Our remarks

A. LANGE & SÖHNE Zeitwerk, Reference 140.029, 18k White Gold, Black Dial, Box and Papers, Year 2011, Full Set, Excellent

Most watchmakers spend their energy hiding complexity behind traditional hands and subdials. Lange did the opposite with the Zeitwerk, building a mechanical watch that displays the time the way a digital clock would, in bold jumping numerals, and turning that idea into one of the most talked about complications to come out of Glashütte this century.

The case is 18k white gold, 41.9mm across, with a polished and brushed finish and a screw down crown at two o'clock rather than the conventional three, a small detail that hints at how differently this movement is laid out underneath. A sapphire exhibition back, closed with six visible screws and engraved with the manufacture's name, lets you see straight through to the mechanics doing all the work.

The black dial, crafted from solid silver, is arranged around a cross shaped layout of windows and subdials, hour digits at nine o'clock and minutes at three, a small seconds display recessed at six, and a power reserve indicator at twelve. Rather than creeping forward like a conventional hand, the numerals jump instantly from one digit to the next, a mechanical trick that looks almost electronic until you remember there is no battery involved anywhere.

That instantaneous jump is only possible because of the caliber L043.1, a hand wound movement built around a patented constant force escapement that stores energy and releases it in a single burst every sixty seconds to drive the discs. It is one of the most technically demanding mechanisms Lange has ever put into series production, finished in the brand's signature untreated German silver, with hand engraved balance cock and Glashütte stripes throughout.

The watch is worn on a black alligator strap with a matching white gold pin clasp.

This example is offered as:

- Excellent condition

- Full set with box and papers and leather book holder

- Collectors item

"A mechanical watch for connaiseurs, that tells the time like a digital clock, precisely the kind of contradiction Lange built its reputation on solving."