REAR VIEWS OF NOTE
BY MICHAEL THOMPSON
Marco Lang Zweigesicht
WITH THIS EDITION OF BACKSTORY WE ’ RE FLIPPING THE COLUMN ’ S CONCEIT ON ITS HEAD . The Marco Lang Zweigesicht , (‘ two-faced ’ in German ) allows the wearer to easily flip the watch as desired . On this page you ’ re looking at the watch ’ s handcrafted movement . While this view of the watch can remain pressed against your wrist to instead expose a beautiful , classic three-hand dial , Marco Lang understands that many enthusiasts prefer to gaze at their watch ’ s caliber .
Lang ’ s very clever system means the owner can pull both sides of the strap away from the case , vertically flip the case ( keeping the crown at the right side ) and snap it back into place . As you can see , Lang ’ s movement also includes a dial with a Grand Feu enamel minute hand and hour hand on a skeletonized silver dial . This sits atop dual barrels , a stunning gold-hued mainplate and three steel floating bridges that define the movement ’ s layout and essentially tie together all the necessary components . Lang plays with his materials , alternating polished , ground or blued steel with red rubies and wheels made of a solid 14-karat gold alloy .
Among these nicely finished components , note the ‘ four-legged ’ balance shaped to resemble a Gothic church window . If you missed this flourish at first glance , perhaps you ’ re eyes first lit on the odd series of blued hands at the movement ’ s 9 o ’ clock position .
This component is a shock indicator . Any impacts on the watch are essentially recorded and displayed with the quite visible handspring mechanism loaded with four blue hands . A small weight ensures the deflection of two forks , which in turn move two hands each . These are held in their deflected position at their tips by exposed teeth , which lock the hands into place . The wearer can reset the system at any time using a corrector .
This unusual invention means the wearer can note physical shocks to the movement and then adjust his actions as needed or desired .
This is just one example of Lang ’ s vow to personalize his designs to each owner . He offers the watch is any of three case materials ( steel , rose gold and platinum ) and will customize the shapes and materials of the hands , the engravings in the movement and case , and will even offer a choice of polishes .
THE ESSENTIALS
CASE 40mm by 12.5mm steel , rose gold or platinum , sapphire crystals , device to remove the strap and wear the watch movement side up .
MOVEMENT Marco Lang Caliber ml-01 , 34mm by 4.4mm , 21,600 bph , 70-hour power reserve , set with 27 rubies and 1 diamond . Balance / escapement : Free four-leg balance with ex-center regulation , blued Breguet hairspring , lever escapement ( 20.5 ) with one-armed balance lever , second hand stop , and resettable shock indication in 4 directions . Plate can be engraved as requested .
PRICE Starting at 50,000 euros , or about $ 58,000 .
FALL 2021 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | 97