A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar

Lange, the brand we all can't help to stop liking, has done it again.  Unfortunately, the iteration with the salmon dial and white gold case will be limited to 100 pieces.  They simply can't make that many of them - a single watchmaker can only complete single digits of these watch movements per year...  But nonetheless, this beautiful, big, and amazing watch has just been released, and it is my pleasure to share it with you - including a special detail I noticed!  

This amazing watch is in white gold and has a salmon colored dial.  The dial itself is made from solid gold!  This IS NOT ONLY A Perpetual Calendar Chronograph!  No, this is a Perpetual Calendar SPLIT SECONDS CHRONOGRAPH!  Hence the Rattrapante in the name.  But you're on WPS, so you already noticed that!  This new release is mainly announcing the new white gold case (previous cases were in platinum or rose gold) and this white gold case comes with this rose gold dial which I call "salmon colored" but I don't see the word "salmon" mentioned in the press release only "pink gold dial" is mentioned in the press release.  

There is that dreaded limitation number again - only 100 pieces!  Doesn't the management team at Lange realize that there are more than 100 people in the world who want this watch?  The management team would probably counter back at my complaint and say something along the likes of "we only have several watchmakers who can make this watch and each watchmaker can only assemble 6-8 a year, thus it will take around two years to deliver all of these 100 watches!"  Complicated split seconds watches take time to make.  This one is definitely no exception.  This movement has been seen before.  

While touring the engine room, I noticed something unusual in this movement when I was examining it.  Look at the center gear, the gear that is surrounded by the two clamps.  In that center gear, you'll notice a cylindrical wire spring that is connected cross plane (it's not level, it's connected at two different levels).  Wire springs are unusual in high end movements and fairly uncommon.  The Geneva Seal bans most wire springs (The Geneva Seal makes an exception for hair springs and mainsprings of course) - so you wouldn't normally see this kind of spring in a Patek Philippe or in a Vacheron Constantin.  This being a watch made in Germany, it is not subject to those rules.  So why has Lange included this unusual coiled wire spring?  While I don't know for sure, I do know Lange is all about ultra-refinement - when the rattrapante is used, sometimes the second hand can swing violently and shudder/vibrate.  This looks unsightly and can affect the accuracy of the watch and the wearer's ability to get a precise reading.  This wire spring is an excellent idea to "dampen" that violent swing when the rattrapante clamps are released and the rattrapante hand swings back to the main chronograph second hand.  I could be wrong, but that's my guess.  I didn't notice this before when the movement was first released.

As usual, Lange movements are among the best in the business.  Wonderfully decorated, beautifully finished, and featuring hand engraved balance cock with a swan neck spring...  Does it get better than this?  Philippe Dufour even famously bought a Lange chronograph for himself to wear - Dufour stated it was one high quality honest watch that took no shortcuts (reading between the lines, perhaps he's implying other brands do take shortcuts...).  

There's no pricing information about this watch - expect it to cost a noticeable amount more than a perpetual calendar chronograph, as the rattrapante mechanism is notoriously difficult to manufacture.  This is a very special watch - and there are few equivalents.  Most brands, even the venerable Vacheron Constantin, do not even have a competitive equivalent.  

1815 RATTRAPANTE PERPETUAL CALENDAR Ref. 421.056FE