Beauty and Fashion Dubai

Often, a distinctive style is created with only a few special hallmarks. Apart from iconic designs, the A. Lange & Söhne signature stands for mechanical ingenuity. It permeates all models of the 1815 watch family, and particularly the 1815 Up/Down launched this year. The timepiece, whose name stands for Ferdinand A. Lange’s birth year, melds the characteristics of a legacy that began in the early 19^th century with contemporary horological know-how, resulting in a fusion of the arts honed to sleek perfection.

  

The 1815 Up/Down manifests the typical hallmarks of Lange watchmaking artistry.

Connoisseurs do not even need to see the “A. Lange & Söhne” signature on the dial of the 1815 Up/Down to realise that they are looking at a Lange watch. A glance at the L051.2 manufacture calibre through the sapphire-crystal caseback would suffice. Apart from the three-quarter plate, details like the hand-engraved balance cock, the classic screw balance, or the gold chatons secured by thermally blued screws are ample evidence. Decorated with solarisation, the winding mechanism wheels are reminiscent of the finissage that once graced high-end pocket watch calibres. The following images afford a closer look at some traditional Lange hallmark parts.

Hand-engraved balance cock and whiplash spring

The engraving on the balance cock is the artisanal fingerprint that makes each Lange watch one of a kind. The small part is embellished with a floral pattern free-hand by a master engraver. A whiplash spring with a lateral micrometer screw is another typical feature of the movement. It is used to perform precision beat adjustments

Screw balance

A classical screw balance defines the rate of the 1815 UP/DOWN. Four of the screws are adjustable. The watch ticks a bit faster when they are screwed in and somewhat slower when they are backed out to adjust the watch in the different positions for an optimal work. Minor imbalances can be corrected as well.

Blued screws

During the final assembly procedure, the first-pass fixture screws are replaced with flawless, thermally blued screws. Their characteristic hue is achieved by slowly heating them to about 300 degrees Celsius. This process coats the steel with an extremely thin layer of magnetite (Fe₃O₄); the cornflower blue glimmer is due to interference phenomena. As accents that counterpoint the polished gold chatons and the ruby-red jewels embedded in them, they stand out as eye-catchers on the German silver plates and bridges.

UP/DOWN power-reserve indicator and blued steel hands

The dial of the 1815 UP/DOWN also belongs to the suite of classic elements. The form of the power-reserve indicator with the inscriptions “AUF” for fully wound and “AB” for fully unwound is an A. Lange & Söhne tradition. Blued steel hands on the argenté-coloured dial as well as black Arabic numerals and the very crisp railway-track minute scale assure outstanding legibility. All of these hallmarks are part and parcel of the eminent heritage of historic Lange pocket watches.