Earlier this year, A. Lange & Söhne released the Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar - a modest-looking Lange 1, which turned out to be a masterpiece of horology and finishing. Twenty years after the debut of the first perpetual calendar, the new Lange 1 QP (as I will refer to the Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar) has become the only pure perpetual calendar in the brand's lineup, which is quite fitting considering how high the bar has been set.
Complex without being overly complicated and sophisticated without being ostentatious, the QP model retains the off-center design of the now-legendary Lange 1, while enhancing the finishing and mechanism. I didn't immediately notice that the arrangement of all the various dial elements is a mirror image of the typical Lange 1: the hour and minute subdial is on the right side of the case, while the date window and seconds subdial are on the left. A small detail I wasn't aware of is that automatic Lange 1 models (of which there are very few; the majority are manually wound), such as this QP, have this mirrored dial arrangement.
At first glance, the Lange 1 QP and the Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar, released a few years ago, seem terribly familiar, especially considering the latter has a hidden tourbillon. You can be forgiven for such confusion, but the new pure perpetual calendar Lange 1 has several subtle but significant design changes.
The new Lange 1 QP features a brilliantly simple moon phase indicator that also serves as a day/night indicator. Lange cleverly uses two discs: a standard moon phase disc and a disc behind it showing the sky over 24 hours, using graduated colors and stars to indicate day and night. The subdial at the "7 o'clock" position performs many tasks quite efficiently, as it provides moon phase indication, day/night, and a running seconds hand.
A rotating month indication ring is located around the dial, where the current month of the year is indicated by a hand and (the leap year indicator) at the "6 o'clock" position, and the day of the week is displayed using an indicator at the "9 o'clock" position. A lot of information is placed on the dial, but the Lange 1 QP displays it elegantly and with its characteristic mastery.
The dial is indeed the main attraction of this model, but the case is also not to be overlooked. Made of pink gold, the Lange 1 QP measures 41.9 mm in width and 12.1 mm in thickness with brushing on the case and very beautifully stepped lugs.
Flipping the case over, you can see the caliber L021.3, based on the Daymatic and being the only Lange movement with a perpetual calendar operating at 21,600 vph with a 50-hour power reserve. The truly breathtaking L021.3 movement features hand-finishing in German silver, five gold chatons, blued screws, and rubies dotting the metallic landscape of the mechanism, a hand-engraved balance cock, and several sharp internal angles. Don't forget about the luxuriously decorated rotor in 21-carat gold with a platinum rim and an internal lever made of copper-nickel alloy.
All this creates a feast for the eyes, although the 621-component L021.3 is no less impressive from a technical standpoint.
There are heavy watches, and then there are watches that attract attention with their heft, immediately conveying their essence. The Lange 1 QP is one of those watches, exuding rarity and craftsmanship as soon as you hold them. Interestingly, this is indeed a "stripped-down" version of the Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar model released a few years ago.
The Lange 1 QP is a halo for most of us, even if collectors owning the model with a tourbillon might be dissatisfied that their price is a couple of hundred thousand dollars less. The only pure perpetual calendar in the Lange lineup, the QP is simply magnificent both on and off the wrist. However, it's not the kind of piece you can wear every day and forget it's even on your wrist. They have a weight, and I personally want such watches to be noticeable on the wrist, not just a light accessory. But that's just my opinion...
The A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar is available in two versions: in pink gold with a gray dial, as shown here, and a limited edition in white gold with a salmon dial, released in 150 pieces. The Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar will appear in the brand's boutiques at the end of this year: the pink gold model (Ref. 345.033) priced at $104,500 and the limited white gold model (Ref. 345.056) priced at $116,000. More detailed information can be found on the alange-soehne.com website.