A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte
A very fine pink gold hunting cased keyless pocket chronometer with spring detent escapement, No. 27885 | Circa 1924
Auction Closed
May 10, 02:36 PM GMT
Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 CHF
Lot Details
Description
Dial: white enamel, Arabic numerals, outer minute ring with five-minute Arabic numeral divisions above, sunken centre and subsidiary seconds, gold Louis XV style hands, signed A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte B/Dresden
Calibre: 1a quality, 19''' cal. 43 gilded ½ plate, spring detent escapement, large free-sprung bi-metallic compensation balance, blued steel helical spring, decoratively engraved balance cock, diamond endstone, some jewels carried in gold screwed chatons, fusee and chain, signed and numbered A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte B/Dresden
Movement number: 27'885
Case: 18k pink gold Lucia a Goutte case with plain polished covers, glazed movement cover, plain polished gold cuvette, lever for hand-set beneath bezel at 2 o'clock, covers and cuvette signed A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte, back cover and cuvette numbered 27885, front cover numbered 85
Case number: 27'885
Size: 57mm diameter
Box: no
Papers: no
Accessories: none
Sotheby's, Geneva, Masterworks of Time: Adolf Lange, The Golden Era of Glashütte, November 2019, Lot 24
Martin Huber, Die Uhren von A. Lange & Söhne Glashütte Sachsen, 1988, p.105 pl. 82, and p.167, table 5
Martin Huber, Die Lange Liste, 2000, pp. 100-101, table 19
Reinhard Meis, A. Lange & Söhne the Watchmakers of Dresden, Vol II, 2012, p. 150, figs. 456-458
Klassikuhren, Vol VI, 1994
Reinhard Meis, Adolph Lange und seine Söhne, Klassik Uhren, 6-1994, p.20
Founded in 1845 by Ferdinand Adolph Lange in Glashütte, A. Lange & Söhne quickly established itself as one of Europe’s foremost makers of precision timekeepers, renowned for its scientific instruments, marine chronometers, and highly accurate pocket watches. From its earliest years, the manufacture pursued chronometric excellence through rigorous construction standards and uncompromising hand craftsmanship, laying the foundations of Saxon watchmaking at its highest level.
Pocket chronometer no. 27885 is one of approximately 34 examples produced by the firm between 1883 and 1936, representing one of the rarest and most technically sophisticated categories within Lange’s historical production. For a comprehensive list of these exceptional timepieces, including the present lot, see Martin Huber, Die Lange Liste, 2000, pp. 100–101, table 19. The watch is further illustrated in the same publication (p. 105, pl. 8), where its original sale on 27 November 1895 for 950 Marks to C. Schmutzer of Munich is recorded, underscoring its status as a costly and prestigious precision instrument at the time.
Although housed in the dimensions of a pocket watch, the present timepiece is constructed according to the principles of a fully fledged marine chronometer. In addition to its spring detent escapement, the movement is fitted with a fusee and chain transmission, ensuring a constant delivery of power from the mainspring and enhancing rate stability across the duration of the power reserve. The inclusion of a helical hairspring further advances timing precision by promoting more concentric balance oscillation. Taken together, these features elevate the watch to the highest echelon of chronometric performance and reflect A. Lange & Söhne’s ultimate pursuit of absolute accuracy.
The movement itself is of exceptional beauty, displaying Lange’s signature three quarter plate construction, an exquisitely hand engraved balance cock, and a refined, highly legible architecture emblematic of the finest traditions of Saxon watchmaking. The use of the spring detent escapement, a technically demanding system in which impulse is delivered directly to the balance with minimal friction, firmly situates this watch among the elite precision timekeepers of its era, traditionally reserved for marine and observatory grade chronometers.
The rarity of such watches cannot be overstated. To the best of our knowledge, only around ten A. Lange & Söhne pocket chronometers with spring detent escapements have appeared at auction, making this the second time the present example has been offered publicly. Its reappearance underscores its exceptional importance and confirms its status as a cornerstone piece for collectors devoted to the highest achievements of German chronometry.