A. Lange & Sohne Richard Lange Tourbillon Pour le Mérite (760.032)

It has been anxiously awaited by many watch enthusiasts - the A. Lange & Söhne with an annual calendar, one of the most popular and useful complications in horology. And now here it is: the SAXONIA ANNUAL CALENDAR. It amalgamates the concepts of a watch, a calendar, and mechanical ingenuity into a unique timekeeping instrument that in this category no doubt establishes a new benchmark in design and technology.
After the distinguished Saxon manufactory had presented nearly all grand horological complications and enriched them with landmark innovations - including a perpetual calendar - the emergence of an A. Lange & Söhne watch with an annual calendar was only a matter of time. The horological complication which arguably offers the greatest convenience in daily life is now available in a Lange watch for the first time: the SAXONIA ANNUAL CALENDAR.
Beneath a dial of delightful clarity and graceful proportions, an elaborate mechanical program automatically advances the day of the week, the date, and the month under consideration of its duration in days. The calendar assembly only needs to be corrected once a year. All three calendar indications as well as the moon phase are harmoniously arranged on a dial of exquisite coherence. With this new watch in the elegant SAXONIA style and decidedly contemporary flair, A. Lange & Söhne reaffirms its commitment to a proud tradition that repeatedly spawned horological milestones.
Apart from the unparalleled combination of the annual calendar and Lange's iconic outsize date, the SAXONIA ANNUAL CALENDAR stands out with an exceptionally precise moon-phase display and the famous self-winding SAX-0-MAT calibre with its ingenious ZERO-RESET handsetting mechanism. With its superior quality attributes, it is predestined to become the paragon in this horological calendar discipline.

Beauty through clarity
During the development of the SAXONIA ANNUAL CALENDAR, Lange's product designers placed great emphasis on the coherent organisation and aesthetic balance of the numerous displays on the dial. With its sleek baton-style hour markers, crisp minute scale, and rhomboid arrangement of calendar indications, the dial is refreshingly congruent. It features prominent lancet hands that sweep over the easily legible Lange outsize date in the characteristic twin-frame aperture at the top of the dial. This layout reflects a modern design principle that derives its beauty from functional integrity. The most important information - the time and the date - is provided at a first glance. The second glance passes to the left to the subsidiary dial at 9 o'clock which indicates the day of the week. The stage for the moon is at 6 o'clock: this display is so precise that it only needs to be corrected by one day every 122 years. The same position is shared by the subsidiary seconds dial that echoes the life of the movement. Finally, the months are indicated on the subsidiary dial at 3 o'clock. The calendar mechanism of the SAXONIA ANNUAL CALENDAR automatically switches the months with 30 and 31 days and only needs to be corrected once a year: on the last day of February or the first day of March. After extended periods in the fully unwound state, all three calendar indications and the moon-phase display can be quickly and individually updated with separate recessed push pieces.

A movement of noble descent
One of the most complex latest-generation self-winding movements powers the SAXONIA ANNUAL CALENDAR: the superbly crafted, multiple-award-winning SAX-0- MAT calibre. The zero in its name refers to the patented ZERO-RESET function that stops the movement when the crown is pulled and instantly advances the seconds hand to 12 o'clock so that the watch can be easily and comfortably synchronised with an official time signal. The design of the winding mechanism is also an object lesson in technical prowess: the gold rotor with the peripheral platinum centrifugal mass is suspended between ball bearings and winds the mainspring bi-directionally. It is so effective that it produces an ample power reserve even on the wrist of a calm wearer. The passion and time invested in the finish of the movement parts also belong to the Lange culture. Even surfaces that are concealed after the assembly of the movement are meticulously decorated with refined patterns. The hand-engraved balance cock turns each watch into a one-of-a-kind treasure. The SAXONIA ANNUAL CALENDAR is available in a white-gold or pink-gold case with a diameter of 38.5 millimetres.