A. Lange & Söhne Little Lange 1 Moonphase
A. Lange & Söhne Little Lange 1 Moonphase
2017 GPHG Ladies High-Mech Category Finalist
Among the six contenders for honours in the 2017 GPHG Ladies High-Mech category, the Little Lange 1 from A. Lange & Söhne is quite on its own. There are no diamonds, no elaborate colourful decorations, no overt exotica nor mechanical enigmas, only pure horological excellence in a luxurious, timeless and classic design, which is after all what Lange do so very well.
The little Lange 1 Moonphase features a beautifully guillochè silver dial, which is asymmetrically configured to display its primary functions of hours and minutes in a large offset main dial, with shared small seconds and moonphase, big date windows and power reserve displayed individually.
With gold hands and appliqué detail against the silver dial, the contrast is almost binary, which translates as being a High-Mech ladies watch whose complexity is presented in an understated and elegant style.
As its name suggests, the Little Lange 1 Moonphase takes its cues from its larger sibling, slightly reducing its scale in a 36.8mm rose gold case, but otherwise staying faithful to the layout and execution which has become a signature of this grand German watch brand. Even in its most basic form, a Lange is synonymous with supreme watchmaking, and inside the manufacture hand winding calibre L121.2 features the twin mainspring barrel and of course the majestic oversized balance wheel, as well as exquisite component finishing and decoration.
In some respects the Little Lange 1 Moonphase might have been a strong candidate in the Ladies category, whereas our favourite there, the URWERK UR-16 Flower Power, could have been quite at home here in the High-Mech contest, but regardless, its inclusion gives the jury something to consider, as when it comes to outstanding technical excellence and fastidious attention to detail, Lange & Söhne has few equals.
Will the Little Lange 1 from A. Lange & Söhne conquer its class and pick up the Aiguille for Ladies High-Mech? Well, if past years are anything to go by, it will have its work cut out, as we have seen tourbillon (Girard-Perregaux) in 2016, Jean-Marc Wiederrecht's divine peacock fan (Fabergé) in '15 and Christophe Claret's floral Margot in '14, so there is certainly a propensity for the exotic to succeed here.
The Watch Press prediction
Considering that it perhaps seems out of place here, and despite its indisputable finesse and pedigree, in this company I would be surprised if it were to win its category, although I have a sneaking suspicion it might.
The pertinents
- REFERENCE: 15454OR.GG.1259OR
- CASE: Pink gold
- BRACELET/STRAP: Pink gold
- BUCKLE: Folding clasp
- MOVEMENT: Self-winding mechanical
Power reserve: 60 h, 21'600 vph - FUNCTIONS: Hours, minutes, seconds, date
- SIZE: ø 37 mm
- THICKNESS: 9.8 mm
- WATERPROOFNESS: 50 m
- PRICE EXCL.VAT: 46'500 CHF
In the frivolity of the beating wings of a little butterfly amid stained sapphire meadow grass, the Lady Arpels Papillon Automate by elite jewellery maison Van Cleef and Arpels is a colourful, technical and welcome finalist in the 2017 GPHG Ladies High-Mech category.