Introducing: The A. Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk Date

January 14, 2019

The Zeitwerk, along with the Lange 1, is a distinctly A. Lange & Sohne creation. It first debuted back in 2008 and was totally revolutionary, with its jumping digital displays for the hours and minutes and the extremely complex movement, complete with constant force escapement.?Since then, Lange has released a few variations on the original theme, including the Handwerkskunst and the Decimal Strike. Today we're getting yet another new Zeitwerk, the first with an additional "small" complication, the Zeitwerk Date.Just looking at the watch, it's pretty obvious what's going on: You've got the classic Zeitwerk (with the hours, minutes, seconds, and power reserve all on display) with the addition of a date ring around the outer edge of the dial. Interestingly, the date is shown via the movement of a red marker under the dial that fills in the appropriate transparent number to indicate the appropriate date. Easy enough. The effect is extremely elegant and the extra information doesn't at all distract from the bold Zeitwerk hours and minutes. It's always hard to tell from press renderings of watches, but I would be willing to bet top dollar that the effect is even more subtle in person than it appears here. With the additional complication comes some extra heft C in order to accommodate the additional numerals without disrupting the proportions of the main display, the case has expanded to 44.2mm in diameter from the 41.9mm of the original Zeitwerk. The grey dial and large rhodium-plated German silver bridge look fantastic, and the red accents feel right at home too. This watch is not a limited edition, but as you might expect production will be relatively small each year. Initial Thoughts I remember the very first time I saw a Zeitwerk C it was in person and I'd never seen a photo of one either. My immediate reaction was something along the lines of "holy cow, what is that!?" (though probably laced with an expletive or two). That was probably eight or nine years ago, and since then it has grown no less impressive to me over time. Sure, it's a little bigger and a little thicker than I'd like for my own daily wear, but it's a watch I find myself returning to time and time again. This version might be even a little larger in diameter (though a tad thinner), but to see it get a small technical update like this is fun, and both the execution of the date complication and the finishes on the dial are extremely elegant and impressive. This is definitely one of the watches I'm most excited to see in the metal at SIHH 2019. The Basics Brand: A. Lange & SohneModel: Zeitwerk DateReference Number: 148.038Diameter: 44.2mmThickness: 12.3mmCase Material: White goldDial Color: Grey, solid silver Indexes: Digital display with Arabic numeralsLume: NoneStrap/Bracelet: Dark brown alligator strap with white gold prong buckle The Movement Caliber: L043.8Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, power reserve, dateDiameter: 37mmThickness: 8.9mmPower Reserve: 72 hoursWinding: Manually woundFrequency: 3 Hz (18,000 vph)Jewels: 70Total Components: 516Additional Details: Constant force escapement Pricing & Availability Price: $96,700 (pricing subject to change during SIHH)Availability: June 2019For more click here.