patrick_y
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2022 A. Lange & Søhne Novelties
2022 has come for A. Lange & Soehne, and the Saxon-based brand has blessed us with a traditional slide-powered minute repeater! The star of this year's selection.
1. A Richard Lange Minute repeater is launched this year. Like the Richard Lange Pour Le Merite, it features a beautiful 3 part dial. This three part enamel dial is crafted in-house and is not contracted out to a dial maker. The joining of the dial is extremely difficult, especially around the 17 second and 43 second areas of the small subdial where the mid-section dial has small points that may crack or chip in the joining process.
The Minute Repeating mechanism is slide powered, very different from the button powered version in the Zeitwerk Repeater. It's also technically superlative - it has a special mechanism to cancel the pause that most minute repeaters have between the hours and the minutes when there are no quarters to chime. The system simply senses after sounding the hours that there are no quarters and the system is smart enough to immediately skip to the minutes. The movement is also thoroughly German, with a true 3/4 plate design and is not a "Richemont" product.
I haven't heard this minute repeater, but I'm sure the tonality will be excellent, the speed should be good, and the volume will likely be medium. I can't wait to listen to this minute repeater. Considering there are only 50 to be made for worldwide consumption, all in platinum. I hope I'll have the pleasure! Here's a video below...
2. The Odysseus is continued in the same form as before, but in titanium. Limited to 250 pieces, so it will definitely be another "impossible" watch to get. Start kow-towing to your dealer now!
3. The Grande Lange 1 is a new version that is significantly thinner. Being 41mm and yet only 8.3mm thick, this Grande Lange 1 will fit under French cuffs for a more elegant look! I'm glad to see Lange addressing this thickness concern I've been having for the past ten years! The movement doesn't see any sacrifices as all performance metrics are equal or better than before!
What are your thoughts about the Lange Novelties?
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A. Lange & Söhne 308.031 'Langematik' one-year review. Explore the L921.2 movement, finishing quality, and AR crystal upgrade benefits. Pink gold black dial.
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2022 A. Lange & Søhne Novelties
2022 has come for A. Lange & Soehne, and the Saxon-based brand has blessed us with a traditional slide-powered minute repeater! The star of this year's selection. 1. A Richard Lange Minute repeater is launched this year. Like the Richard Lange Pour Le Mer...
Agreed! Looks good! Hope it sounds good! Platinum isn't a good idea though...
Sometimes steel or titanium even sounds better than platinum! Rose gold generally sounds better amongst the precious metal variants. Platinum, doesn't always sound great.
Probably!
I'm personally not a fan of the shape of the Odysseus. I don't find the design my thing at all. But there are definitely fans of the Odysseus out there!
They didn't give me the pricing...
A lot of press releases this year aren't mentioning the pricing. But I bet it's going to be super expensive!
More expensive than the current white gold model
Hard to explain that, other than taking advantage of the current hype over sports watches.
Perhaps!
It's arguable that the entire Odysseus line was designed to take advantage of the sports watch hype. I still remember 10 years ago when Lange executives like Timo Bobeck were saying that a sports watch wasn't in their DNA.
woah more than the gold crazy
and unjustified but..at the same time may be it will cool off the secondary market
If that MR sounds good it is my new grail.
Looks like Lange hit it out of the park there. Wow! Best Andreas
That would be a nice watch if it sounds good!
I'm a little worried about the sound. The Swiss-French brands like Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philippe, and even Jaeger-leCoultre do such a good job... Will the Lange be able to compete objectively?
excellent question. The Zeitwerk MR did
in my view, not have a great sound. But this is an entirely new movement of course, Best Andreas
Exactly!
And the ZW MR was huge! And difficult to wear! I had the ZW Hour striker and that was huge. Never wore it out except for a few hours in the house.
A thickness of 8.2mm for the Grand Lange 1 is impressive. I look forward to seeing it.
Perhaps this will signal a broader (and welcome) move towards slimness in their other references.
I'm hoping for slimmer Langes in the future!
I know German watches are supposed to be thick, but I prefer my watches thin!
The old, old, old Langematiks without date were 8.2mm...
... and I always thought those were perfectly proportioned (diameter 36.8mm, though, versus 41mm for the Grand Langematik).
True, it might be almost too thin for a 41mm watch.
But it should be okay. The Nautilus is around 40mm and around 8mm thick. It doesn't seem out of proportion.
That’s because..
The nautilus wears like a < 40mm watch.. A better example would be the 1815 40mm version, the thickness is ~ 9mm? I find the proportion would be better if it was a tad thicker
Really well done from Lange!
The RL minute repeater is amazing and perfect … enamel, platinum, 39mm! The Grand Lange 1 looks fabulous with the new graining on the dial, and thinner case should be really well received. Titanium Odysseus is very attractive… I’m told its only for the me...
Sounds like you're happy!
I'm not happy that they made the Titanium Odysseus so hard to get, but oh well, I'm not a fan of the Odysseus - but I feel bad for the people who do like it.
Unfortunately nowadays, CEOs go to their teams and ask the teams for a "super rare sporty watch" that they'll intentionally make hard to get for hype reasons.
Hype sells! CEOs are all trying to create hype now! They're hiring hype experts, NFT and blockchain experts, and social media experts.
I found it very sad that also Lange lovers are left out of these new policies...I understand
that a steel/titanium might be hard to get but the gold is also a very rare bird..oh well it makes it easy to pass
Well this Richard Lange MR certainly qualifies as a grail.
Just an exquisite watch. Can’t wait to see Live photos. Thank you for posting.
Let's hear how it sounds first!
The Germans aren't known for their minute repeaters. But I'm hoping it to have good tonality, a medium to loud volume (not likely due to platinum case), and a good speed (17-19 seconds for the 12:59 sequence).
Sounded a bit quiet.
Good tonality, but not great. Good speed, maybe slightly slow. After one hears the Vacheron Constantin and the Patek Philippes, I feel a little spoiled. The JLCs are super loud too, although tonality and speed can actually vary quite a bit at JLC.
It is indeed a magical moment.
In all honesty, the modern Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, and Audemars Piguet minute repeaters are all very good. Keep in mind, Audemars Piguet makes the most special minute repeaters, as they have a history with Carillons (three gong or more repeat...
You're welcome!
I can describe the sound of minute repeaters probably more thoroughly as I describe the tasting notes in wine. Hence why I could be a watch sommelier, but I haven't passed the basic certification for a wine sommelier by the Court of Master Sommeliers. But...
I am so grateful Patrick thank you. In my city we don't see many MR so I have only heard two ... ever.
Please don't mistake the brevity of my response for a lack of appreciation as I did absorb all the variables you mentioned and will be sure to listen for them. With gratitude, Edward
Not at all!
They're rare everywhere! Even I don't always get to hear them! But sometimes I get so excited that they sound "better" than they actually are. So I have to go back to my objective reasoning.
Love Lange and happy to see them addressing thickness
There's no question that the Richard Lange Minute repeater is the start of the show, but as you note - impossible to obtain but for a lucky few. So, I'll need to be content just knowing they exist and hope our paths cross someday to see on in the metal. T...
The highlight is definitely the Richard Lange Minute Repeater.
The proportions and design is perfect, and it's good to see Lange finally introducing a Minute Repeater outside of the Zeitwerk line.
Glad you like it!
It's a little thick for me, and I still have to hear it! Our man on the ground, Amanico, will be giving us a tone, volume, and speed report soon.