The A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Tourbillon

[serg70]

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The A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Tourbillon, Or 'How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love A Tourbillon'

Appreciating the beauty, mechanical complexity, and historical importance of the tourbillon is not a difficult thing to do. A little knowledge and gazing at a few examples is about all that it takes. Generally though, I find myself happy enough to put tourbillon-equipped watches back on the shelf or in the box when I'm through with my few minutes of admiration. This watch is an exception. The A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Tourbillon is a superlative modern watch that combine high-end finishing, a respect for tradition, and a healthy dose of technological bravado. And I really, really want it.
At first glance, the 1815 Tourbillon is a simple enough watch. The dial is clean and open and there is a large aperture at 6 o'clock for viewing the one-minute tourbillon in action. The case shape, numerals, hands, and other details are all very typical Lange. If you ignore the massive, masterfully-finished tourbillon and it's dramatic bridge, there's nothing here shouting "mega watch" at all. And, yes, I fully understand the absurdity of that sentence.




What truly sets this watch apart though is that tourbillon and the technical architecture surrounding it. The mirror-polished bridge extends almost the full width of the dial, from 8 o'clock to 4 o'clock and the swooping shape of the tourbillon case itself is ornate enough to make itself known without going overboard. The deep opening offers a lot of negative space, providing amble room for visually appreciating each component.





The mechanism itself though isn't simply a tourbillon. Instead, Lange has taken the complication to its logical conclusion, adding both a stop-seconds mechanism and a zero-reset function. This is the first time Lange has combined these two patented mechanisms in one watch, but there's no first-time jitters here. The idea is that because a tourbillon is all about creating a highly accurate timekeeper, it only makes sense that one would be able to set the watch to the second. When you pull the 1815 Tourbillon's crown, the running seconds hand attached to the tourbillon cage snaps back to zero and the balance stops moving. Everything zeros out so you can set the time and pop the crown back in at just the right moment to ensure your watch is set properly. It's obsessive in the best way possible.
If you look carefully around the 20 seconds mark on the subdial, you can see a thin, Y-shaped spring peeking out and resting gently on the balance wheel. This is the stop-seconds mechanism. It looks impossibly delicate, but it's what holds the balance in place and prevents the case from turning. It's shaped this way and placed on a pivot for good reason: if one side hits the tourbillon cage instead of the balance, the spring swings around and the other side stops the balance instead. The zero-reset mechanism is similarly elegant and you can see it swing toward the center of the balance from the top left of the aperture. It uses a heart-shaped cam at the center and functions identically to a chronograph reset mechanism. There's a noticeable "snap" when you pull the crown and it makes setting the 1815 extremely satisfying.
The rest of the caliber L102.1 movement is wonderful as well. The German silver plates have deep, wide waves on them, the gold chaton hold large rubies, and there's even a diamond endstone where the tourbillon meets the hand-engraved balance cock. You definitely get the sense that Lange wanted it to be very, very difficult to find fault with anything in the 1815 Tourbillon.
Ultimately though, why I love this watch has little to do with how it looks under a loupe or how it functions on a table. It's how this watch wears that makes it so appealing. The 39.5mm case is just 11.1mm thick and even in pink gold or platinum it's light enough to wear comfortably all day. The tourbillon, while extremely complex and finished to the highest standard, is surprisingly subtle and doesn't scream "Look at my wrist!" from across the room. It might be a little aggressive with short sleeves, but even without a jacket I didn't find myself trying to downplay the 1815. There was none of the self-consciousness that I find usually accompanies wearing more ostentatious tourbillons.
There's a good lesson to learn here: balance is important. Instead of surrounding the tourbillon with more glitz, more bling, or more complexity, Lange chose to exercise restraint and package the complication in a more tasteful package. The result is a watch that can be worn effortlessly, like a simple three-hander, but that packs serious watchmaking know-how inside with just the right amount of showiness.



The 1815 Tourbillon is $164,100 in pink gold (as seen here) and $201,300 in platinum. The latter is limited to just 100 pieces.


Оригинальная статья тут:
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/a-...n-just-because

[Balaganov]

Не совсем понял почему на английском... Хотя тогда не понятен домен " .ru"!!!