A. Lange & Söhne EP.5 The Monument Of Horology
A Monument of Time Born from Passion, with Quintessentially German Devotion
Welcome to the history of the world of time with one of the only A. Lange & Söhne pocket watches that possesses the most complex mechanism and craftsmanship ever produced. This unique timepiece, known by the code "42500," is a treasure of unimaginable value born from the desires of a Viennese man, Heinrich Schäfer, in 1902. With a vast sum of 5,600 German Marks (enough to buy a large mansion in that era), he requested that Lange produce a pocket watch packed with an advanced hand-wound mechanism featuring a perpetual calendar, a split-seconds chronograph with a foudroyante—or lightning seconds—function, and a minute repeater that chimes both high and low tones.
The dial is beautifully arranged, despite being packed with numerous functions. The movement is composed of 833 parts, making it extraordinarily complex and beautiful.
This delicate and intricate movement is housed in a seven-piece case, each part engraved and enameled by the master craftsman Carl Ludwig Theodor Graff with complex motifs from the Louis XV era. The goddess Minerva welcomes the viewer on the front of the case, and the back features an engraving with the initials "G.S.," the origin of which remains unknown. Everything was created and produced under the supervision of brothers Emil and Richard, who had taken over from their father, Ferdinand.
Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and patron of the arts. Masterful engraving that is both delicate and incredibly beautiful.
All the greatness mentioned above was discovered in 2001 when a couple brought the mysterious object to the Lange manufacture to ask about the possibility of repair after the watch had been left neglected before coming into their possession. It was in a dire state, encrusted with rust; the springs, gears, and tiny internal parts had mostly decayed, leaving only the larger components that allowed it to be identified as the 42500. With an ultra-complex 833-part movement!!! (equivalent to about three watches combined), the experts were left scratching their heads. There were many mysterious parts that had never been seen before. Lange had to organize a team of four master watchmakers to go back to "school" for the 42500, studying everything from the archives because no one from that era was still around. They had to source original parts or identical materials to recreate them, or use CAD to design missing parts as close to the originals as possible. Just disassembling every piece took more than three months, and the restoration was finally completed in 2009—a total of 9 years.
The following year, the watch was showcased at SIHH 2010, stunning the industry with the value and skill behind Lange’s watchmaking, leading all horologists to unanimously acclaim it as one of the historic pieces of the watch world. The watch is currently displayed and housed at the Mathematical and Physical Salon in Dresden.
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Information from
: https://www.alange-soehne.com/
: http://langeaficionado.com/?p=7199
: https://www.watchtime.com/featured/7-milestone-watches-from-a-lange-sohne/
: http://en.worldtempus.com/article/a-lange-et-sohne-grande-complication-42500-7378.html
: http://fr.worldtempus.com/article/a-lange-et-sohne-grande-complication-no-42500-le-livre-8973.html
