The LANGE 31: The Long Path to Perfect Form

The LANGE 31: The Long Path to Perfect Form

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The new LANGE 31 in a pink-gold case

Das 31-Tage-Werk der LANGE 31

Featuring a power reserve of one month and constant force delivery across this entire 31-day period, the LANGE 31 attracted considerable attention when it was launched two years ago. Now, Lange is ready to present a second version with an eloquent pink-gold case. This is an ideal opportunity to outline what stands behind the design of a Lange timepiece.

Designer Martin Schetter checks the dials for a presentation

The eminent Saxon manufactory can take credit for a veritable stroke of genius: Not only is the LANGE 31 the first mechanical wristwatch with a tremendous power reserve of an entire month, it also preserves a stable rate for the full 31-day period. Two stacked mainspring barrels, each with a 185-centimetre long spring, store the necessary energy. A constant-force escapement between the twin mainspring barrel and the going train assures that the balance receives an identical amount of energy every ten seconds, regardless of the state of wind of the springs.

A high-tech power pack like this requires space. The movement has a diameter of 37.3 millimetres and is 9.6 millimetres thick – quite an unusual challenge for Lange’s senior designer Martin Schetter. With his team, the Swiss national has spent nearly ten years designing what observers of Lange watches see first. His objective was to develop a balanced visual vocabulary for the impressive case and the prominent dial of the LANGE 31.

From the initial sketch to final acceptance, the design of the dial alone absorbed two years. That sounds like a long time, but it is part of Lange’s heritage to repeatedly scrutinise in-house design iterations. After all, timelessness is one of the requirements imposed on Lange watches. Even after 30 or 50 years, they should not reveal their true age. But how can form be liberated from the influence of zeitgeist? Schetter’s answer is surprisingly simply: “We can give things time. Because it is time alone that judges whether something is timeless.”

The first draft of the LANGE 31 was already very close to its current dial configuration. During the past two years, only minor details were modified even though more than 70 variations were considered, some differing from others only in an hour marker that might have been a fraction of a millimetre longer or shorter, or in other hardly perceptible details. But these steps were essential in the quest for true finesse. They showed the designers which details were not distinctive enough to survive time. So for Martin Schetter, alternatives are the only way to approach timeless design. “Letting ideas compete with each other filters the better from the good.”

Then there is one more requirement that must be respected by the designers, indeed perhaps the most important one: The watch must have that typical “Lange look”. What is that? Descriptive values such as passion, clarity, perfection, and the never-ending search for a higher level of evolution might point in the right direction. But the definition of “Lange-like” dwells in the hearts of the people at Lange.