A powerful & striking watch – will definitely draw attention & makes for a great conversation piece.

The ZEITWERK STRIKING TIME is the world’s first mechanical wristwatch with a jumping numerals display and a visible chiming mechanism. The full hour is indicated with a reverberant low-pitched tone, each quarter-hour with a clear high-pitched tone.

To make sure that everyone will notice the new function, Lange did two things.

Firstly, the two gongs are placed right on the dial just below the signature Time Bridge component, which is made of rhodiumed German silver.

Secondly, the striking mechanism chimes every fifteen minutes with quarter-hour signals sounding in high-pitched tone and the top of the hour chiming in lower-pitched sound.

This watch features:

In precision watchmaking, the quarter-hour chime is a rare and decidedly useful function. The ability to turn it on or off is just as welcome: Actuating the push piece at 4 o’clock causes the chiming mechanism to remain mute. The mode is easy to verify, because a glance through the sapphire-crystal glass shows whether or not the hammers are deflected away from the gongs. Incidentally, the hammers are also retracted when the crown is pulled. This allows the time to be set in either direction without activating and inadvertently jamming the chiming mechanism. With its precisely jumping numeric display, the LANGE ZEITWERK STRIKING TIME also stands for uncompromising lucidity in style. The large hour and minute numerals in adjacent apertures always deliver an unambiguous reading of the current time. Accompanied by a soft click and hardly perceivable by the human eye, the numerals advance minute by minute, powered by the patented constant-force escapement. The grand jump takes place at the top of the hour when all three numeral discs advance simultaneously by exactly one increment. Now, the captivating progression of time is enriched by an acoustic accent every fifteen minutes.

Needless to say, the manufacture calibre L043.2 inside the LANGE ZEITWERK STRIKING TIME fulfils all expectations that watch lovers around the world associate with the venerable marque A. Lange & Sohne, including the lavish manual decoration of all movement parts as well as the balance wheel with eccentric poising weights and Lange’s proprietary balance spring. The sonorous timepiece comes in a 44.2-millimetre white-gold case with a black dial and 13.1-Millimetre Thick.

A true revolution in time telling! While most watches tell time using rotating hands to indicate the minute & hours, this watch actually displays the time via a mechanically operated fully digital numeric readout. Jump hours & mechanical digital watches are not something new, they have been around for decades. however what Lange & Sohne has developed is the first digital-readout display watch that has the hours & minutes apertures lined up horizontally, in a natural reading format. In addition the hours & minute numbers are displayed in a large format making for an extremely legible & easy read.

Visible Preparation for the Strike

The mainspring of the LANGE ZEITWERK delivers the ample power needed to advance the numeral discs. In the LANGE ZEITWERK STRIKING TIME, a small portion of this energy is required to operate the striking mechanism. Every time a numeral disc advances, the hammer that will execute the next strike visibly moves a fraction of the way toward the centre of the watch. This gradually tensions the spring that triggers the impact of the hammer against the gong.

The constant-force escapement

The constant-force escapement assures the steady flow of power to the balance and, every 60 seconds, the precise switching of the numerals. A part of energy released when the numeral discs are braked after each jump is absorbed by a fly governor and transmitted to the chiming mechanism. Every time a numeral disc advances, the hammer that executes the next strike visibly moves up a fraction of the way toward the centre of the watch. This tensions the spring that triggers the impact of the hammer against the gong at the right time.

Novel jumping numerals paradigm

The patented jumping numerals mechanism always delivers a precise reading of time because the discs advance instantaneously rather than in the creep mode. It consists of two minute discs and a large hour ring that occupies the entire diameter of the movement. All numerals are identical in size and arranged for natural left-to-right reading.

The New Approach

Many attempts have been made to develop the perfect mechanical digital watch. But none of the different approaches yielded an easily legible and dependable timepiece. So Lange’s master watchmakers had to explore totally new avenues. The simplest and so far best-known approach relied on creeping displays with continuously rotating numeral discs. However, the legibility of such watches was seriously compromised due to tiny numerals, often displayed at an angle, and the very fine minute disc scale. Conversely, in the jumping numerals mechanism, the minute numerals are arranged on two separate discs, which allows them to be generously formatted. As far back as the 19th century, digital displays were integrated in pocket watches, for example according to the Pallweber or Darrstein principles. Because of technical constraints, the time was displayed vertically, with the minutes beneath the hours in a rather odd configuration. But the greatest weakness of this design was its susceptibility to wear: the considerable forces involved in the switching action caused noticeable scoring.
An Ingenious Mechanism

Lange’s patented jumping numerals mechanism overcomes these weaknesses. As usual in digital watches, it displays the time from left to right. The long-term functional integrity of the design is assured by a fly governor that absorbs the surplus energy after every switching cycle.
Oscillator

Shock-resistant glucydur balance with eccentric poising weights; balance spring manufactured in-house with patent-pending attachment system (balance spring clamp), frequency 18,000 semi-oscillations per hour, precision beat adjustment system with lateral setscrew and whiplash spring.

The mainspring barrel of the ZEITWERK must deliver a considerable amount of power to advance the numeral discs. To prevent overshoot, the discs have to be braked after each pulse; this produces energy that in part is used by the chiming mechanism with its two black-polished stainless steel gong hammers.

Also known as: A.Lange & Sohne 145.029, Lange 145.029, Lange Zeitwerk, 145029