The birth and evolution of the Zeitwerk watch family exemplifies A. Lange & Söhne’s motto to “Never Stand Still”
Since the trailblazing A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk debuted in 2009, this timepiece and its subsequent variations have been one to watch. The Zeitwerk, entrenched in A. Lange & Söhne tradition, references the famous five-minute clock of the Semper Opera House in Dresden. Across its key variations, the timepieces in this watch family all share a unifying feature: the time bridge with its patented jumping numerals mechanism.
Understanding the Zeitwerk requires knowing how this signature feature works. The time bridge outlines the hour and minutes while cradling the power reserve display and embracing the small seconds. Crafted in German silver and meticulously finished with chamfering on the edges and brushing, or tremblage engraving, at times, on the surface. Together with its outsized digital time display, the Zeitwerk stands apart from all other digital mechanical complications. What’s special here is how the hours and minutes are read from left to right, making instantaneous jumps as time passes.
From the classic Zeitwerk to the complicated Zeitwerk Minute Repeater, each timepiece in the watch family maintains its core aesthetic. To achieve this, the watchmakers need to make all the necessary technical accommodations to house the movement mechanism for each Zeitwerk timepiece. Take the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater for example, the chimes could correspond with the digital time display by implementing Calibre L043.5 with a decimal minute repeater, which strikes the double tone for the elapsed 10-minutes rather than the quarters.
When it came to the Zeitwerk Date, the date function is seen in a peripheral glass display with numerals imprinted from 1 to 31, and a small ring with a red segment below, ensuring legibility without hands – a clever emphasis, albeit succinctly, on the watch’s digital format.
What lies within says even more about Lange’s technical prowess. The Zeitwerk is the first mechanical wristwatch to display instantaneous extra-large jumping hours and minutes. To power the three extra-large discs – one for the hours and two for the minutes – massive amounts of energy is required, especially at the turn of the hour when all three discs make a jump. The solution: implementing a patented mainspring that is thicker, flipped upside down and suspended from the barrel. This mainspring is wound from the inside and unwinds from the outside, generating more torque than ordinary mainsprings. A remontoir device ensures consistent flow of energy to the minute disc, and also acts as a secondary power source, wound by the mainspring once per minute and then releasing that energy at precise intervals to move the numeral discs.
True to Lange’s motto of never standing still, the original Zeitwerk movement was improved in 2022. The updated movement, Calibre L043.6, offers twice as much power reserve of 72 hours, thanks to a new barrel design with two mainsprings instead of one. Yet, with all this extra power, the watch still manages to keep its diameter to 41.9mm diameter, and even decreased its overall thickness from 12.6mm to 12.2mm.
The Zeitwerk’s journey has been an eye-opener through and through, showcasing how tradition fuels innovation, and does not stop there. Inventiveness allows for continuous growth and exploration, and the Zeitwerk’s future is bright.
Images courtesy of A.Lange & Söhne, artwork by Curatedition. All rights reserved.
Related links:
A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Collection: Over Time
A. Lange & Söhne 1815: Living Tradition
