Watches & Wonders 2026: A. Lange & Söhne gives the “Lumen” treatment to the Lange 1 – complete with two grand complications!
A. Lange & Söhne may not be the largest watch maker out there – only producing about 4,000 watches per year – but what Lange lacks in quantity, the German brand makes up for it in quality one hundredfold. We’ve covered a bit of A. Lange & Söhne’s history and its watches over the last few years, as the brand starts to increase its presence in Australia. And, we don’t mind one little bit as the Saxony brand makes some of the nicest watches in the world, in our eyes at least.
Since its rebirth in the mid 1990s with the appropriately named Lange 1, A. Lange & Söhne’s adherence to traditional German watchmaking has stayed true. The use of German silver on the famous three-quarter bridges, the hand-finished movement components inside and out, the double assembly and individually hand-engraved balance cocks – all are hallmarks of A. Lange & Söhne and the strict approach it takes to each watch.
Today, A. Lange & Söhne continues this tradition and, in doing so, continues another relatively new design code – the “Lumen”.
A “Luminous” Idea
What started in 2010 with the Zeitwerk “Lumen”, A. Lange & Söhne has continued to develop this unique design, which uses a semi-transparent luminous coating on a sapphire disc to bring the dial to life. Since then, A. Lange & Söhne has played around with multiple models to bring the “Lumen” range to life, including the Zeitwerk, Grand Lange 1 and Datograph. This is reserved for some of A. Lange & Söhne’s more high-end pieces, which are normally limited.
The most recent was back in 2024 with the release of the Datograph Perpetual Honeygold “Lumen” (pictured above) at that year’s Watches & Wonders. It was probably one of my favourite pieces at the fair that year we got our hands on, and with a limited edition of just 50 pieces and a price tag that was somewhere in the range of A$1M, it was safe to say we were not going to come across these anytime soon in the wild.
The last time A. Lange & Söhne used the Lange 1 design for its “Lumen” collection was the Grand Lange 1 Moonphase “Lumen” in 2016. While it wasn’t as visually stunning as the Dataphraph Perpetual Honeygold “Lumen”, the Grand Lange 1 Moonphase “Lumen” was nonetheless stunning, made from 950 platinum, a moonphase disc that included 1164 stars and the moon, which in turn glowed.
A New Lange 1 “Lumen”
As part of the brand’s releases for Watches & Wonders 2026, A. Lange & Söhne has unveiled a Lange 1 Moonphase, but this time, in the form of a Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar. Measuring 41.9 mm by 13.0 mm thick, and made from 950 platinum, the Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar “Lumen” is a work of art for those lucky enough to afford the 50-piece limited edition.
Lange has gone above and beyond on this watch, housing not one, but two grand complications. The first being a stop second tourbillon, and the second being the perpetual calendar with a peripheral month ring and instantaneously switching displays.
As you may be aware, hacking seconds (the ability to stop the running seconds when setting the time so you can set the watch exactly to the second of a reference time) is fairly uncommon. Until A. Lange & Söhne introduced the Cabaret Tourbillon in 2008, there was no commercially produced tourbillon with a proper hacking mechanism. Lange was subsequently granted a patent for this.
The Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar “Lumen” can do just this by having the stop-seconds device immediately halting the balance within the tourbillon cage by pulling the crown out, and a V-shaped arresting spring stops the tourbillon cage. The mechanism is set up so that one of the prongs of the V will land on the tourbillon cage and the other on the balance wheel, or both at once.
The other grand complication is the perpetual calendar with a peripheral month ring and instantaneously switching displays. This essentially means that all the watch’s time and calendar functions change instantly, without a gradual date or time change, as you see in many watches. Should you want to wait until 12 am when you see the time, day, and date switch over, it could be well worth it.
The New Calibre L225.1
Inside the Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar “Lumen” is the new Calibre L225.1. Lange is not a watchmaker that makes modular movements, i.e. bolts on a module to a pre-existing calibre to form a new movement, as you would with a chronograph onto a time-only movement, as an example. A. Lange & Söhne creates each movement individually to suit and fit the watch it is designed for.
