A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Time Zone (Ref. 116.032), considered to be one of the most refined examples of models with World Time complication, which became more popular than ever in recent years, was the guest of our Hands On corner.
Complications, which are one of the indispensable elements of traditional watchmaking, continue to be popular among watch enthusiasts. However, their functionality is not the case anymore as it was used to be when those complications have been first introduced. But, some of those complications are still pretty useful and World Time is surely one of them that come to mind at the first place.
In fact, the World Time complication is not new to the traditional watchmaking at all, but interestingly, it has seen intense interest from many brands and segments over the past few years. This useful feature is the guest of our pages once again with the stunning Lange 1 Time Zone (Ref. 116.032) model, which was produced by the famous German brand A. Lange & Söhne.
A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Time Zone (Ref. 116.032) comes in the classic Lange 1 style case measuring 41.9mm in diameter and 11mm in height. The long and straight design of the lugs allows the not so compact case to be worn comfortably almost on any wrist. Though the case looks a tad bigger than it really is, I still cannot call it “a big watch” possibly due to the fully mirror polished surface or maybe the full dial.
The case sports flat type pushers and a classic Lange 1 style winding crown. Water resistant to 30 meters, the 18K pink gold case features anti-glare coated scratch resistant sapphire crystals on both side. Let me add that, the collection has three different versions as 18K white gold, 18K yellow gold and Platinum.
I think we are safe to say that A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Time Zone (Ref. 116.032) is one of the most stylish and elegant models among all the World Time complication models. One of the most important bases for this determination is the design of the model which is based on the renowned Lange 1 platform. This situation, which makes itself felt with the case, is same with the dial as well. Sporting a light silvery color, the dial matches perfectly with the 18K pink gold case. The dial, which brought the World Time complication through A. Lange & Söhne style, features a home time sub-dial at 9 o’clock; 24 city second time zone in the sub-dial at 5 o’clock; a separate day/night indicator for the home and the time zones indicated by a small circle with a half moon concentric ring and a small arrow-shaped hand, small seconds with stop seconds at 6 o’clock on the home time sub-dial, a power-reserve indicator at 3 o’clock and the famous Big/Grande double date display at 1 o’clock. All indexes and hands are designed in pink gold tone compatible with the case.
A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Time Zone (Ref. 116.032) is powered by the Saxony brand’s in-house movement Caliber Ref. L031.1. 54 jewels hand-wound movement beats at 3Hz (21600vph) and offers a 72 hour power reserve when fully wound. Being made of 417 individual parts, the movement sports a main plate made of un-treated German silver which is visible through the sapphire crystal display caseback. The movement sports an exclusive module for the World Time function which is made of 67 parts.
The model is equipped with a hand-stitched brown alligator strap which matches nicely with its graceful beauty. The strap is secured by an A. Lange & Söhne signed folding clasp made of 18K pink gold.
Perhaps our readers who have followed my articles have noticed, I do not like the date (and day) window feature. Especially for the Big/Grande Date type displays, I often think that they damage the integrity of the dial. But just as it is for the Rolex Day-Date I wear on a daily basis, I care more about the symbolic characteristics of the brand (or the timepiece itself) rather than my personal preferences. Same goes for this (or maybe for all) A. Lange & Söhne model as well. Perhaps I can tell you what I mean by giving an example as sitting behind the wheel of a classic Porsche 911 and enjoying the ignition key on the left side by knowing why it has been placed there, instead of complaining for not having it at the right side just like any other car.
I will not complain about the large date window of this timepiece or the light color dial. On the contrary, I will end my article by telling you about the amazing craftsmanship of this timepiece which admires even the most experienced watch enthusiasts, its dial screaming “precise German engineering” with its elegant and not disturbingly busy lay-out and its World Time feature which is one of the most user-friendly and stylish of all.
