Sameera Gamage 
The latest watchmaking masterpiece from the A. Lange &Söhne Manufacture is the Minute Repeater Perpetual, a combination of the two most sophisticated horological complications.
A. Lange & Söhne is a German powerhouse when it comes to fine watchmaking, revered for their unparalleled craftsmanship, technical ingenuity and exceptional finishing. A. Lange & Söhne is also renowned for their mastery of movements with high-complications, seamlessly integrating sophisticated mechanisms such as perpetual calendars, tourbillons and minute repeaters into watches that are also aesthetically beautiful to look at!
This is exactly what the brand has produced as their latest masterpiece for Watches & Wonders 2025. The all-new Minute Repeater Perpetual sees A. Lange & Söhne incorporate two of the most sophisticated horological complications into one movement. This newly developed, manually wound movement breathes life into this rare and ambitious combination of two high complications.
A. Lange & Söhne is among the most advanced watchmakers in the world of horology when it comes to producing high complications, particularly minute repeaters and perpetual calendars. The brand’s minute repeaters are known for their crystal-clear chime, achieved through carefully tuned gongs and hammers integrated into robust yet elegant movements. Meanwhile, their perpetual calendars stand out for their intuitive displays, instantaneously switching indications without sacrificing legibility.
“Thanks to the development of a new movement, we were able to work towards a perfect sound experience right from the start – just like with our other models featuring a striking mechanism: the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater, the Richard Lange Minute Repeater and the Grand Complication timepiece. Combined with the acoustic properties of platinum, we succeeded in achieving a singular sonority and intensity of sound.”
Anthony de Haas, Director of Product Development at A. Lange & Söhne.
This new Minute Repeater Perpetual timepiece combining two high complications shows A. Lange & Söhne’s masterful command of horological complexity. Fitting these two complications into one movement is certainly no easy task, an achievement that requires an extraordinary level of synchronisation between the complications, ensuring that the chiming mechanism operates flawlessly while the perpetual calendar keeps ticking along.
Case Design
This latest Minute Repeater Perpetual is encased in a 40.5mm platinum case, which measures just 12.1mm thick. The case features polished finishing, including the bezel, which gives the timepiece a stunning shine under different lighting angles. Even though the case’s dimensions are proportionate to modern-day standards of slimming down the timepieces, a better fit on the wrist is achieved thanks to the curved lugs. The sliding mechanism for the minute repeater is located on the left side, which, thanks to the case’s elegantly curved stature, can be activated quite easily.
Dial Design
The technical superiority doesn’t just stop with the movement. The four-part dial is also a work of high-quality artisanship. The dial is crafted from white gold, and filled with black enamel, which gives an immaculate glossy finish that matches the polished beauty of the case and bezel.
The dial features three sub-dials and, of course, the oversized date aperture at 12 o’clock. The sub-dial at 3 o’clock shows the month and leap-year indications, the sub-dial at 6 o’clock shows the small seconds along with the moon-phase display, while the 9 o’clock sub-dial shows the day-of-week indicator. The moon phase display is quite special, as both moons on the disc are 750 gold while being surrounded by 100 hand-engraved stars, showing A. Lange & Söhne’s dedication to a high level of finishing and detail.
Another detail on the dial that may not be as prominent is that all four of the dial sections are embellished with a “circular lesene”, which in other words is a fine border in white gold. This can be seen on the main dial, where it runs between the outsize date and the Roman numerals, while on the sub-dials, the lesenes separate the inner display sections from the outer ones.
Movement
The newly developed Lange manufacture calibre L122.2 movement contains 640 parts that operate the perpetual calendar functions simultaneously alongside the minute repeater. When the minute repeater is activated from the slider on the case, the chiming mechanism sounds out the hours at a low pitch, the quarter hours with a double tone and the minutes that have elapsed since the last quarter hour in a higher-pitched tone. A. Lange & Söhne state that “This impressive duet is delivered by two differently tuned gongs which comprise of 720 different sequences- one of every minute in the twelve-hour cycle. An ingenuous system of precisely choreographed racks, snails, levers and wheels control the 194-part minute repeater mechanism!”.
A. Lange & Söhne chose platinum as the case material because, in combination with the perfectly hand-tuned gongs, the sound achieved when the chiming mechanism is activated is of superb acoustic quality and has a unique timbre. A. Lange & Söhne states that a lucid, clear and reverberant sound can be heard thanks to all the components being harmonised with one another thanks to a Lange master-watchmaker.
The complex of developing and assembling a minute repeater is matched by the technical virtuosity of the perceptual calendar that will persist into the distant future. The mechanism is designed to ensure the precise display of the date, day of the week and month across decades, to be precise, until the 1st of March in the year 2100. This is in accordance with most perpetual calendar mechanisms as this is when, in the Gregorian calendar that the leap year will be skipped. The moon-phase display at 6 o’clock also closely emulates the duration of the synodic orbit of the Earth’s satellites, which means that it would take 122.6 years for this display to be corrected by one day!
Initial Thoughts
A. Lange & Söhne are no strangers when it comes to creating exceptional timepieces that combine both high complications and high-quality artisanship. The Minute Repeater Pereptual is a perfect example of this, whereby the brand brings together two high complications in a minute repeater and perpetual calendar, encased in a stunning case and dial that will leave you in awe.
This timepiece screams elegance and class while also being incredibly technical. The minute repeater alone is a work of art, with the right materials chosen to produce an acoustic that is music to the ears. An expert watchmaker goes through a painstaking process of adapting, multiple disassembling the movement, reworking, reassembling, and finally testing just to get the sound perfect to level A. Lange & Söhne set the standard. The dial and open case back reveal the stunning display of finishing, with the case back in particular showing the finishing expected of an A. Lange & Söhne timepiece.
The A. Lange & Söhne Minute Repeater Perpetual is a watch embodying the pinnacle of haute horlogerie, where tradition harmoniously meets innovation. With this masterpiece, A. Lange & Söhne continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in fine watchmaking.
Specification: Minute Repeater Perpetual (607.091FE)
- Dimensions: 40.5mm x 12.1mm thick
- Case Material: 950 platinum
- Dial: 750 White gold with black enamelling and sub-dials with perpetual calendar functions
- Movement: Lange manufacture calibre L122.2 manually wound
- Movement Frequency: 19,800VpH (2.75hZ)
- Movement Power reserve: 72 hours (fully wound)
- Water resistance: 20m (2 Bar)
- Crystal: Glareproof sapphire crystal (Mohs hardness 9)
- Case back: Glareproof sapphire crystal (Mohs hardness 9)
- Bracelet/Strap: Hand-stitched black alligator leather strap with deployant buckle in 950 platinum.
