A. Lange & Sohne: Lange Zeitwerk Striking Time

The chiming mechanism is here completed with the jumping hours and minutes complication. The chiming hammers are placed just below the signature Time Bridge component, the framework for hours, minutes, and subsidiary seconds, which is made of rhodium German silver. The mechanism is incorporated in the dial layout on each side of the subsidiary seconds.

The mechanism triggers the strike in quarter-hour intervals. A higher-pitched tone signals the quarter-hours and a lower-pitched one sound at the top of the hour. The user can turn the quarter-hour chime on or off, by simply pushing the piece at 4 o’clock. Played fast-forward, the watch plays the famous leitmotif of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5.

This watch looks very interesting and elegant with smooth dial and jumping numeric display. The hour and minute numerals are presented in adjacent apertures on the Time Bridge.

The timepiece is available both in white gold or limited edition platinum. The case has 44.20 millimeters in diameter, and it is 13.80 millimeters thick. This model is therefore, a bit larger than the original Lange Zeitwerk, chiefly because of the more complex mechanism.

The watch utilizes A. Lange & Söhne manufacture calibre L043.2 manually-wound movement. The movement is largely decorated and assembled by hand, carefully combining 528 individual components and 78 jewels. The three-quarter plate is made of untreated German silver, while the balance cock is engraved by hand. The watch provides 36 hours of power reserve when fully wound.

The watch is available in white gold and limited to 100 pieces in platinum. It is mounted on hand-stitched black crocodile strap.