
Jonathan Darracott
Global Head
£40,000 - £60,000
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When the A. Lange & Söhne factory reopened 40 years after it was shut down due to the Second World War, the acclaimed German house launched their new iteration with the Lange 1. A watch that remains among the most highly acclaimed time pieces of the modern watchmaking era.
Introduced in 2003, the Grand Lange 1 "Lunda Mundi" was presented as a set of two watches that accurately displayed the waxing and waning of the moon as seen on either side of the Equator.
The white gold "Ursa Major" model depicts the Northern Hemisphere's moon phases while the pink gold "Southern Cross" depicts those of the Southern Hemisphere. In each, the moon phases change continuously, not just in sudden increments as is generally the case in conventional watches. The mechanism is so precise that the displays only deviate from the synodic lunar orbit by one day every 122.6 years.
Limited to 101 sets, the current examples are numbered 99.
Despite the complicated workings within the watch, the "Luna Mundi" has a dial with distinctive asymmetrical features that are exceptionally easy to read. The movement is made to the highest German standards of watchmaking with a three day power reserve, a hand engraved balance cock with swan-neck precision regulator, gold chatons and hand-blued screws.