IntroducingThe 1815 Tourbillon In Platinum, Now With A Black Grand Feu Enamel Dial

A. Lange & Söhne has been on an absolute tear this year. The year after a big anniversary year, like last year with the double-feature that was Lange's 30th birthday and the Datograph's 25th, is never an easy act to follow. This year, the team over in Glashütte has been cooking up something across every product category in response — from an Odysseus in Honeygold, to compact 34mm Saxonias, to a subtle new case metal for the Zeitwerk date. A little bit across every shape and size. But there's one department that seems to be working in full force this year, and that's the enameling workshop.

At Watches and Wonders back in April, the star of the Lange booth, certainly in horological accomplishment, was undoubtedly the new Minute Repeater Perpetual, featuring a sleek black grand feu enamel dial. Today, Lange follows up with its second enamel-dial release of the year with a new edition of the 1815 Tourbillon, and it's an absolute stunner.

The 1815 Tourbillon is not really talked about much these days, at least not in the way designs like the Datograph or Zeitwerk are. But it remains a horologically impressive achievement from the brand, as the world's first zero-reset and hacking tourbillon upon its launch in 2014. Though we all take hacking for granted on most watches these days (and often scoff at watches that don't hack), hacking a tourbillon is a whole different endeavour. Yes, in concept, all hacking seconds are largely the same, with some sort of braking force applied to the balance wheel to halt it. But with the tourbillon, you have the added physical obstacle of a tourbillon cage surrounding the balance wheel, not to mention the added mass that needs to be halted. 

With the first 1815 Tourbillon in 2014, Lange devised a V-shaped spring, designed to make contact with the balance wheel once the crown is pulled out and stop the mechanism in place. When the crown is pushed back in, a lever pivots the arm holding the spring away from the balance wheel, and the balance starts oscillating again.

The zero-reset function of the tourbillon means that whenever the crown is pulled out to set the time, the seconds hand attached to the 60-second tourbillon resets back to the 0-second position. This is accomplished through a lever pushing down on a heart-shaped cam, not unlike the way a chronograph reset works. When combined with the hacking of the balance, this makes for a tourbillon that you can (and want to) set to the precise second. It's one of the few versions of this "complication" that actually focus on the precise readout of time.

The mechanism remains the same here on the manually-wound Cal. L102.1, along with a 39.5mm platinum case we've seen in several past limited editions of the 1815 Tourbillon — the first one with a silver dial in a run of 30 pieces, and the next time with a white enamel dial with a bright red "12." This new edition gets a super sleek, ultra-glossy black grand feu enamel dial, made entirely in-house. The base of the dial is made of white gold, with the crushed enamel powders applied and fired onto the dial base to create the final look. 

There is no printing at all on this dial. Rather, all of the 1815's stylized Arabic numerals, minute and seconds track, as well as the A. Lange & Söhne logo are all a part of the base dial in relief, with the enamel filled in around these elements. The aperture for the tourbillon is chamfered by hand, which, on a dial as delicate as this, is no easy task. Within the aperture, the tourbillon bridge and upper cage get areas of black-polishing.

Flip the movement around, and you'll see a signature of Lange tourbillons — a diamond endstone set in a gold chaton. It's a tiny yet glamorous visual flourish from a brand otherwise known for more stoic designs. Through the exhibition caseback, the large German silver three-quarter plate covers most of the movement, while the balance cock showcases Glashütte's famous freehand engraving.

The A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Tourbillon in platinum with a black grand feu enamel dial is limited to 50 pieces, with pricing on request from the brand.

Okay, okay, I'm a huge Lange fan. Biases acknowledged. But as impartial and objective as I can be, I think that this is one of the most breathtaking releases I've seen in recent years. No, it's not my favorite 1815 Tourbillon execution — the 1815 Tourbillon Handwerkskunst would be that. But this new limited edition is most definitely a close second. The 1815 Tourbillon is already an incredibly cool watch, movement alone, though from afar might look like any "normal" tourbillon. Even though several other brands have introduced zero-reset and hacking tourbillons since the original's introduction, this one was still the first to ever do so. And that gets points in my book.

Aesthetically, I absolutely adore this thing. There's a curious play between the 1815's pocket watch aesthetic cues and what feels like a very contemporary take in the monochromatic jet-black styling here. While this isn't close to the brand's first execution of this colorway in enamel, having the symmetry of the 1815 Tourbillon Dial, no cutoff numerals, and an oversized aperture for what becomes a pop of color in the tourbillon is just kind of magical. 

With only 50 pieces being made, even at its assumedly very high price point (the last edition of an enamel dial 1815 Tourbillon in platinum was first priced at a hair under $200,000, so I'd venture a guess that this version will be well above that), I have a feeling that these will be very sought after. Be still (and zero-reset) my beating heart.

Brand: A. Lange & Söhne
Model: 1815 Tourbillon
Reference Number: 730.094F

Diameter: 39.5mm
Thickness: 11.3mm
Case Material: 950 platinum
Dial Color: Black grand feu enamel
Indexes: Integrated
Lume: No
Water Resistance: 30m
Strap/Bracelet: Glossy black alligator leather strap

Caliber: L102.1
Functions: Hours, minutes, 60-second tourbillon with hacking and zero-reset
Diameter: 32.6mm
Thickness: 6.6mm
Power Reserve: 72 hours
Winding: Manual
Frequency: 21,600 VpH
Jewels: 21, including 1 diamond endstone
Chronometer Certified: No
Additional Details: Balance spring manufactured in-house

Price: On Request
Availability: Now
Limited Edition: Yes, 50 individually-numbered watches

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