The RICHARD LANGE PERPETUAL CALENDAR “Terraluna” is a horological masterpiece that combines A. Lange & Söhne’s benchmark precision, inventiveness, and design competence. Featuring an orbital moon-phase display, a perpetual calendar with the Lange outsize date, a power-reserve of 14 days, and a constant-force escape-ment, this extraordinary time-keeping instrument represents the pinnacle of Saxon watchmaking artistry.
The RICHARD LANGE PERPETUAL CALENDAR “Terraluna” is equally
impressive on both sides. On the dial side of the 45.5-millimetre pink- or
white-gold case, the watch stands out with the regulator layout of scientific
precision watches. The movement side presents an innovative and useful orbital
moon-phase display that depicts the constellation of the earth, moon, and sun.
Three circles for time
The large minute circle is at the top of the dial of the
RICHARD LANGE PERPETUAL CALENDAR “Terraluna”. The smaller dials for the hours
and seconds are beneath it, shifted toward the right and left. As was already
the case with the RICHARD LANGE TOURBILLON “Pour le Mérite” presented in 2011,
this dial design was inspired by a great historic role model: Johann Heinrich
Seyffert’s 1807 regulator from the world-famous timepiece collection of the
Mathematics and Physics Salon. With his ingenious designs, Seyffert helped
transform Dresden into a hub of precision horology in the early 19th century. A
great advantage in precision pocket watches, the regulator format was
appreciated not only by time-keeping services and observatories, but also by
watchmaking manufactories where it was used for synchronising new timepieces.
This is because it provided an accurate display of the minutes and seconds.
Four windows for eternity
Beneath the characteristic Lange outsize date – the first
one in a model of the RICHARD LANGE watch family, incident-ally – two smaller
apertures show the day of the week on the left and the month on the right.
Thanks to this arrangement, the calendar displays can be easily read at a
glance. The calendar is mechanically programmed to correctly display the
different durations of the months in a year as well as those in leap years
until 2100. The leap-year indication is located in a small round window on the
right-hand side of the 15 of the minute circle. All displays of the calendar
switch for-ward instantaneously to assure unam-biguous readings at all times.
To keep the power for the switching process as low as possible, the required
energy is gradually built up via a cam and then released abruptly at midnight.
An exciting technical innovation can be seen on the movement
side: there, the patent-pending orbital moon-phase display shows the location
of the moon relative to the earth and the sun – for the first time ever in a
wristwatch. The display consists of three discs. On the star-studded celestial
disc, the moon – visible through a round aperture – orbits around the earth
anti-clockwise once a month. The mechanism reproduces the synodic month of 29
days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 3 seconds so precisely that it takes 1058 years
before the display needs to be corrected by one day. Beneath it, the lunar disc
rotates, featuring two round new moons. The progression of the moon phases can
be observed through the aperture in the celestial disc. In the constellation
view, the position of the sun is occupied by the balance. On new-moon days, the
dark moon stands between the earth and the sun. It appears as a bright sphere
on the opposite side of the earth on full-moon days. Thus, the position and
phase of the moon are indicated simultaneously. In the centre of the display,
the earth rotates about its own axis once a day. It is daytime on the half that
faces the sun, or the balance, and night-time on the other. The peripheral
24-hour scale provides a time-of-day reference for the northern hemisphere.
The ambitious precision goals of Lange’s product developers
come to the fore not only in the configuration of the moon-phase display
mechanism, which consists of three solid white-gold discs, but also in its
design. To achieve a vivid and aesthetically sophisticated image of the
orbiting moon-phase display, they chose a special coating process. On the
celestial disc, for example, interference effects absorb all of the non-blue
colour spectra of the incident light. The result is a deep-blue surface studded
with more than a thousand high-contrast, sharply contoured stars.
Constant force for two weeks
With two rugged mainsprings, the twin barrel delivers a
power reserve of 14 days. When a spring barrel stores so much energy, special
technical precautions must be taken to keep the rate of the watch stable during
the entire power-reserve period. The torque of the fully wound spring would be
too high to be delivered directly to the going train. And as its torque
declines when it approaches the unwound state, the accuracy of the watch would
deteriorate. An elaborate constant-force escapement compensates for both
phe-nomena. In ten-second intervals, it releases an identical portion of the
available energy to the balance, thus assuring that the torque remains
constant. The result is an unvarying amplitude and high rate accuracy from the
first day to the last. At the 6-o’clock position, a power-reserve indicator in
the form of a circumferential ring tells the owner when the time has come to
replenish the movement with fresh energy via the winding crown.
The pursuit of supreme precision
Since 2003, Lange has been part of the small community of
watch manufactories that master the technology needed to produce balance
springs. Only thus can the utmost precision be assured. For this reason, in
addition to the balance spring, the remontoir spring of the constant-force
escapement is also made in-house for the new L096.1 manufacture calibre of the
RICHARD LANGE PERPETUAL CALENDAR “Terraluna”. The indexless oscillator beats
with a frequency of 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour. Further Lange-style
quality hallmarks include the hand-engraved balance cock and a lavishly
hand-decorated movement. They are impressive manifestations of the
manufactory’s quest for precision down to the very smallest detail.
RICHARD LANGE PERPETUAL CALENDAR “Terraluna”
Movement - Lange manufacture calibre L096.1, manually wound;
crafted to the most exacting Lange quality standards, decorated and assembled
by hand; precision-adjusted in five positions; twin mainspring barrel;
constant-force escapement with remontoir spring produced in-house;
three-quarter plate made of untreated German silver; balance cock engraved by
hand
Movement parts - 787
Jewels - 80
Screwed gold chatons - 1
Escapement - Lever escapement
Oscillator - Shock-resistant screw balance and
superior-quality balance spring manufactured in-house, frequency 21,600
semi-oscillations per hour, precision beat adjustment system with lateral
setscrew and whiplash spring
Power reserve - 14 days (336 hours) when fully wound
Functions - Time indicated in hours, minutes, and seconds;
perpetual calendar with outsize date, day of week, month, and leap year;
power-reserve indicator; orbital moon-phase display with day/night indication
on the movement side
Operating elements - Crown for winding the watch and setting
the time; push piece for advancing all calendar displays; recessed push pieces
for separate correction of month, day of week, and moon phase
Case dimensions - Diameter: 45.5 millimetres, height: 16.5
millimetres
Movement dimensions - Diameter: 37.3 millimetres; height:
11.1 millimetres
Crystal and back - Sapphire crystal (hardness 9)
References - 180.032 - 180.026
Case - Pink gold - White gold
Dial - Solid silver, argenté
Hands - Pink gold - Blued steel
Strap - Hand-stitched crocodile strap, reddish-brown
Buckle - Lange deployant buckle in solid pink gold
No comments:
Post a Comment