A. Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk Luminous (Ref. 140.035)

Originally revealed a year ago, the gorgeous A. Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk manual-wind wrist watch started the digital revolution in the world of mainstream mechanical time keepers. Now, equipped with a smoked, semi-transparent sapphire crystal that replaces the original dial that was crafted from solid silver, the new A. Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk Luminous takes the idea even further.

In fact, there are two main selling points for the A. Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk Luminous.

The one that gets noticed from the first glance is its semi-skeletonized dial.

While the already famous “Time Bridge” element (this time it is crafted from black PVD-coated German silver) that connects the jumping hours and minutes displays with the more traditional-looking small seconds indicator, which is placed at 6 o’clock, remain the same, the rest of the dial is, well, gone.

The solid silver is replaced with a smoked sapphire crystal that gives us a sneak peek at the inner workings of the movements, although the great deal of the mechanism is still hidden from our eyes with the relatively huge co-axial wheels that together form the numerals on the digital indicators.

The second selling point is hinted in the watch’s name but remains hidden until after dark. You see, the watch’s jumping hour and minute Arabic numerals are covered with a luminescent substance that glows for several hours after the night comes. Must be pretty fascinating, that.

The watch is powered by the same Caliber L043.1 manual-wind movement, which is housed in the same massive-looking round case 41.9 mm in diameter and only 12.6 mm high.

Unfortunately, while the original Zeitwerk was available in rose, yellow and white gold, as well as platinum, the Zeitwerk Luminous comes only in an expensive platinum body, which makes it a really expensive piece of work.

A. Lange & Sohne still stays mum about the model’s recommended price, but let me remind you that the original “Leap of time” model in platinum was priced at impressive €59,000, and this one is limited at only 100 pieces!

Photos: A. Lange & Sohne

A. Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk (Ref. 140.035) watch specification

Price range: Around $100,000
Movement: Lange L043.1, hand-wound, 388 parts, 68 jewels, 18,000 vph, in-house, 9.3 mm high, 33.6 mm in diameter, Made in Germany
Complications: Power reserve, jumping hourds and minutes, stop seconds
Power reserve: 36 hours
Case material: Platinum
Bezel material: Platinum
Case shape: Round
Transparent case back: Yes, sapphire crystal caseback
Case size: 41.9 mm
Case height: 12.6 mm
Dial: Semi-opaque, with Time Bridge made of PVD-coated German silver
Numerals: Arabic, luminous
Hands: Rhodiumed gold
Strap: Hand-stitched crocodile strap, Lange prong buckle in solid platinum
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: N/A