The Gentleman Magazine Issue 20 | April 2020 | Page 19

LANGE 1 MOON PHASE “25TH ANNIVERSARY”
In 2017, with the LANGE 1 MOON PHASE, A. Lange &
Söhne took a new approach to depicting the moon phases by
combining the eponymous astronomical display with a day/
night indicator. To mark the occasion of the 25th anniversary
of the LANGE 1, it is now being presented in an exclusive
25-watch limited edition in white gold with blued steel hands.
The moon stands out especially in the dark. By day, the sun
usually outshines it, but even then, it accompanies us. The
LANGE 1 MOON PHASE makes that visible. During the
daytime, the moon is depicted against a bright blue starless sky;
at night, it contrasts against the dark blue heavens with 383
sparkling stars. Thus, the moon always shows itself against a
realistic background that doubles as a day/night indicator.
This makes it easier to set the time because it assures that the
date switches at midnight and not, inadvertently, at 12 noon.
The combination of the moon-phase display with a day/
night indicator has two layers. It consists of a solid-gold
celestial disc with blue gradation. The disc completes
one full revolution about its own axis every 24
hours, mapping the rhythm of day and night.
Against this background, the white-gold moon
performs its synodic orbit in 29 days, 12
hours, 44 minutes, and 3 seconds with such
precision that it takes 122.6 years before a
correction by one day is needed.
An exciting interplay of silvery and
blue hues unfolds on the asymmetrical,
argentécoloured dial. The thermally blued steel
hands and the colour-matched inscriptions
harmonise with the gradated blue tones of the
celestial disc. The watch features a blue alligator
leather strap with a solid white-gold prong buckle.
Finished to the strictest Lange quality standards, the
manually wound calibre L121.3 of the LANGE 1 MOON
PHASE is based on the generic LANGE 1 calibre L121.1
launched in 2015. The 70 additional parts for the moon-
phase display and the day/night indicator were integrated
in the movement so compactly that the watch is only 0.4
millimetres thicker and
has an unchanged diameter of 38.5 millimetres. It continues
to stand out with the same technical features. They include
a twin mainspring barrel with a power reserve of 72 hours,
a power-reserve indicator with the UP/DOWN inscription
and a precisely jumping outsize date display. The escapement,
consisting of a cam-poised balance and a freely oscillating
Lange balance spring, runs at a frequency of 21,600 semi-
oscillations per hour.
Like all other models of the "25th Anniversary" collection,
the LANGE 1 MOON PHASE is endowed with a special
movement detail: The anniversary number 25 is integrated in
the manually engraved, blue-filled balance cock. As regards
typography and form, it corresponds to the Lange outsize date
which is set to 25 in all photos. The same number also refers to
the strict limitations of all anniversary models.
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