Since the re-launch of A. Lange & Söhne as a watch manufacturer over some 25 years ago, the identity of the company has not waivered. The brand has marketed itself to appeal to real watch enthusiasts as they have pioneered new movements alongside groundbreaking designs to deliver watches with striking complications. As popularity for A. Lange & Söhne grew with the general public, they needed to produce a timepiece that still kept the core values of the brand while having a more modern steel presence.
This is where The Odysseus comes in. The Odysseus is a sporty-elegant piece that is the sixth family to be added to five existing families of the brand (Lange 1, Saxonia, 1815, Richard Lange and Zeitwerk)
A. Lange & Söhne’s The Odysseus represents the brand’s first steps towards its future. Incorporating a steel case with a diameter of 40.5mm and thickness of 11.1mm, this is the first watch for A. Lange & Söhne to have a screw-down crown and water resistance of 12bar! The beautiful dark blue dial is accompanied by white hour indexes, hour and minute hands along with seconds counter at 6 o’clock. The white contrast on the rich blue background makes the dial really stand out.
The most noticeable feature on the dial, however, is the date and day of the week displays. On the 3 o’clock position a large date window is shown in the classic double aperture which is equally coupled with a large day of the week display on the 9 o’clock position. The use of these features was new to A. Lange & Söhne and incorporating them into the Odysseus with a newly developed mechanism consisted of using 99 additional parts.
The Odysseus comes with a stainless steel bracelet to match the casing. The steel bracelet while being quite large has impeccable finishing with sculpted and cantilevered middle bands, satin contour finishing with the edges of the bracelet being chamfered. The bracelet can also be adjusted to suit the wrist fairly easily. By pressing the pusher (embossed with Lange signature), the bracelet can be pulled of pushed to adjust the size required.
The movement used by A. Lange & Söhne for The Odysseus is the newly developed L155.1 DATOMATIC manufacture calibre. The movement is a unidirectionally self-winding automatic movement, which comes with a power reserve of approximately 50 hours. The Odysseus features an open-case back which certainly does do justice to the watch as the beautiful movement which fills the case can be fully seen. The stylish finish is also not hindered by the rotor as A. Lange & Söhne have opted to use a skeletonised rotor.
As with any new range that is added to a brand, it can take a little getting used to. With the addition of Steel and a beautiful blue and white contrasting dial; however, this can be a piece that is easy to fall in love with. A. Lange & Söhne’s The Odysseus opens a new chapter for the brand, and we are excited to see what the Odysseus collection brings.
