The self-winding Lange 1 Daymatic comes dressed in the brand’s proprietary Honeygold® for the first time
Warm and radiant, A. Lange & Söhne’s patented 18K honey gold is a unique hue that impresses with discretion, making it the choice for many of the watchmaker’s rare and exclusive models. Harder than most other gold alloys thanks to a special heat treatment and the addition of minerals, this trademark HONEYGOLD® debuted in 2010 with the three “165 Years – Homage to F. A. Lange” anniversary edition timepieces. The proprietary gold went on to add a special touch on other iconic pieces including the sporty elegant Odysseus Honeygold and the classy Saxonia Thin limited editions launched this year.
Joining this league on none other than 7 December, a date historically significant to the German watchmaker, is the new Lange 1 Daymatic Honeygold. On this very day in 1845, Ferdinand Adolph Lange laid the cornerstone for German precision watchmaking in Glashütte. More than a century later, on 7 December 1990, his great-grandson Walter Lange reclaimed his family’s watchmaking legacy following the German reunification. It’s no surprise then, that the new Lange 1 Daymatic Honeygold, limited to 250 pieces, was chosen to launch on this special day.
It’s easy to be taken by the Lange 1 Daymatic, first launched in 2010, which has the same pleasing off-centre dial as the manually wound Lange 1. What looks like a familiar face comes with a twist. For one, the dial is a mirror image of the original Lange 1 with the hour and minute display positioned on the right, and the subsidiary seconds dial and the outsize date on the left.
The differences don’t end there. Instead of a power-reserve indicator, the Lange 1 Daymatic has a retrograde day-of-week display on the left periphery of the dial that complements the outsize date. These make the Lange 1 Daymatic a remarkable character of its own in the Lange family of watches.
At first glance, the Lange 1 Daymatic Honeygold is a stunner, its brown dial crafted from 925 silver cradled in the warm hue of honeygold. A closer look reveals the slightly recessed hour and minute circle that adds to the three-dimensional effect of the dial, while the outsize date with white numerals against a brown background complements the colour palette. Finally, the look is completed by a hand-stitched alligator leather strap in taupe with a honeygold buckle.
The harmonious tone taken extends beyond colour to consider proportion. At 39.5mm in diameter and 10.4mm in thickness, it makes its presence felt without shouting out. The reworked lugs and bezel add to the lightness of this watch, allowing for comfortable wear in a suitably snug fit – a silhouette that works even under a shirt cuff.
Powered by the self-winding manufacture calibre L021.1 with a power reserve of 50 hours, the Lange 1 Daymatic Honeygold holds within its exquisite build, a sophisticated architecture that upholds both tradition and precision.
Here, a large central rotor that extends across the entire diameter of the movement ensures the delivery of a constant force, while four slender spokes cushion the heavy rotor in the case of shocks, protecting the movement against high strain. Brilliant in both make and execution, the rotor is visually arresting with its composition of warm-hued gold (central segment made of 875 gold), cool-toned platinum (the centrifugal mass made of 950 platinum) and cornflower-blue screws.
The indexless oscillation system features a large balance wheel with eccentric poising weights, and an in-house developed and made balance spring that beats at a frequency of 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour.
In true Lange tradition, the 426-part L021.1 movement is assembled twice and finished traditionally with features such as the hand-engraved balance cock, Glashütte ribbing and screwed gold chatons visible through the caseback.
With the addition of the new Lange 1 Daymatic Honeygold, the brand’s stable of honeygold watches now stands at 16 – each one with a unique personality that makes it as much a collectible time-telling masterpiece as it is a companion that one cannot bear to part with.
Images courtesy of A.Lange & Söhne, artwork by Curatedition. All rights reserved.
Related links:
A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk Date: A New Era
A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk: In a League of Its Own
A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Collection: Over Time
A. Lange & Söhne 1815: Living Tradition
