024-20:07

For a moment there, it read like this watch was evil! I pictured a watch with a little devil outfit, horns, and a whip!

Good one! :)))

By: amanico : July 4th, 2024-21:16

I'm seconding that...

By: Ivan5 : July 6th, 2024-15:50

I'm saying this as a joke: "some people are gluttons for painful watch winding!"

By: patrick_y : July 7th, 2024-19:31

I'm always slow on these...😉

By: Ivan5 : July 10th, 2024-16:52

That's okay. My jokes aren't that great!

By: patrick_y : July 10th, 2024-19:32

Agree...

By: Watch Commission : July 5th, 2024-15:11

The back is nothing but spinning discs. It's cool the way they focus on the balance wheel as a stand-in for the sun, although as a metaphor it makes very little sense. Ultimately There's a lot of fuss over very little visible excellence.

Agreed. Here's a story about the Richard Lange normal time-only version.

By: patrick_y : July 5th, 2024-20:54

So maybe consider a simpler Richard Lange or an 1815. The one thing that irks me about the Richard Lange is the added thickness for only that tiny one mechanism that sticks out on the back of the movement. The story goes like this. Lange made the time-onl...

Sounds cludgy

By: Watch Commission : July 5th, 2024-21:27

Not exactly the horological excellence we want to be celebrating… anyway, I am coming off the Richards. The high-end ones are extremely expensive, don’t hold value, and aren’t as clearly visible in terms of the supposed excellence actually being invested ...

Agreed!

By: patrick_y : July 5th, 2024-23:53

Lange has high standards overall. But even they can irk me sometimes. Lufthansa used to have one of the best First Class airline experiences and now I would say it's very mediocre. Frankfurt's First Class terminal sometimes has furniture that really needs...

This additional plate is actually what makes this Lange such a great watch.

By: COUNT DE MONET : August 3rd, 2024-22:02

It allows the very long second hand to run smoothly over the dial, as without it, due to the low beat ratio and the sheer length of the second hand, it would look pretty un-smooth, very jerky. This extra plate is pure Lange problem fixing!

True! Just looks like a last minutelast minute add on.

By: patrick_y : August 5th, 2024-14:35

I concur

By: yming : July 7th, 2024-01:31

Most langes are just too thick for me.. even the datograph I find too top heavy As for the Lange 1, so that the time dial doesn’t overlap the other indications

Many Langes are a little thick.

By: patrick_y : July 7th, 2024-19:32

German and Swiss-German watches are always going to be a little thicker than the delicate Swiss-French watches. So I get that. Especially a 3/4 plate will add another mm of thickness to the movement. So I try to go for thinner German watches.

Grail watch for me.

By: Modernahab : July 3rd, 2024-20:56

Those are some big, beautiful watches.

By: CR : July 3rd, 2024-21:38

I was going to say that the Terraluna is awfully large, but then I saw that you own a Lange 31! Like you, I find most chronographs unappealing. It took me many years to warm up to the Datograph (first generation), which I have come to enjoy. You also ment...

Current version…

By: Watch Commission : July 3rd, 2024-21:49

…but now you just opened up a new line of inquiry! What do I need to know? Are they different?

Apologies, I misread the "Richard Lange" part of your original post.

By: CR : July 3rd, 2024-22:47

I thought you meant just the Tourbillon PLM: ...

Gotcha…

By: Watch Commission : July 4th, 2024-05:41

Yeah, I mean the Richard Lange line.

🤩

By: Aquaracer1 : July 3rd, 2024-21:53

Wow what a beauty!

By: TeutonicCarFan : July 3rd, 2024-21:54

I didn't know if I've seen pictures of this beast. How lovely

Wow what a wonderful collection.

By: gary_g : July 3rd, 2024-23:48

Truly exceptional watches.

So much beauties in these pictures

By: Chronometer (aka yacomino) : July 4th, 2024-00:10

The Terraluna is a masterpiece, there is only one issue with it, and it is a big one ...

By: als1678 : July 4th, 2024-01:25

It is unwearable on most wrists. But if you can pull off the 31 - maybe it works for you? The Richard Lange tourbillion regulator is a great technical achievement. Spectacular on the movement side. But to me the dial feels too flat and simple for such a w...

