Successful auction of limited Lange timepiece
Glashütte / Hong Kong, April 2013
Record price for a RICHARD LANGE TOURBILLON "Pour le Mérite" HANDWERKSKUNST at SOTHEBY’s in Hong Kong
A RICHARD LANGE TOURBILLON "Pour le Mérite" HANDWERKSKUNST changed hands for EUR 289.350 at a SOTHEBY’s auction in Hong Kong on 7th April 2013. This is a 62 per cent plus compared to the original retail price of EUR 178.500. The model has been launched only two years ago. The piece auctioned off is number 8 out of a limited edition of only 15 pieces.
The cases are made of an innovative honey-coloured gold alloy which, with a Vickers hardness of more than 300 HV, is about twice as hard as yellow gold. Crafted from the same material, the dial is decorated with a so-called tremblage, a rare traditional engraving technique. With all its beautiful movement decorations, this timepiece takes horological artistry to a new level that merits the attribute “HANDWERKSKUNST” (“craftsmanship”).
The fourth “Pour le Mérite” timepiece presented by A. Lange & Söhne is a manifestation of artisanal virtuosity at the highest level and combines two complications – a fusée-and-chain trans-mission and a tourbillon – both designed explicitly to achieve the highest degree of precision. Its patented stop seconds mechanism allows the watch to be set with one-second accuracy. A round aperture in the regulator dial exposes the system, which revolves and oscillates at the same time. To prolong the duration of the delightful mechanical ballet for the observer, the adjacent hour dial features a cutaway portion. But precisely at 6 o’clock, the missing segment pivots into place and completes the hour ring until it instantly vanishes again exactly at 12 o’clock.