Introducing the A. Lange & Söhne The Cabaret Tourbillon Handwerkskunst
A. Lange & Söhne has just brought back “The Cabaret Tourbillon”, perhaps many do not remember it and others were not even in the world of watches when A. Lange & Söhne had rectangular watches in its collection. When we talk about rectangular watches we easily associate two brands, the unavoidable Cartier and Jaeger LeCoultre and there is no harm in that, after all these two Swiss fine watchmaking brands have specialized over the years in rectangular watch models, becoming leaders of this market niche, so it is natural that other brands that venture into these niches are very conditioned to a timid demand, however, this does not seem to have been the reason for “The Cabaret” to have been discontinued in 2011, but because the brand had other ideas and limited resources and therefore decided to take other paths that have borne fruit over the past few years.
The idea of bringing “The Cabaret” back to light came some time ago and it was a challenge for the team, according to Wilhelm Schmid, these Swiss brand’s CEO, and so they opted to produce a limited edition of 30 pieces.
The new “The Cabaret Tourbillon Handwerkskunst” presents a technical and material complexity. Although in the past it was very common for rectangular watches to have round mechanical movements (and I can prove it because I have one) this was never an option for A. Lange & Söhne and so this new timepiece receives a hand movement that is decorated and assembled twice by hand. The watch comes in the same case shape as “The Cabaret Tourbillon” from 2008, but now in 950 platinum, with a crown at 3 o’clock and above a small push-button with a stop-seconds function, which in short allows the movement to stop completely and accurately synchronize it to the desired time.
The enamel gray dial houses a tourbillon at 6 o’clock, two subdials in 18k white gold in shades of light grey, which are inserted through the back, a power reserve indicator at 4 o’clock, and a small seconds at 8 o’clock. Big frame date aperture at 12 o’clock, hand-engraved lozenge pattern that extends from the subdials to the top along with the date display, Lange logo printed on the transparent enamel dial, and rhodium gold hands and hour indexes.
Inside, the manual movement Caliber L042.1 operates, which offers up to 120 hours of power reserve, carefully decorated by hand with plates and bridges in German silver whose detail can be seen through the open case back. The watch is offered with a black leather strap hand-stitched in gray and comes with a deployment buckle in 950 platinum.
As already mentioned, “The Cabaret Tourbillon Handwerkskunst” is a limited edition of 30 pieces which is available from € 315,000.
More information at www.alange-soehne.com.
General Specifications:
Brand: A. Lange & Söhne
Model: The Cabaret Tourbillon Handwerkskunst
Reference: 703.048
Dial: 18k White Gold, enamelled, grey
Case Material: 950 Platinum
Case Dimensions: 29.5 x 39.2 x 10.3 mm
Crystal: Sapphire Glass
Case Back: Sapphire Glass
Strap: Black leather strap with deployment buckle in 950 platinum
Calibre: L042.1
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, date display, power reserve indicator, tourbillon
Winding: Manual
Frequency: 3 Hz (21,600 Vph)
Jewels: 47
Power Reserve: 120 Hours
Price: € 315,000
Limited Edition: Yes, 30 pieces