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Lot Essay
US$125,000-187,500
With A. Lange & Söhne Guarantee Certificate dated 25 March 1999, original sales tag, additional buckle and strap, instruction manual, original fitted presentation box and outer packaging
The present watch is number 107 of a limited series of 150 pieces only and is in overall excellent condition.
Lange's Tourbillon "Pour le Merite", another example of the company's complex and exclusive timepieces, incorporates a number of fascinating technical details never seen before in a wristwatch, amongst them the going train driven with a chain fusee. This complicated mechanism optimises the rate accuracy of the watch and is visible through an aperture in the movement plate. A highly sophisticated planetary gearing system keeps the power to the going train steady even while the watch is being wound.
It appears that the "Pour le Merite" Tourbillon is one of only two wristwatches known today fitted with a chain and fusee for the power equalization. The second model is its even more complicated twin, the "Tourbograph Pour le Merite" wristwatch with tourbillon and split seconds chronograph, introduced into the market in 2006.
The tourbillon mechanism also serves the purpose of improving rate accuracy by offsetting the disruptive effect of gravity. The rotating cage is suspended by two pivots between two diamond endstones. It turns around its own axis once a minute and can be precisely balanced with small counterweights.
All parts of the watch are finished by hand and every surface is decorated. Consequently, the completion of each of these masterpieces requires several months.
With A. Lange & Söhne Guarantee Certificate dated 25 March 1999, original sales tag, additional buckle and strap, instruction manual, original fitted presentation box and outer packaging
The present watch is number 107 of a limited series of 150 pieces only and is in overall excellent condition.
Lange's Tourbillon "Pour le Merite", another example of the company's complex and exclusive timepieces, incorporates a number of fascinating technical details never seen before in a wristwatch, amongst them the going train driven with a chain fusee. This complicated mechanism optimises the rate accuracy of the watch and is visible through an aperture in the movement plate. A highly sophisticated planetary gearing system keeps the power to the going train steady even while the watch is being wound.
It appears that the "Pour le Merite" Tourbillon is one of only two wristwatches known today fitted with a chain and fusee for the power equalization. The second model is its even more complicated twin, the "Tourbograph Pour le Merite" wristwatch with tourbillon and split seconds chronograph, introduced into the market in 2006.
The tourbillon mechanism also serves the purpose of improving rate accuracy by offsetting the disruptive effect of gravity. The rotating cage is suspended by two pivots between two diamond endstones. It turns around its own axis once a minute and can be precisely balanced with small counterweights.
All parts of the watch are finished by hand and every surface is decorated. Consequently, the completion of each of these masterpieces requires several months.