A. Lange & Söhne

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A duckling turns into a beautiful swan: the Grand Langematik

A few weeks ago, a friend bought his first Lange. He spent a lot of time choosing it, finding it and finally made an interesting move: he purchased the Grand Langematik with black dial and pink gold case (the reference 309.031). I would like to come back to this unusual choice.

First of all, I think that he took an excellent decision... even if it was not an obvious one.

Let's face it: when it was released in 2003, the watch didn't receive a warm welcome. If you remember well, the comments were a bit critical when it came to speak about the dial lay-out and even about the case diameter. We need to come back in the context of this year.





At that time, the Grand Langematik was one of the largest Lange available with its 40mm diameter. Only the Grand Lange 1, introduced the same year was larger with its 41,9mm case. We can consider year 2003 as a pivotal year in this field. A sort of kick-off of the presence of larger cases in the collection. The Double-Split would be unveiled one year later.

Moreover, the contrast was high when compared with the other simple and round watches of the collection:
- the 1815 with its 35,9mm case
- the Saxonia with its 33,9mm case
and the... Langematik, with or without date with their 37mm case.





Due to a less busy dial, the Grand Langematik seemed to be much larger than the 38,5mm case of the Langematik Perpetual.

The main criticism was the use of the same caliber than for the smaller Langematik, a sort of infringement of the famous Günter Blumlein's rule: "one new watch=one new movement". Actually, nobody couldn't deny that caliber L921.4 of the Grand Langematik was exactly the same than the one housed by the Langematik with date.

It obliged to the designers to work on the dial to reduce, if not remove the feeling of unbalance. And this led to the second criticism which came back often: the indexes were not the same on the top of the dial, following the dial layout of the 37mm Langematik, than on the bottom. If we look at the dial, the first thing which springs to our eyes is the discontinuity of the indexes path. Hopefully, they keep the same size.





So larger than the very balanced and elegant Langematik, using a caliber which was not created for it, was the Grand Langematik a Lange with a smaller interest than the other watches of the collection?

And my friend's answer is no and I totally support his point of view.

Why?

The first reason is that the Grand Langematik is a rarely seen Lange. Of course, it is not as rare as the Datograph Pisa but it was produced only during three years, between 2003 and 2006. Three years, that's not a large life span for a non-limited watch. I consider that the Grand Langematik doesn't have a real equivalent in the current collection.

Second reason comes from the movement by itself. Of course Caliber L921.4 was not firstly dedicated to the Grand Langematik. But it was and it is still one of the most beautiful automatic movements around. It has a 30,4mm diameter and a height of 5,55mm which is a good performance taking into account the presence of the big date system. Its frequency is 3hz and its power reserveis around 46 hours.





This is an eye-catching movement thanks to its exceptional finishings (the beveled bridges, the Glashütte ribbing on the German silver plate, the hand-engraved balance cock, the swan-neck adjustement, the beauty of the three-quarter rotor enhanced by the contrast between gold and platinum). This caliber is a live proof of the excellence of the Lange Manufacture and it contributed a lot to its fame.

It was featuring  a detail that a lot of handwind Lange owners were secretly desiring: the zero-reset. It may appear as a mere detail but it is useful when you set the time... and I don't know... but there is something great to observe the behaviour of the second hand when we pull the crown.





Third point is the dial. We are now in 2012. And almost 6 years after the end of the production of this watch, we don't see an unbalanced dial. We see an original and cleverly designed one. In fact, the indexes don't follow the bezel but they embrace the two functions: the big date display and the small second subdial. The white date makes the dial less monotone and I believe that with this watch, a black date would have led to a too sober result. Date pusher at 10 o'clock also adds a less formal detail. And do I need to highlight the very refined applied indexes? The Grand Langematik is  classic watch without being boring thanks to this touch of spice.
 
Moreover, I find the Sax-O-Mat writting better inserted here than with the 37mm Langematik. Question of personal taste of course.

Fourth reason is the size. Nowadays, 40mm are almost considered as a joke. Hopefully, on an average basis, Lange has maintained reasonable sizes for its cases even if they are larger than before: the Grand Langematik  wouldn't appear as huge than before. With a thickness of 9,7mm, the case gets a harmonious diameter/height ratio.





My friend has a quite small wrist and I was wondering if this 40mm watch would be ok for him. And it is perfect on his wrist. The black dial reduces the feeling of size and the shape of the lugs allow to wear it with comfort.

Reference 309.031 is for me the most gorgeous Grand Langematik. I love the contrast between the PG case and the black dial, I love the dial colour which sometimes can get shades of blue, I love the dial layout and I love the movement.

We all know the Datograph "Dufour" with its PG case and black dial. Don't you have the feeling that this Grand Langematik can be considered as a nice three-hands version of this Datograph? It would be a very deserved homage to this unusual watch. I understand very easily why my friend is so happy with it.

I would like to thank him a lot for having let me shoot his watch.

Fr.Xavier