A. Lange & Söhne LANGE 31

Introduced in 2008, the manually wound LANGE 31 by A. Lange & Söhne boasts a power reserve of one month (31 days). This timepiece also features another innovation, a constant-force escapement, assures that power delivery is uniform throughout the entire 31-day period. Additionally, with this timepiece Lange reintroduced the venerable key winding mechanism. The A. Lange & Söhne LANGE 31 watch is available in Platinum and 18K rose gold versions.

The construction of a mechanical wristwatch with a power reserve of a whole calendar month, not to mention constant rate accuracy across the entire period, was one of the few as yet unmastered horological feats. Now, it is reality: the LANGE 31. A programmatic designation for a power pack with the so far unimaginable power reserve of 31 days – plus continuous rate stability.

To store this amount of energy, the mechanical movement of A. Lange & Söhne LANGE 31 watch features two stacked mainspring barrels with an inside diameter of 25 millimetres. The prominent twin barrels occupy three quarters of the movement’s footprint. Each measuring 1,850 millimetres in length, the two mainsprings are five to ten times longer than those found in conventional wristwatch movements. It would be quite a cumbersome task to wind strong springs like these with the delicate components of an ordinary winding crown train.

That is why Lange’s engineers turned to the “key technology” of historic pocket watches. The leverage delivered by a key makes it possible to choose a transmission ratio that would be inconceivable with a crown.

A square key, inserted through an aperture in the sapphire-crystal caseback, delivers the energy to the spring barrels. The key features a built-in backstop ratchet to allow smooth winding as with a regular crown, and a torque limiter prevents accidental overtightening of the springs.

It stands to reason that a movement with such an extraordinary power reserve cannot constantly run at a stable rate without special technical precautions. The laws of physics dictate that in the process of relaxing, a spring loses more and more of its initial torque and thus cannot deliver the same amount of energy between the points where it is fully wound and fully unwound. As its torque wanes, the amplitude of the balance declines and so does the rate accuracy of the movement. To outwit this law, Leonardo da Vinci invented the fusée principle 500 years ago.

It allows the spring’s loss of torque to be largely offset by leverage. In the form of a fusée-and-chain transmission, this principle has been embodied in two of Lange’s new-era watches: the TOURBILLON “Pour le Mérite“ and the TOURBOGRAPH “Pour le Mérite“.

But to handle a power reserve of 31 days, this construction would have been made impossible by the sheer size of its parts. So Lange’s engineers sought – and found – a different solution: the constant-force escapement. It is based on an auxiliary spring that is periodically rewound by the mainspring and always builds up the same torque, regardless of the state of wind of the mainspring.

As it relaxes, this pretensioned so-called remontoir spring on the fourth-wheel arbor always delivers the same amount of energy to the escape wheel. Every ten seconds, this spring, attached to a stud, is retensioned by 60 degrees at its outer end. To complete the mechanism, it is also necessary to integrate a device that dependably and accurately controls this motion sequence.

This task is handled by the balance. It not only assures the uniform rotation of the fourth-wheel arbor that indicates the correct time but also controls the cyclical winding of the constant-force escapement. This is done with a Reuleaux polygon, a cam shaped like an equilateral triangle with convex sides. It is attached to the fourth-wheel arbor.

Every ten seconds, in other words after every 60-degree rotation, it moves an ingeniously designed pivoting lever. Two pallets on the inside of the lever alternately engage with a one-toothed wheel that is connected to the spring barrel via a wheel train and briefly stops its motion after every 180-degree rotation.

Each time it turns, the remontoir spring is incrementally rewound within fractions of a second and during the following ten seconds, it delivers its energy to the escape wheel. Within these ten seconds, the torque curve fluctuates marginally, but on average, a constant amount of energy is delivered for the full 31-day period.

The motion sequence of the constant-force escapement, which indeed resembles a classic escapement, can be observed through the sapphire-crystal caseback. A transparent sapphire jewel reveals the fascinating interaction of the three-point cam with the pivoting lever.

On the bottom line, the constant-force escapement prevents the waning torque provided by the mainspring barrel from diminishing the rate accuracy of the watch. The result: uniform energy delivery, constant amplitude, same rate accuracy from the first to the thirty-first day on which a shutoff mechanism halts the movement.

Theoretically, the movement could continue to run. But then, the force generated by the mainspring would drop below the torque needed to wind the remontoir spring. The constant-force escapement would no longer function reliably.

The constant-force issue already preoccupied Ferdinand Adolph Lange. Around 1866, he invented a constant-force escapement with jumping seconds – a so-called “one second remontoir” – for his precision pocket watches.

He later developed a similar construction for the large house clock at the Lange headquarters which today, with its almost 10-metre long pendulum, still tells Lange staff members and citizens of Glashütte precisely what time it is. Some 140 years later, his horological descendants demonstrated the success of their quest for constancy by introducing the newly developed calibre L034.1 movement with 31 days power reserve.

LANGE 31 is an exceptional timekeeping instrument for daily use, and its convenience is readily apparent. It displays the precise time longer than any other manually wound watch, even if it is not worn for several days or a few weeks.

The A. Lange & Söhne LANGE 31 platinum version (reference 130.025F) featuring a solid silver, rhodié dial and rhodiumed gold hands. The 18K LANGE 31 pink gold variant (reference 130.032F) comes with a solid silver, argenté dial and pink gold hands.

The case has an impressive diameter of 46 millimetres and an overall height of 15.9 millimetres. And the circular 31-day power-reserve indicator that occupies nearly the entire right-hand half of the solid-silver dial requires space as well. The last segment, in red, reminds the owner that after a full month has elapsed, it is finally time to rewind the watch. The Lange outsize date on the left side harmoniously balances the face.

Needless to say, the LANGE 31 also showcases all of the quality features that make timepieces by A. Lange & Söhne so coveted around the world. A glance through the sapphire-crystal back reveals the screw balance, the whiplash precision index adjuster on the hand-engraved balance cock, screwed gold chatons, and lavishly decorated elements in the classic Lange style.

Technical details

Model: A. Lange & Söhne LANGE 31

Movement
Lange manufacture calibre L034.1, manually wound, crafted to the highest Lange quality standards and largely assembled and decorated by hand; precision adjusted in five positions; twin mainspring barrels; plates and bridges made of untreated German silver; balance cock engraved by hand
Movement parts: 406
Jewels: 61, including 1 transparent sapphire jewel
Screwed gold chatons: 3
Escapement: Lever escapement
Balance: Shock-resistant glucydur screw balance, Nivarox hairspring balance with a frequency of 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour, whiplash precision index adjuster with patented beat adjustment mechanism
Power reserve: 31 days (744 hours) when fully wound, with stopwork

Functions
Time display in hours, minutes, small seconds, with stop seconds, outsize date, power-reserve indicator

Operating elements
Winding key with torque limiter, crown for setting the time, push piece for advancing the date display

Case
Diameter 46 mm
Material: Platinum or 18K pink gold
Glass and caseback: Sapphire crystal (hardness 9)

Dial
Solid silver, rhodié or argenté
Hands: Rhodiumed gold or pink gold

Strap
Hand-stitched crocodile strap with precious-metal Lange prong buckle

• Find More Details about A. Lange & Söhne Watch Brand.

• A. LANGE & SÖHNE New Watch Models.

• A. LANGE & SÖHNE Archives (from 1994 to 2013).

Image Credit: Lange Uhren GmbH