A Lange & Sohne Lange 1 Moon Phase, Now with an Updated Moonphase and a Day/Night Indicator
In December 2016, A Lange & Sohne introduced their newest Lange 1 Moon Phase, and it has us excited. The watch may look similar to previous versions, but the moon phase received a huge upgrade with the inclusion of a day/night indicator. Before we delve into the details of the new A Lange & Sohne Lange 1 Moon Phase, let’s briefly look at how it got there.
1994: A Lange & Sohne introduced the first Lange 1 in 1994. During World War II, the brand fell on hard times, and this was the first watch created by the revived A Lange & Sohne. The first model was available in yellow gold with yellow gold hands and a champagne dial, and it was presented in the signature 38.5mm case.
1995: After the first Lange 1 took off worldwide, the brand came back in 1995 to offer additional versions, some with a sapphire case, some with blue steel hands, and some with a platinum case.
1997: White gold and red gold versions were added to the repertoire in 1997.
2002: A Lange & Sohne introduced the first Lange 1 Moon Phase in 2002.
2015: The original Lange 1 received an update with a manufacture caliber L121.1. This new caliber provided an instantaneous switch for the date. At exactly midnight, the date jumps forward to the next day. The second update ensures the seconds hand resets to zero when the watch runs out of power. It also features a newly designed balance wheel and a free-sprung, in-house hairspring.
That leaves us to today and the newly updated A Lange & Sohne Lange 1 Moon Phase. The watch boasts caliber L121.3, a manually-wound in-house movement with a 72-hour power reserve. This movement includes all of the upgrades from the 2015 Lange 1 update. This movement also features a new moon phase complication which includes a day/night indicator.
In total, the movement includes 438 parts which is 70 more than the 2015 Lange 1. However, through the brand’s ingenuity, these 70 parts are integrated into the movement in such a way that the movement does not appear much larger. The movement’s diameter remains the same at 30.6mm and the depth slightly increases from 5.7mm to 6.3mm.
The most exciting update comes with the moon phase and day/night indicator. The moon phase appears in the top half of the running seconds sub-dial, and this complication works as you’d expect. The moon disc rotates on a monthly basis to show the current position of the moon. This indicator is accurate to one day every 122 years.
Behind the moon display, you’ll see a blue background to indicate the time of day, whether day or night. A Lange & Sohne included a second disc that is independent from the moon display. During the day, the moon appears in front of a bright blue background, and at night, the moon appears in front of a dark blue background with laser-cut stars. This disc completes a full rotation once every 24 hours, and over the course of the day, the background hue changes from dark blue to bright blue.
There are quite a few moon phase watches currently available, yet you don’t see many that combine the moon phase complication and a day/night indicator. This update has sparked quite a bit of interest in the watch community, and it’ll be exciting to see this watch after SIHH 2017.
This new Lange 1 moon phase is available in white gold with a black dial, pink gold with a silver dial, and platinum with a rhodie dial. The prices in USD will be available at SIHH 2017.
Interested in learning more about the Lange 1? Check out this Time and Watches article on the History of the Lange 1.