A. Lange & Söhne

Moon always on the move: the Lange 1 Moonphase

 

Several weeks ago, I had the opportunity to take pictures of the Lange 1 Moonphase and I would like to come back to it.

The Lange 1 Moonphase is not the first Lange to have a Moonphase display: the 1815 Emil Lange had this privilege. It is not even the first Lange 1 to feature an extra complication: the Lange 1 Tourbillon was presented previously. Despite that, when we browse the Lange catalogue, we really think that the Lange 1 Moonphase has its right place in it, that it is a very logical evolution of the Lange 1. But we have to consider that when the watch was unveiled in 2002, it caused a lot of mixed reactions. Some warmly welcome it because the Moonphase display brought a poetic side to the Lange 1 and because it was perfectly inserted on the dial. And some were very surprised by the use of luminous hands and indexes which seemed to be inappropriate for an elegant watch. 8 years later, there is no doubt about it: the Lange 1 Moonphase is one of the most attractive Moonphase watches and still on the top for its technical features.




When we look at it, the first feeling we have is the satisfaction to note that Lange has preserved exactly the same case diameter and dial layout. In fact, it was difficult to move a detail without destroying the perfect balance of this dial. It is the reason why the Moonphase display is inserted in the unique place available: in the small second subdial. And to preserve its purity and its readability, Lange took the decision not to write the Moonphase scale: with the small seconds scale, things would have become too confusing.

We find again the two perfect alignments of the watch functions which are the main characteristic and one of the reasons of the balanced dial design of the Lange 1: the crown, the axis of the time hands and of the power reserve hands are aligned like the axis of the small second hand and of the power reserve with the dividing line of the big date indicator. So when we are at full moon, the moon is also aligned which gives a feeling of harmony.

The arising question is to understand why Lange decided to use luminous hands and indexes. I don't have a clear answer about this question. Moreover, the moon display is absolutely not luminous so in a dark context, you can only read the time and the power reserve indicator. My point of view is that this use forced Lange to bring some aesthetical changes to the time display subdial in order to create a watch more different from the classic Lange 1 than a "mere Lange 1 with a Moonphase display". If you carefully look at the time subdial, you will notice that:
- the four roman figures are located a bit closer to the hands axis to create sufficient space to insert the square luminous indexes
- an inner circle was added to separate the figures and indexes from the central part of the subdial
- the consequence of these changes is that the time display subdial looks a bit smaller than with the Lange 1.




Case is almost the same: as I said before, the diameter is stll 38,5mm but its height is logically a bit higher due to the extra complication: 10,4mm vs 10mm. You almost don't feel the difference.

Time is coming to turn over the watch. How can you differentiate at first glance a Lange 1 Moonphase caliber (L901.5) from a Lange 1 one ? Well... it is not obvious,evething looks similar. The trick is the jewels number: when you have 54 jewels written on the plate, it's a Lange 1 Moonphase caliber. When you have 53 jewels, it's a Lange 1 caliber.




Both calibers look similar because the Moonphase mechanism is located between the plate and the dial. With this additional mechanism of 93 parts, the overall number of parts reaches 398. Caliber frequency (3hz), power reserve (3 days) are the same than for the L901.0. I spoke at the beginning about the technical features of the watch. What are they? The main point which gives a huge interest to the watch is the continuous drive of the moon display: unlike the main part of the other Moonphase watches in which the Moonphase disc moves once or twice per day, the Moonphase indicator of the Lange 1 Moonphase is always on the move. Why? Because its mechanism gets its continuous energy from the hour wheel of the gear train. Due to the link between the Moonphase mechanism and the gear train, Lange added a clutch wheel in order that the owner of the watch can set the Moonphase display without moving the other wheels of the gear train.




You have to consider two types of Moonphase display accuracy: the overall one and the daily one.

The Lange 1 Moonphase has an overall accuracy of a one day deviation every 122,6 years. It is an accuracy we are able to find in watches of the competition. And Lange did much better in this topic with the 1815 Emil Lange  with a theorical precision of more than 1.000 years.

The continuous Moonphase display allows the Lange 1 Moonphase to be very accurate on the daily basis because it doesn't jump once or twice per day: that's a key advantage when you compare it with other watches of the same segment.




So, what are my feelings about this Lange 1 Moonphase and what is my fav version ?

At the beginning I was very surprised by the luminous hands and a bit disppointed not to find again the same purety of the dial. But time has passed and I changed my mind: if I buy a Lange 1 tomorrow, I think it would be a Lange 1 Moonphase due to its poetic side. There is something magic that happens, the mix between the german rigour and this  romantic complication creates an unique alchemy.

The Lange 1 Moonphase is currently available in 3 case metals: YG, PG and Platinum. I think that the most beautiful version is the Platinum one. The moon color is perfect (each version uses a gold disc) and I really like the silver rhodié dial. Then, the PG version gets my vote. It is the warmest version and I think that the PG works very well in this context. I'm less convinced by the YG version.

What about the Grande Lange 1 ?

The Grande Lange 1 was also used to get the additional Moonphase display in a LE context: The 101 Luna Mundi sets.Each set was composed by two watches, a WG one (with the Ursa Major on the dial and on the moon display disc for the northern hemisphere) and a PG one (with the Southern cross for the southern hemisphere). Moonphase display accuracy was similar, the caliber L901.7 was a simple evolution of the L901.5... simple but not so simple for the southern hemisphere watch. The caliber had 4 more parts to reverse the rotation of the moon disc.

The northern hemisphere watch:



Does a Lange 1 Moonphase exist without luminous hands ?

Yes ! If you wish to combine the Moonphase display without the luminous hands, the Lange 1 Moonphase italian market LE is for you ! This LE of 100 pieces features a white gold case, blued hands and a white dial. I insist on this: it's a white dial, not a silver one.

The italian market LE:





Another example of a Lange 1 Moonphase without luminous hands is the Tokyo edition, a LE of 25 watches with a WG case and a guilloche dial:



Lange and the Moonphase display

Between the 1815 Emil Lange to the 1815 F.A.Lange, during these 11 years of the story of the Manufacture, Lange has released several watches with the Moonphase display. The Lange 1 and the 1815 were far from being the unique ones. We can name the Langematik Perpetual, the Datograph Perpetual, the Cabaret Moonphase, the Saxonia Annual Calendar... They don't use the same system and they dont have the same accuracy. But automatic or handwind, simple or more complicated watches, it is a complication which perfectly works within Lange world. It is an useless one and it is the reason why it is so essential in a Lange collection!

The 1815 Emil Lange:



The 1815 F.A.Lange:



Cabaret Moonphase:



Saxonia Annual Calendar:



Langematik Perpetual:



Datograph Perpetual:



Thanks a lot to the Lange team at the Salon Belles Montres in Paris.

Fr.Xavier

  This message has been edited by foversta on 2010-12-19 11:48:03 This message has been edited by foversta on 2010-12-22 11:22:16 This message has been edited by foversta on 2010-12-25 02:57:40