Introducing the A. Lange & Sohne 1815 Chronograph Boutique Edition (back with Pulsation Scale)

The A. Lange & Sohne 1815 Chronograph is the entry-level chronograph of the Saxonian Manufacture… and what an entry-level watch! This visually simple timepiece shares its base movement (just a tiny bit modified to remove the Date and the power reserve) with the iconic Dufour-Graph, the A. Lange & Sohne Datograph – quite a pedigree, you’ll admit. Today, there is a new edition on the market, the A. Lange & Sohne 1815 Chronograph Boutique Edition, that revamps a feature that some collectors will definitely love, a pulsation scale.

As said, the 1815 Chronograph is the little brother of the iconic Datograph. It shares the same base movement (in this context, the Calibre L951.5) and the same exquisite finishing but in a clean, crisper style. Some collectors even find this 1815 more interesting than the Dato because of this sleek design and thinner profile (due to the lack of the large date and the power reserve indicator – the Up/Down complication). The A. Lange & Sohne 1815 Chronograph is the pure essence of a chronograph – especially the actual edition. The 1815 Chronograph came in two generations. The first one (here), with its inner flange printed with a pulsation scale, and the second one (here), with its improved movement (longer power reserve) and mainly a dial void of any scale and with larger subsidiary counters. However, it seems that this newest edition lacks something in the heart of long-time collectors, a sort of outdated charm (and that’s also why the old 1815 Chrono starts to gain on the second hand market). Default corrected: Lange makes a step back and brings back the pulsometer.

The Boutique Edition of the A. Lange & Sohne 1815 Chronograph brings back the design of the old edition, with a raised inner flange printed with the same type of pulsation scale, leaving thus its sleek design for a busier but more lively and vintage-oriented dial. While the normal edition feels a bit monochromatic (see the white gold edition we reviewed recently), this Boutique Edition brings a lot of (cold) colour to the dial, hands and strap, all accentuated in blue. All the dials’s inscriptions are now using this colour, thus matching with the subsidiary hands (chronograph central second, 30-minute counter and small second) while the hour and minute hands match with the case in 18k white gold.

This A. Lange & Sohne 1815 Chronograph Boutique Edition will be officially unveiled during the 2015 edition of Watches & Wonders (together with 3 other watches… but that’s too early to reveal more). It will only be available in one of the 16 official boutiques of the brand (see here for the closest) in a non-limited run (but in a small production). Price: considering that the normal edition in 18k white gold is priced at 44.400 Euros, expect around 50.000 Euros for this Boutique Edition. More details on the official website of A. Lange & Sohne.

Specifications

• Movement: Lange manufacture calibre L951.5; manually wound, crafted to the most exacting Lange quality standards, decorated and assembled by hand; precision-adjusted in five positions; plates and bridges made of untreated German silver; balance cock engraved by hand. 306 parts. 34 jewels (including 4 in screwed gold chatons). Diameter: 30.6 millimeters; height: 6.1 millimeters
• Oscillator: Shock-resistant balance wheel with eccentric poising weights; balance spring manufactured in-house with a frequency of 18,000 semi-oscillations per hour, precision beat-adjustment system with lateral set screw and whiplash spring.
• Power reserve: 60 hours
• Functions: Time indicated in hours, minutes and subsidiary seconds with stop seconds; flyback chronograph with precisely jumping minute counter; pulsometer scale
• Case: 18k white gold – Diameter: 39.5 millimeters; height: 11.0 millimeters
• Hands: Hours and minutes in rhodiumed gold; seconds, chronometer sweep seconds and minute counter in blued steel
• Strap: Hand-stitched alligator leather strap, dark blue, White-gold prong buckle