Grand Comeback: The New 1815
Grand Comeback: The New 1815
Glashütte, January 2009
In a larger case and with a new manually wound movement, the latest 1815 by A. Lange & Söhne embodies the paragon of simple, classic mechanical timepieces. With its graceful sleekness, it reflects the horological principles of company founder Ferdinand Adolph Lange. It salutes his proud legacy by taking his birth year as its name.
In the best sense of the term, the new 1815 is a classic three-hand watch with a manually wound movement. It presents itself as a visibly enlarged new edition of what was the fifth Lange model of the new era when it had its debut in 1995. The four digits of its name mark a turbulent year that ushered in a new epoch in Europe. They also stand for the birth year of a man who would much later establish a world-famous dynasty of watchmakers. His name: Ferdinand Adolph Lange.
Thanks to his extraordinary talent and energetic entrepreneurial spirit, the man with the modest background became a successful pioneer in horology. He founded the precision watchmaking industry in Germany, and his ideas continue to inspire the art of crafting timepieces. In his late twenties, he had an ambitious vision: to establish an independent watchmaking industry in the Ore Mountains. And he spared no effort to reach this lofty goal. Although unassuming at heart, he worked tirelessly to build the finest watches in the world. His life principle was substance over semblance. And when he designed his watches, Ferdinand Adolph Lange always made sure that “despite its unpretentiousness, each piece is robust and will reliably serve its purpose”. The threequarter plate that he introduced in 1864 to enhance the stability of movements follows this reasoning. It is exactly this “nothing-in-excess” attitude that the 1815 expresses in paying homage to the founder: the pinnacle of sleek elegance.
The new 1815 unites the finest virtues of Lange watchmaking artistry. With a case enlarged to 40 millimetres and a new movement that fills it amply with a diameter of 30.6 millimetres, the reinterpretation of the classic three-hand watch concept with a manually wound movement fully complies with Lange’s commitment to “state-of-the-art tradition”. The engineers and product designers succeeded in preserving the balanced proportions of the timeless original in its larger sibling. With a railway-track minute scale, Arabic numerals, and small seconds at 6 o’clock, the new 1815 inherits the style features of classic Lange pocket watches and transposes them to the wristwatch format in a contemporary manner.
With its 188 lavishly hand-decorated parts, the newly designed calibre L051.1 movement represents the very quintessence of Lange watchmaking artistry:
- - three-quarter plate made of untreated German silver,
- - hand-engraved balance cock,
- - whiplash precision index adjuster,
- - screwed gold chatons,
- - thermally blued screws.
Inside the movement, a large glucydur screw balance beats with a frequency of 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour. When fully wound, the watch has a power reserve of 55 hours. The case and the prong buckle of the new 1815 are made of 18-carat yellow gold, white gold, or pink gold. Its argenté dial is solid silver. Black numerals and the blued-steel lancet hands that are characteristic Lange hallmarks assure excellent legibility. In a limited edition of 500 pieces, the 1815 is also available with a platinum case featuring a rhodié dial and rhodiumed-gold hands.