In the case of the L225.1, Lange has meticulously built the new tourbillon perpetual calendar movement to ensure not only that the watch functions work as they should, but also to take into account the display of the movement via the dial as well as the layout of the indications – the outsized date, offset dial, moonphase, day arc, leap year indicator, and the peripheral month disc.
The calibre comprises 685 individual components, and the entire movement is finished spectacularly with a range of techniques we have come to expect from Lange. It is also an automatic winding calibre, which is also on the rarer side for Lange, and a good number of their movement are hand-wound, keeping in the traditional watchmaking ethos.
The tourbillon cage and the surrounding components are executed in stainless steel and finished using black polish – one of the more challenging techniques out there. Done by hand, it creates that effect where the surface shifts from mirror-like to almost black depending on the angle. It’s not something you notice all at once, but when the light hits it right, it’s impressive. The bevelled edges are clean throughout, and the internal angles, arguably the hardest parts, are handled well.
The central rotor is done in 18-carat white gold, a first for A. Lange & Söhne, and paired with a platinum mass to aid winding. Once fully wound, it has a 50-hour power reserve. Visually, the rotor also plays on contrast, with a darker central section set against the lighter outer mass.
There are a few decorative elements worked in, like the hand-engraved stars and shooting star on the tourbillon and intermediate-wheel cocks. At the centre of the tourbillon sits a diamond endstone, held in place by a screwed gold chaton—a traditional detail that nods back to Lange’s high-grade pocket watches.
Initial Thoughts
There is a lot to say about A. Lange & Söhne – both as a brand and also its watches. There is a rich history of the company that dates back to 1845, but was stopped due to the Nationalisation of the brand post WWII. Thankfully, Ferdinand Adolph Lange’s great-grandson, Walter Lange, alongside business partner Günter Blümlein, was able to re-establish it, and with it, the traditional Saxony watchmaking techniques and the historical DNA that we know and love today.
The Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar “Lumen” really embodies the Lange philosophy in a modern sense. Blending the design codes of the asymmetrical Lange 1, with the modern look of the “Lumen” design built into the watch. Looks aside, it is technical mastery. Usually, when you combine a lot of complications in a watch, add in an automatic rotor and a tourbillon, you start to get a larger watch that is less wearable daily, and more for show. The new Lange 1 is not this.
Built on a similar platform to the Lange 1 Daymatic, at under 42 mm and just 13 mm thick, this will be a highly wearable watch. Yes, it will be slightly harder to slip under the cuff compared to a Lange 1 or a Daymatic, which are 10 mm thick or less, but it still can be worn easily, should you want to make this a daily, and if you are fortunate enough to be able to afford it.
On that note, while Lange does not disclose the price, with only 50 pieces being produced in platinum and taking into account the movement architecture, I’ll hazard a guess that this will be in the high six figures, if not breaking the seven-figure mark in AUD. At any rate, it is still one magnificent watch!
Reference & Specifications
| Feature | Specifications |
|---|---|
| Reference | 720.035FE |
| Dimensions | 41.9 mm x 13 mm thick |
| Case | Brushed and polished 950 platinum |
| Crystal | Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment |
| Dial | Sapphire crystal, coated; all displays luminous. Hands crafted from 18k Gold |
| Caseback | Brushed and polished 950 platinum with a sapphire crystal display |
| Movement | Lange manufacture calibre L225.1 automatic movement beating at 3Hz / 21,600 VpH with a tourbillon and perpetual calendar. Moonphase accurate to 122.6 years, hand adjustment to be done in 2100 |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds; tourbillon with stop seconds; perpetual calendar with instantaneously switching displays for outsize date, retrograde day of week, month and leap year; moon-phase display with integrated day/night indication |
| Power Reserve | 50 hours |
| Water Resistance | 30 metres (3 ATM) |
| Bracelet | Black sustainably sourced alligator leather strap with a deployant quick-lock buckle in 950 platinum |