German watchmaker A. Lange & Sohne will be showcasing some 30 rare and special timepieces in a special exhibition to be held at the National Gallery Singapore Supreme Court Terrace.
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Held from December 1 to December 5, the Exceptional Masterpieces will also take visitors on a retrospective journey of the brand’s history and evolution.
Among the Lumen models on show is the limited-edition Zeitwerk Lumen Honey Gold which is produced in a run of only 200 pieces.
A. Lange & Sohne crafts only a few thousand timepieces a year, but its watches often push horological boundaries with their mechanical ingenuity and sophisticated dial design.
Many of its creations have become not just icons, but also grails for collectors – from the Lange 1 with its asymmetrical dial and outsized date indicator to the Datograph, which has chronograph sub-registers placed at 4:00 and 8:00 instead of the more commonplace 3:00 and 9:00.
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Since the company’s re-establishment in 1990 (Lange actually started in 1845, but became a casualty of World War II), the watchmaker has launched 65 calibres – almost all produced in its production plant in the little town of Glashutte in Saxony.
The Exceptional Masterpieces will showcase 30 rare and special timepieces including seven pocket watches.
Lange has a reputation for peerless craftsmanship. Its watchmakers, for instance, engrave the balance cock of every timepiece by hand. They also bevel and polish – a process called chamfering – the edges of parts in a Lange movement by hand.
Another unique selling proposition? Every movement is assembled twice. After the first assembly, it is taken apart and cleaned before being put together again.
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A great proponent of innovation, the brand’s late founder Walter Lange once said: “There is something that you demand not only of your watch, but also of yourself – never stand still.”
Learn about decorative crafts such as the hand engraving technique of tremblage, which is used for the intricate Richard Lange Tourbillon “Pour Le Merite” Handwerkskunst in Honey Gold.
The exhibits at Exceptional Masterpieces include a selection fashioned from honey gold, a proprietary gold alloy which has an alluring hue and is highly resistant to scratches and damage.
Also on show are several “Lumen” models, timepieces with sapphire crystal dials developed by Lange which can show the date, time and even the intricacies of a Lange movement at all hours. The secret is a semi-transparent coating permeable for ultraviolet light.
Visitors will get to see seven rare pocket watches too as Lange’s early claim to fame was producing beautifully constructed and solidly reliable clocks and pocket timepieces.
Ahead are several highlights from the show. Head over to this website to register and book your time slots between 10am and 9pm.
