(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
Doha: A. Lange & Söhne presents two new versions of the award-winning mechanical digital watch in platinum and pink gold. Thanks to the evolved calibre L043.6, the exceptional timepiece now has a power reserve doubled to 72 hours and offers even greater convenience.
The revolutionary design concept has been subtly reworked as well, enhancing its expressive style. Even though the minute-by-minute progression of the large jumping numerals may seem to be moved by magic, it is precisely controlled by a reliable calibre with seven patents.
In 2009, A. Lange & Söhne presented the first ZEITWERK to the amazement of the world of horology. The unprecedented wristwatch concept features large jumping numerals for the hours and minutes as well as a constant-force escapement as a beat controller. To this very date, the clear, avant-garde display of time is peerless. It underscores the manufactory's ambition to redefine the limits of technical feasibility. Company founder Walter Lange urged the need“to never stand still”. Following this maxim, the watchmakers at A. Lange & Söhne regularly question conventional concepts and pursue innovative approaches to promote the development of precision watchmaking.
Historic inspiration: from the five-minute to the one-minute rhythm
This innovative approach is closely intertwined with the tradition of our manufactory. For the ZEITWERK, the master watchmakers at A. Lange & Söhne took their inspiration from the famous five-minute clock at the Semper Opera House in Dresden. At the time, court clockmaker Johann Christian Friedrich Gutkaes was commissioned to create it. He was asked to develop a time display that would be easily legible even from the rearmost seats.
It was a challenge that forced Gutkaes to rethink the assignment. Contrary to all large-format clocks with hands, he opted for a revolutionary solution: a clock that displayed the time digitally in five-minute steps. In 1841, he completed the five-minute clock with his co-worker Ferdinand Adolph Lange. The unusual idea behind this clock was transposed to the ZEITWERK, even though it switches five times more often than its source of inspiration, namely once per full minute.
Hours and minutes at a glance
The ZEITWERK has a patented mechanism with three jumping numeral discs that make a glance at the watch a special experience. The hours and minutes are displayed from left to right by large-format numerals that are 2.9mm high and 2.3mm wide. The harmonious arrangement on the curved time bridge and the size of the displays ensure superb legibility.
Additionally, this aesthetically original and technically elaborate display endows the dial with vibrancy and verve because the underlying mechanism switches the three numeral discs – one displays the hours, the other two display the units and the tens digits of the minutes – within fractions of a second. The most exciting event happens at the top of the hour when all three numeral discs are simultaneously advanced by one increment. With this precise choreography, the moment becomes the event.
The calibre L043.6 – the second generation of a mechanical masterpiece
While these challenges were already intelligently mastered by the first-generation ZEITWERK, the new generation goes a step further with the refined calibre L043.6.
Thanks to a patented barrel design with two mainsprings, it was possible to double the power reserve from 36 to 72 hours. Or, to express it with other numbers: When fully wound, the ZEITWERK now has sufficient energy to perform 4,320 minute jumps or, more precisely, 72 jumps with all three discs, 360 jumps with only two discs, and 3,888 jumps with only one disc.
Another improvement versus the predecessor model is the simplified setting of the hour. A pusher at four o'clock can now separately advance the display, which is particularly useful when the time zone changes during a trip. The pusher is an inverted type: Nothing happens when it is pressed but the display switches forward when the pusher is released.