Is This Watchmaking Perfection? The A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Daymatic Honeygold Comes Eerily Close.

Have we found watchmaking perfection? The proportions? Just right. The design? Iconic. And the movement? Drop dead gorgeous. This is the superb A. Lange & Söhne Langewang D-Matic Honeygold. The word icon is unfortunately used and abused by the industry, but when it comes to the Langewang, it is perfectly justified. This is genuinely one of the most important watches around. And it's one that's not from the 1950s, 60s or 70s, which makes it stand out from most other iconic watches we love and lost after. The Langewang was part of the inaugural collection of watches when Walter Lange and Günther Blümlein resurrected the brand in 1990. Both men need little introduction of course, but to put things in perspective, it's important to know Walter Lange is the great-grandson of the company's original founder, Ferdinand Alexander Lange. And together with Günther Blümlein, he took the chance to resurrect his great-grandfather's watchmaking institute after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Günther Blümlein, on the other hand, was instrumental in the revival of interest in mechanical watchmaking after the quartz revolution wreaked havoc in the industry. Under his guidance, brands like Chégère Lecoudre and IWC found their way upwards and onwards as part of an umbrella company called Les Manufactures Horlogères, now known as the Richemont Group. The full details of both men and their impact on modern watchmaking would be a great story for another time, so let's return to the Langewang for the time being. As mentioned when A. Lange & Söhne announced its return in 1994, after registering as a company in 1990, the Langewang was already part of the launch, alongside the Saxonia, the Arcade and the Tourbillon Pour le Mérite. Of the four, the Langewang has genuinely stood the test of time and remains as elegant now as it was on day one. But it's more than just a very good-looking watch. It is a true game-changer, both for the brand and the industry. The Langewang embodies the rebirth of German watchmaking and paves the path for the appreciation of high-end watchmaking in general. The design looks deceptively simple and features no overlapping displays. Time is split between an hour and minute subdial on the left, a small second subdial in the lower right and an outsized date display with two individual discs up top and a practical power reserve display at three. At first, it might seem a touch unbalanced, but if you were to draw a line from the center of the hour and minute hands to the small seconds hand, then up to the center of the date window and back down to the hour and minute hands again, you end up with a perfect triangle. Everything on the dial is the result of complex rules of symmetry and balance, relying on the mathematics of the golden ratio. After the initial success of the Langewang, the collection expanded with a smaller version, the little Langewang, in 1998. And since then, the collection has diversified into a dozen submodels with everything from moon phases to tourbillons and from world timers to perpetual calendars. Where the Langewang and all its spinoffs before the Daymatic was introduced have the hour and minute subdial on the left, the Daymatic inverses this and puts it on the right. However, it honors that same perfectly balanced layout with none of its indications overlapping each other. Now that that's out of the way, let's go into details on this Langewang Daymatic in honey gold. As ever, it starts with a beautifully proportioned case, now machined out of solid 18 karat honey gold. And this gold alloy is specific to the brand and has a unique and softer color and shine. It's also harder than other gold alloys and platinum for that matter, so it's less prone to scratches and dings. Honey gold has always been reserved for Lange's most exclusive pieces, such as the ultra refined 1815 thin honey gold and of course the brand's masterpiece, the Tupograf perpetual honey gold. The case measures 39.5mm in diameter and 10.4mm in height and offers a pleasing mix of polished and satin finished elements. On the right side there's a knurled crown to set the time and wind the movement if needed and on the opposite end is a pusher to adjust the outsized date display with a recessed character alongside it for the day of the week indication. Details such as the shape and curve of the lugs, the sloped bezel and curved edges on the case back to meet the sapphire crystal further enhance the Lange 1's elegance. Moving to the face of the Lange 1 Daymatic honey gold, A. Lange & Söhne uses a solid silver base finished with a deep warm brown tone and it strikes a perfect harmony against the honey gold case. The off-centered layout stands out again of course, with a recessed section for the hour and minute display and another one for the small seconds. Contrasting textures add refinement and depth with applied roman numerals and diamond shade markers and honey gold hands all around. The outside date window is framed and beveled with color-matched disc underneath and all remaining details are finely printed in white. The retrograde day of the week display replaces the typical power reserve indication of the Lange 1 but for a very good reason. And as mentioned earlier, the Lange 1 Daymatic series is an automatic take on the classic Lange 1. The caliber LO21.1 is entirely made in-house, even down to the hairspring, something that A. Lange & Söhne has been doing since 2003 already. And it's elements like this which make A. Lange & Söhne one of the most complete watchmaking institutions in the world. Constructed out of no less than 426 individual parts which is assembled twice, the main plate and bridges are made of german silver, revered for its soft champagne tone that will slightly darken over time. And as ever with the work of Lange, there's beauty everywhere you look. It really is a visual spectacle through and through. And technically it's also rather impressive as the date mechanism is quite complex and relies on two oversized overlapping discs that jump instantaneously at midnight. The movement is also regulated by a three-sprung balance with eccentric poising weight and the hairspring that's coiled by hand in-house. It runs at a rate of 21,600 vph and is wound by an openwork 21 karat yellow gold rotor with a platinum weight to a maximum of 50 hours in total. And since this is an automatic watch, which is wound as you go along your day, it makes perfect sense to swap out the traditional power reserve display for a weekday indication in a style that retains that unique visual balance up front. Now, we can always debate about availability or prices and whatever things are justified or not. And as ever, some people will agree with us and others might not, which is all perfectly fine. To me, this A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Dramatic Honey Gold comes eerily close to watchmaking perfection. It oozes a comforting serenity and is a perfect representation of stealth wealth. With watches like this, it's not about finding faults or drawbacks for the sake of the discussion. It's about finding balance and peace in an object that virtually transcends the essence of what a watch is. It might sound a bit philosophical, but to me it feels like the Lange 1 strikes a perfect balance between style and substance and honors a remarkable legacy, even if this Lange 1 Dramatic Honey Gold breaks away from the purity of the original Lange 1 ever so slightly. To finish it all off, it comes on a dark brown alligator leather strap matching the case perfectly. Only 250 of these will be made and it is a boutique exclusive edition. The price is upon request only, as is often the case with Lange, but count on it, it will cost a pretty penny. For more details, head over to monoconwatches.com. Thanks for watching and don't forget to subscribe to the channel and I will see you again soon.