Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. A. Lange & Söhne Little Lange 1 Moon Phase “25th Anniversary”
The penultimate tribute for the Silver Jubilee of the iconic Lange 1.
It’s becoming an established routine now: every month, for the last eight months since January 2019, we receive news of the latest birthday present to celebrate 25 uninterrupted years of the Lange 1. The Little Lange 1 Moon Phase is the ninth anniversary model out of a grand total of ten special models dedicated to the Silver Jubilee of the Lange 1 (you will find a list with links of all the watches at the end of this article). The Little Lange 1 Moon Phase, a limited edition of 25 watches, is the exact same watch as its predecessor but dressed up for the grand occasion in a white gold case with blue trimmings with the incorporation of a hand-engraved white gold lunar disc.
PROVENANCE
The Little Lange 1 Moon Phase made its debut in 2017 and was clearly positioned as a women’s watch. Housed in a ‘little’ 36.8mm pink gold case, the highlight was the stunning silvery-white guilloché dial and luxurious pink gold details on the dial. It was as beautiful as it was intelligent winning over the hearts and minds of women with a passion for fine watchmaking.
BIRTHDAY SUIT
This “25th Anniversary” Edition of the Little Lange 1 Moon Phase exchanges the pink gold case for a white gold case and the lavish guilloché dial and pink gold trimmings for a more sober silver dial with blue markings and blued steel hands. What is interesting is how this alteration radically changes the personality of the watch. What was once a pre-eminently feminine watch is now a unisex watch, ideal for men with smaller wrists and for women who want something a little less conspicuous. The other ‘anniversary’ tweak is the presence of a hand-engraved white gold lunar disc. Decorated with six stars, the golden moons transit through a star-studded night sky.
family traits
Like all its manual-winding brothers and sisters in the Lange 1 family, the Little Lange 1 Moon Phase displays the characteristic off-centred dial for the hours and minutes, the hallmark outsize date, the AB/AUF power reserve indicator, and the smaller small seconds counter which doubles up to house the moon phase. And like almost all A. Lange & Söhne moon-phase displays, the accuracy rate means a deviation from the synodic lunar cycle by only one day in 122.6 years. If you bought this special edition watch in 2019 and kept it properly wound, the first adjustment to correct the moon phase would be in 2142…
Calibre L121.2
Turning the watch over reveals the German silver three-quarter plate decorated with Glashütte ribbing and the hand-engraved balance cock. Just like the other “25th Anniversary” models, the balance cock is specially engraved with blue accents along with the number ‘25’ to remind you of the auspicious occasion.
The 411-part manually wound L121.2 movement that powers this watch has a twin mainspring barrel offering 72 hours of power reserve. With lever escapement and a shock-resistant balance wheel with eccentric poising weights, the movement beats at 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour. The winding of the watch and setting of the time is done from the crown, but there is a button for quick corrections of the outsize date and a recessed push piece for correcting the moon-phase display.
Guess what the Tenth Present will be?
What’s left in the Lange 1 collection to re-edit for this Silver Jubilee? What will the tenth watch be? The last watch in the collection that hasn’t been made in this 25th anniversary version is the Tourbillon. Would we see a white gold version of the Lange 1 Tourbillon Handwerkskunst? In any case, get ready for something very, very special indeed.
PRICE and AVAILABILITY
The Little Lange 1 Moon Phase “25th Anniversary” comes with a hand-stitched blue alligator leather strap with a white gold prong buckle. It is a limited edition of 25 watches and will retail for EUR 42,300 (incl. taxes). More information at alange-soehne.com.
The nine Lange 1 “25th Anniversary” Editions so far are: Lange 1, Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase, Little Lange 1, Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar, Lange 1 Time Zone, Lange 1 Moon Phase, Grand Lange 1, Lange 1 Daymatic and the latest Little Lange 1 Moon Phase.
