Horological Meandering

foversta
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Zeitwerk or Vagabondage II ? A digital choice !

Without any doubt, the digital time display is very successful and has been the very last years the source of inspiration for several major brands like Journe, De Bethune or Lange.

The Zeitwerk was introduced by Lange in May 2009 and during the last quarter of the same year (if I remember well), Journe presented its Vagabondage II. The watch has just landed in the Journe Boutique so we can try now to do a small comparison between them.


A) Case & Size

The Zeitwerk is a big watch but not bulky. It's heavy but thanks to its curves has a very sensual design. The crown is located at 2 o'clock due to the layout of the caliber. Case diamter is 41,9mm and height is 12,6mm.

The Vagabondage II has the specific shape of the Vagabondage collection. Watch name comes from the first Vagabondage which had a wandering hours time display (heures vagabonde=wandering hours). Journe decided to keep the name and the case for the other watch with an original time display.

Case size is: 45 x 37,5mm with an height of 8mm. The watch is thinner than the Zeitwerk. Both watches are comfortable. Vagabondage seems to be able to get easily scratches due to the specific bezel. I prefer the use of the Zeitwerk crown which is easier to handle thanks to its shape. Vagabondage is lighter.






Verdict: TIE, each watch has its good points and bad ones.


B) Dial & Time display

The Zeitwerk uses a similar system to the big date display for the minutes: the consequence is that the two figures are not exactly at the same height. The minutes display of the Vagabonde has a dividing line which makes it more elegant.

Both watches have a time bridge which creates a link between all the time display functions. Vagabondage one is quite original while the Zeitwerk one is symetrical.

Vagabondage has a vertical time display while Zeitwerk one is horizontal.

Both watches share a second hand display at the bottom of the dial: it is a key point to judge if the minutes jump perfectly at the 60th second.

Vagabondage and Zeitwerk have a power reserve display which is in both cases excluded from the time bridge.

Vagabondage dial is a sort of mid-term betwen the dials of the Zeitwerk and of the Zeitwerk Luminous. It is not plain, it is a sort of half transparent one without the goal of the Luminous one: the figures are not luminous. 

Verdict: VAGABONDAGE for its nice minutes display.

C) Movement lay-out

Vagabondage one is very Journesque: movement in 18K rose gold with partly circular grained baseplate and Geneva waves.  Sadly, we have the feeling that the most interesting parts are hidden. Zeitwerk one is very Langesque with a very demonstrative style and an impressive lay-out thanks to the constant-force escapement.

Finishings are sober and nice with Journe and impressive with Lange even if some minor details could have been improved.






Verdict: ZEITWERK

D) Technical features of the movement & behaviour of the watches

Lange team used the experience of the Lange 31 days to develop a complication which requires a lot of power: patented barrel, constant-force system, a fly governor to absorb the energy when the disks are jumping. Result is impressive: you can spend hours watching the Zeitwerk, the minutes always jump at the 60th second. The only slight point we may notice is the little move of the minutes figures around 6/7 seconds before the jump. Power reserve is 36 hours.

Journe has a more romantic style I would say. The movement is more full of tricks rather than impressive solutions. Of course, it features the one minute constant force device. But Journe, even with the Vagabondage II, had the will to create a thin and "restrained" watch. Consequence is a power reserve of 28 hours (+/- 2 hours) which is quite low because too close to the 24 hours limit. It is the reason why the power reserve display is so important here. My advice is to wind the watch twice: once during the morning, once during the evening to get a sufficient power reserve and to improve the behaviour of the watch. I had the chance to see it working during a quite long time: the minutes may jump exactly at the 60th second... or not with a gap of 1 or 2 seconds. Nothing serious but don't expect the Zeitwerk perfection on this topic.

Verdict: ZEITWERK

E) Availability

Zeitwerk is produced in WG, YG, PG and Platinum. In Platinum two versions are available including the original Zeitwerk Luminous (LE of 100 watches while the other Platinum is limited to 200). Other watches are not limited but Lange has a very slow production of the Zeitwerk. It is currently very difficult to get one and the waiting list is large.

Journe gave the priority to the owners of the Vagabondage I. I think it is an interesting gesture to thank them for their support. Platinum version is a LE of 69 watches, PG of 68 watches.

Verdict: TIE, both watches are difficult to get even if on a middle-term basis, things will become easier for the Zeitwerk.






Overall verdict: ZEITWERK

In fact, if they share the same objective (an innovative time display), they are very different in their ways  to achieve it. The Zeitwerk is a symbol of the Lange ability to produce innovative movements and to explore new territories. A true demonstration of German method: forget the chance, everything was thought to reach a perfect behaviour. Lange 31 days experience was very useful.

Journe's watch doesn't give the same feeling: it is more a personal project, like a pop-up idea with its imperfections. The Vagagondage II has a more unpredictable behaviour but, funny point, this adds charm to the watch.

So German perfection or a more poetic approach? My heart goes to the first solution without any doubt  but each watch has its own interest.

I wished with this post to highlight the main interest of horology, not to say that this one is better than the other one: horology is diversity. We see it here with two different approaches of a same objective. So congrats to the Lange and Journe teams who had the will to develop risky watches.



Fr.Xavier