SIHH 2010: A. Lange & Sohne Tourbograph Pour le Merite (Ref. 712.050)

The limited edition of the well-known A. Lange & Sohne Tourbograph Pour le Merite (Ref. 712.050) rattrapante chronograph-tourbillon watch is the third –and the last– member of the Homage to F.A.Lange series of timepieces.

The gorgeous A. Lange & Sohne Tourbograph hand-wound wrist watch was first presented to the general public just over four years ago in December, 2005.

During those days the German brand celebrated the 15th anniversary of its re-establishment in 1990 when the impoverished communist-ruled Eastern Germany finally collapsed under its own weight and opened itself to the market economy and substantial investments from the West in general and the Western Germany in particular.

Equipped with a high-precision fusee-and-chain transmission, the watch offered superb isochronicity because the 636-part chain allowed for a constant transfer of power between the mainspring barrel and the going train compensating for the slowly diminishing torque as the spring barrel gradually unwinds.

The Tourbograph was the first watch in Lange’s history that combined a high-precision fusee-and-chain transmission with a rattrapante (aka “double”) chronograph complication.

Thanks to this device, a Tourbograph owner can always be sure that its watch will always tell correct time, even if its mechanism is almost about to stop from the lack of energy (to prevent this from happening, the timepiece is equipped with a nicely executed power reserve indicator.)

For this year, A. Lange & Sohne has presented a special edition of the watch.

Its main difference from the original model is a honey-colored gold case, engine-turned dial and a beautifully decorated L903.0 hand-wound movement, which is perfectly seen through a sapphire glass-covered transparent case back.

The rest is more or less the same. The watch still features a double-chronograph (aka “rattrapante”) function with a pair of central seconds hands and a 30-minute chronograph totalizer at 9 hours, which is beautifully counterweighted with a power reserve indicator at 3 o’clock. The laboriously finished tourbillon carriage (that’s why the watch is called TOURBograph) is neatly placed at 6 hours.

It is a pleasure to note that, instead of the usual tachymeter scale on the bezel flange, the watch features a clean, easy to read seconds track.

Only 50 of these watches will be ever made. A. Lange & Sohne plans to sell them at a stunning retail price of $500,000 (give or take.)

Photos: A. Lange & Sohne

A. Lange & Sohne Tourbograph Pour le Merite (Ref. 712.050) watch specification

Price range: $500,000
Movement: Lange L903.0, hand-wound, 465 parts, 43 jewels, 21,600 vph, in-house, 8.9 mm high, 30.0 mm in diameter
Complications: Power reserve, rattrapante chronograph, one-minute tourbillon with fusee-and-chain transmission (the chain is made of 633 parts)
Power reserve: 36 hours
Case material: Honey-colored gold
Bezel material: Honey-colored gold
Case shape: Round
Transparent case back: Yes, sapphire crystal caseback
Case size: 41.2 mm
Case height: 14.2 mm
Dial: Solid gold, guilloched
Numerals: Arabic
Hands: Blued steel
Strap: Hand-stitched, crocodile strap, Lange prong buckle in solid gold
Crystal: Sapphire, anti-reflection coated
Water resistance: N/A