A. Lange & Söhne releases its 1815 Rattrapante with a platinum case, adding a new look to the highly complex chronograph with split-seconds mechanism. The German watchmaker had previously offered the watch, its first pure split-seconds model, only cased in its own Honey Gold alloy.
The new look also provides a bright silver dial and dark blued hands that add a regal air to the watch. The watch’s classical railway-track minute scale and the large Arabic numerals retain watchmaker’s own historic style, especially apt for a collection named for the birth year of its founder Ferdinand A. Lange.
While the dial appears traditional, its layout is somewhat unusual for an A. Lange & Söhne chronograph. Watchmakers opted to place the 30-minute counter and the subsidiary seconds dial at 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock, respectively, on the vertical center axis, veering from the more traditional positions at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock.
The watchmaker’s beautifully decorated caliber L101.2, fully visible through the sapphire-crystal caseback, treats the wearer to a micro-engineered show as gears and levers slide and click through elapsed and lap-time measurements, a display centered on the movement’s two column wheels. (See specifications below for details).
A. Lange & Söhne equips the movement with bridges and cocks made of untreated German silver, a screw balance, screwed gold chatons that secure the jewels and a hand-engraved balance cock. And of course all the levers, springs and jumpers are decorated with straight graining while all peripheral chamfers are polished.
A. Lange & Söhne will make the 1815 Rattrapante with a platinum case as a limited edition of 200 pieces. Price: Initially listed at $154,200, the price is now upon request.
Specifications: A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Rattrapante
(Ref. 425.025, 200-piece limited edition)
Movement: Lange manufacture caliber L101.2, manually wound, decorated and assembled by hand; precision-adjusted in five positions; plates made of untreated German silver; balance cock and chronograph bridge engraved by hand. Shock-resistant screw balance; balance spring crafted in-house, frequency 21,600 vph, precision-beat adjustment system with lateral setscrew and whiplash spring. Power reserve is 58 hours when fully wound.
Case: 41.2 mm by 12.6mm platinum. Crown for winding the watch and setting the time, two chronograph pushers, one pusher to operate the rattrapante (split-second) mechanism.
Dial:
Solid silver.
Strap: Hand-stitched black alligator leather with platinum buckle.
Price: Initially listed at $154,200, the price is now upon request.