Yes and yes unfortunately

By: Watch Commission : July 4th, 2024-04:39

I can do the large watches. I am a big person, and the absolute minimum size for me is 41mm, or it looks too dainty, it is why I was drawn to the Terra Luna in the first place. I am so in love with the underlying technology… and that is my biggest problem...

I see what you mean. But Lange design would always be on the conservative side.

By: als1678 : July 4th, 2024-13:03

Have you looked at the RG logical one?

I don't know what you mean with RG logical one

By: Watch Commission : July 5th, 2024-15:08

Pls help me out, always eager to learn more.

Different brand. Google "Romain Gauthier Logical One" (RG = Romain Gauthier, not rose gold)

By: CR : July 5th, 2024-15:36

Ah yes… I see!

By: Watch Commission : July 5th, 2024-20:44

Interesting… thanks for the pointer!

Wonderful pieces - what an experience!

By: aviya : July 4th, 2024-04:41

To me, a key consideration is how important the regulator dial is to you? It sounds like you admire the technical intricacy of the movements and, whilst the Terra Luna arguably has no equal in the Richard Lange model family, you still get the fusée & chai...

You're right

By: Watch Commission : July 5th, 2024-15:09

...and I'm currently getting a wider smile from the Tourbillon than the QP. Both are major financial commitments though.

Given the financial commitment, would you be getting this preowned?

By: CR : July 5th, 2024-15:32

I'm asking because of the vast price difference between new vs. preowned. I think there's a 45-50% difference between new vs. preowned for the RL Tourbillon PLM and the Terraluna. If you were planning get one of these new, you could get them both preowned...

It’s a real issue

By: Watch Commission : July 5th, 2024-20:51

I have a very skilled, patient, and informative AD that I am speaking with. I have made it clear that I am interested in buying from the company, but that I simply can’t reconcile that price delta. I have two Lange watches that were both out of production...

Interesting. I wonder what that "midterm strategy" is.

By: CR : July 6th, 2024-01:15

I'd imagine Lange ADs also have a strong incentive to offer discounts. Lange has been open about its strategy to sell watches only through its boutiques rather than ADs, and Lange has closed scores of ADs in accordance with that strategy. This strategy al...

My bad

By: Watch Commission : July 6th, 2024-06:12

I did not mean AD in my case, I meant an official boutique. What confuses me is that in certain countries (including Switzerland) boutiques for IWC and Panerei and other Richemont brands are actually Bucherer ADs. The boutique made it clear that there are...

Major Edit!!

By: Watch Commission : July 6th, 2024-11:24

The boutique made it clear that there are NO discounts available

Ah, thanks for clarifying!

By: CR : July 6th, 2024-15:37

Are you wanting to buy this piece (whichever one you like) from the boutique so you can have access to future limited edition pieces?

Sort of

By: Watch Commission : July 7th, 2024-07:58

The business person in me finds it crazy to buy something incredibly expensive when it is available in the same quality for 25-40% less elsewhere. At the same time I respect the brand, and want to support what they’re doing. I’d like to have a personal re...

Thanks for your thoughtful reply. This makes sense. And it is indeed a journey.

By: CR : July 8th, 2024-06:22

You are fortunate that none of Lange's commemorative LEs speak to you! That gives you much more freedom, if you're not worried about the boutique offering you every limited edition that comes out. In that case, I could see buying less expensive pieces I w...

Other way around probably :-)

By: Watch Commission : July 8th, 2024-11:01

If I look at my long Wishlist, it may make more sense for me to buy a trophy directly from the company, but some of the more readily available common pieces out on the grey market. The total amount committed to the brand vs what I save is roughly the same...

Ah, I didn't realize you already had a longer wish list!

By: CR : July 8th, 2024-13:34

I thought you didn't yet have other specific pieces in mind beyond the 1-2 pieces in this post. Can you share more about what other Langes are on your current wish list?

Regrettably, it is much too large for me.

By: watch-er : July 4th, 2024-13:10

A nice lineup.

By: hora12reborn : July 4th, 2024-20:02

unbelievable but quite big

By: watch-er : August 3rd, 2024-17:20