The new ZEITWERK – Making-of

Snapshots of the assembly of our mechanical digital watch

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In developing the ZEITWERK, we had to break away from many conventions – and think watchmaking in a new way. Just as unusual as this watch are the people who craft it. A small team of predominantly younger, particularly talented watchmakers has specialised in this completely new watch concept. In the following, we accompany our watchmaker Sindy during selected characteristic assembly steps of the watch.

Inserting the mainspring barrel

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The new ZEITWERK has a doubled power reserve of 72 hours. This is made possible by the patented mainspring barrel inserted here.

Lever for hour switching process

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A new function makes it possible to advance the time display in hourly steps. Here you can see the assembly of the corresponding levers.

Inserting the jumping numerals module

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The new model also uses the patented jumping numerals mechanism in the same proven way. Here, the entire module is mounted.

Third wheel with blued retension spring

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The constant-force escapement, with its blued intermediate mainspring, sets the rhythm for the jumping numerals mechanism.

View of sapphire, setting constant-force escapement

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The exact time for the switching impulse after every 60 seconds must be set very precisely.

Fixing the balance cock with blued screw

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Like every Lange watch, the ZEITWERK is assembled twice. Here, the final fixing of the balance cock with a blued screw is shown.

Viewing the finished piece

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After many weeks of concentrated, precise work, the ZEITWERK is ready to make a customer happy.

Boilerplate

About A. Lange & Söhne
Dresden watchmaker Ferdinand Adolph Lange laid the cornerstone of Saxony’s precision watchmaking industry when he established his manufactory in 1845. His precious pocket watches remain highly coveted among collectors all over the world. The company was expropriated after the Second World War, and the name A. Lange & Söhne nearly vanished. But in 1990, Walter Lange, Ferdinand Adolph Lange’s great-grandson, ventured to start over again. Today, Lange crafts only a few thousand wristwatches, mainly in gold or platinum, per year. They are endowed exclusively with proprietary movements that are lavishly decorated and twice assembled by hand. With 70 manufacture calibres developed since 1990, A. Lange & Söhne has secured a top-tier position among the world’s finest watch brands. Its greatest successes include brand icons such as the LANGE 1, the first regularly produced wristwatch with an outsize date, and the ZEITWERK, with its precisely jumping numerals. Extraordinary complications such as the ZEITWERK MINUTE REPEATER, the TRIPLE SPLIT and the so far most complicated model, the GRAND COMPLICATION, introduced in 2013 in a limited edition of six, represent what the manufactory always strives for: to drive the traditional art of watchmaking to ever-new heights. The sporty yet elegant ODYSSEUS, introduced in 2019, marked the start of a new chapter for A. Lange & Söhne.

Press enquiries
Arnd Einhorn, Head of Corporate Communications & Product PR
Tel.: +49 (0) 35053 440 | E-mail: presse@lange-soehne.com

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