Watches and Wonders 2024: A. Lange & Söhne lights up its latest high complication timepiece

A. Lange & Söhne brightens up its latest Honeygold complication with a luminious dial, writes Gloria Fung

If innovative complications are what you’re after, chances are you’re well acquainted with the beautiful, mechanically magnificent creations from A. Lange & Söhne.

German watchmakers are widely known for their impeccable craftsmanship, their silvered three-quarters plate, and that beautiful swan neck spring; all of us are often fully exposed and enjoyed through a sapphire crystal case back. A. Lange & Söhne piece is no different in that utmost dedication is put towards creating a mechanism that moves as beautifully as it looks, regardless of whether all of the nuts and bolts are entirely visible. 

Known for loving a challenge, the brand had long been creating high-complication timepieces that time and again, seem to defy the logic and conventional know-how of traditional watchmaking. 

At this year’s Watches and Wonders, the watchmaker takes some of the iconic design and creates an entirely new expression of the A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Datograph Honeygold Lumen, uniquely made for reading time in the dark in mind. 

The watchmaker brings forth the oversized numeral date, arguably the most emblematic visual detail of an A. Lange & Söhne watch. Tapping into the use of luminous material on a semi-translucent dial, the entire dial glows in green for enhanced legibility in the dark. During the day, the dial is presented in a smokey shade of grey, which transitions into a green glow in the dark. Launched in 2021, this marks only the second time that the Lumen coating is housed inside a Honeygold timepiece.  

The complications featured in the timepiece include the flyback chronograph, a perpetual calendar completed with a leap year indication and moon phase, and the gravity-defying tourbillon. 

Three pushers and a crown together manipulate all of the functions and settings of the price, which is crafted in the house’s signature Honeygold. The calibre L952.4 movement and its 684 components bring life to the timepiece, giving it a 50-hour power-reserved 

Completing the piece is a brown leather strap fastened with a deployment buckle, which is also in Honeygold. 

Also see: Watches and Wonders 2024: Hermès continues to find inspiration in the equestrian world