A. Lange & Söhne Announces New Limited Edition of Its Iconic Rectangular Watch

A. Lange & Söhne announces the new Cabaret Tourbillon Honeygold, a limited edition of 50 pieces worldwide, featuring the brand's iconic rectangular watch design. The case and dial are crafted from 750 Honeygold. Intricate relief engraving on the dial emerges vividly from a black rhodium-finished background, bringing artistic three-dimensionality to this timepiece, which also features a tourbillon with a stop-seconds mechanism.

New Cabaret Tourbillon Honeygold

Playing the leading role in this latest model is the case and dial made of 750 Honeygold. The rare combination of using this proprietary material, developed by Lange, for both the case and dial lends this timepiece a uniquely elegant character. Its warm glow creates a striking contrast with the black rhodium-finished dial, where the three-dimensional details sculpted using relief techniques stand out.

Additionally, through the aperture at 6 o'clock, one can observe the tourbillon equipped with a stop-seconds mechanism. The upper tourbillon bridge and the cage top are finished with an elaborate black polish.

Close-up of the New Cabaret Tourbillon Honeygold

Entirely In-House Honeygold Dial

The Honeygold dial of the Cabaret Tourbillon Honeygold, finished in black rhodium, is entirely manufactured in-house. This dial consists of three parts: the main dial, and two sub-dials for the small seconds and the up/down power reserve indicator.

The frames, scales, and the A. LANGE & SÖHNE engraving are meticulously sculpted from the dial material, standing out as 0.15mm high reliefs. Ultimate precision is pursued to achieve accurate shapes and sharply cut contours for every component. Finishing every angle and edge to precise detail is an extremely difficult challenge, even for the most experienced finishing craftsmen.

The three dial sections are finished with black rhodium. Then, craftsmen carefully polish the raised areas by hand to once again bring out the brilliance of the Honeygold against the dark background. Subsequently, the finely polished applied Roman numerals III, IX, XII, six rhombic indices, and the outsize date frame are each incorporated into the dial. Finally, the two sub-dials are joined to the main dial from the back. The entire process from the first step to the last takes several weeks.

New Cabaret Tourbillon Honeygold

Black Polish – A Rare and Sophisticated Finishing Technique

Through the aperture provided on the dial, one can enjoy the captivating spectacle created by the tourbillon. The exceptional skill of the craftsmen is highlighted by the 'black polish' applied to the upper tourbillon bridge and cage top, which is the most difficult and time-consuming of many finishing techniques. In this technique, using specialized polishing materials, the parts are manually polished uniformly on a zinc or tin plate under appropriate pressure until the surface becomes mirror-like and black-glowing. Seen from one angle, it looks like a mirror; seen from another, the surface exudes a pitch-black brilliance. Furthermore, all sharp angles inside the cage are also polished with the utmost precision and extensive experience.

A Miniature Stage Showcasing Grand Watchmaking Artistry

The Cabaret Tourbillon is a milestone in the history of precision watchmaking. In 2008, with this watch, A. Lange & Söhne announced the world's first stop-seconds mechanism for a tourbillon. Since then, this useful added function has been incorporated into various models of the manufacture. The latest model clad in Honeygold carries on that tradition today.

The patented Lange-developed mechanism allowed the tourbillon to be stopped instantly by a braking spring, regardless of the position of the balance wheel and cage at that moment. This enables precision time-setting to the second on a tourbillon-equipped model, which was previously unattainable. While this function is common in regular mechanical watches, it had long been considered a difficult challenge to solve for tourbillons, but in 2008, A. Lange & Söhne presented this solution, which no one had achieved before.