A. Lange & Söhne Grand Lange 1 Luminous

The new A. Lange & Söhne Grand Lange 1 Luminous model goes in the same direction as the gorgeous Zeitwerk Luminous (Ref. 140.035) “digital” hand-wound wrist watch.

Like the rest of the Grand Lange 1 line, the Luminous version is powered by the in-house Caliber L901.2 hand-wound movement decorated and assembled by hand. Being 30.4 millimeters in diameter and mere 5.9 mm in height, the movement allows for a pretty slim body, which, in this particular case, is only 11 mm thick. With a diameter of 41.9 mm, the 18-carat white gold job indeed looks very slim on just about any wrist.

The manual-wind movement with its plates and bridges made of untreated “German silver” (which is not silver at all, but is a 60% copper alloy with 20% nickel and 20% zinc) and the balance cock engraved by hand, sports Lange’s trademark twin mainspring barrel that stores enough power for the watch to run for as long as 72 hours. Well, not particularly impressive compared to the latest manufacture calibers from IWC that offer up to 168 hours of continuous operation with guaranteed accuracy, but still much better than an average Swiss Made in-house hand-wound movement can offer.

It is not clear how many copies of the watch Lange plans to sell, however it seems that it is going to be a strictly niche product. While the “normal” Grand Lange 1 is a living classic of watchmaking that looks great on just about any wrist with just about any suit (if it costs more than $5000, that is), the Luminous version of the timekeeper leaves an impression of a timepiece developed for a small group of fans who need “something different” without any particular reason.

SuperLuminova is a good choice when you need something versatile or, just the opposite, something highly specialized, like a diving watch or a pilot’s instrument.

But a dressy watch that is designed to be worn on very special occasions where there is always light doesn’t really need any amount of lume on its hands and indexes, especially when the lume utterly destroys their gorgeous shapes. Well, like I said, a niche product.

Photos: A. Lange & Söhne

A. Lange & Söhne Grand Lange 1 Luminous hand-wound watch specification:

Price range: N/A
Movement: Lange L901.2, manual, 53 jewels, 30.40 mm in diameter, 5.90 mm in height, 365 components, 9 screwed gold chatons, 21,600 vph, Nivarox balance spring, Glucydur screw balance
Functions: Date, power reserve
Power reserve: 72 hours
Case material: 18-carat white gold
Bezel material: 18-carat white gold
Bezel shape: Round
Case size: 41.9 mm
Case height: 11.0 mm
Dial: Solid silver, black
Numerals: Roman, rhodiumed gold, luminous
Hands: Rhodiumed gold, luminous
Water resistance: N/A
Strap: Hand-stitched black crocodile strap with Lange prong buckle in solid gold or platinum
Crystal: Sapphire
Case back: Sapphire