The Ultimate Dialogue Between Craft and Mechanism: A. Lange & Söhne's 1815 Tourbillon and Richard Lange Jumping Seconds Limited Editions Showcasing German Elegance
- coolwatchgo1
- Oct 11
- 4 min read
In the world of fine watchmaking, A. Lange & Söhne has always stood at the top through its precise and disciplined German craftsmanship. In 2025, the brand once again expresses its idea of “romance within reason” with two masterpieces, the new limited editions of the 1815 Tourbillon and the Richard Lange Jumping Seconds. These two watches merge traditional craftsmanship with modern innovation, showcasing the pure beauty of Saxon watchmaking.
Two icons in dialogue : The Black Enamel Tourbillon and the Salmon Jumping Seconds
As the art of horology steps into 2025, Lange presents two limited creations that stir the world of high watchmaking once again. The 1815 Tourbillon captures the beauty of precision through a deep black enamel dial while the Richard Lange Jumping Seconds conveys mechanical poetry through its warm salmon tone. Limited to 50 and 100 pieces respectively, both are not only technical masterpieces but also timeless works of art for collectors.
1815 Tourbillon — The Evolution of The Tourbillon
Lange’s achievements in tourbillon development have rewritten modern watchmaking. In 2008, with the Cabaret Tourbillon, Lange became the first brand in the world to achieve a stop-seconds mechanism in a tourbillon. Though it seems simple, it required placing a V-shaped brake spring on a rotating cage, a challenge as delicate as placing a coin on a spinning disc. The 1815 Tourbillon marks another step forward in combining stop seconds, zero-reset and tourbillon in one system. When the crown is pulled out, the movement stops and the seconds hand instantly returns to zero, aligning the minute hand exactly to its marker, a seemingly small detail that reflects Lange’s deep pursuit of precision. Since its debut in 2014 with 30 platinum and unlimited pink-gold versions, followed by the 2015 Handwerkskunst edition and the 2018 white-enamel platinum version, the 2025 black enamel release becomes the fifth in the line and the twelfth Lange model ever with an enamel dial — a true pinnacle of this art.
An Enamel Masterpiece Crafted Through Hundreds of Steps
The new 1815 Tourbillon features a 39.5mm platinum case with a height of 11.3mm and a striking black grand-feu enamel dial. Entirely made in-house, each dial requires over 100 separate processes across several weeks. Craftsmen carefully grind and apply enamel layer by layer onto an 18-carat white-gold base, firing it after each application and finishing it by hand. Even a speck of dust could ruin the surface, and maintaining a perfectly even deep-black tone demands the highest control of both color and texture.
Perfection in Every Detail
The opening for the tourbillon is hand-chamfered, requiring extreme skill to avoid cracking the fragile enamel edges. The glossy black enamel dial has a mirror-like finish yet carries warmth and depth, elegantly surrounding the tourbillon. Its classic layout, Arabic numerals and a railway minute track, reflects Lange’s traditional design language. At 6 o’clock, the tourbillon bridge and cage are finely finished with black polish, a true test of hand technique.
The Art of Black Polish
Black polish is achieved by rubbing steel parts on a tin plate with special abrasive paste until the surface reflects light perfectly from one angle and appears deep black from another. Through the sapphire back, the hand-finished L102.1 movement reveals untreated German silver bridges, a hand-engraved balance cock, and a diamond endstone set in a gold chaton fixed with blued screws. Every detail shows Lange’s devotion to precision. The movement has a 72-hour power reserve and a balance running at 21,600 vibrations per hour, equipped with a free-sprung Lange balance spring and a traditional screw balance.
Richard Lange Jumping Seconds — Precision through Motion
The design of the Richard Lange Jumping Seconds draws inspiration from the late-18th-century precision chronometer Ref. 93 made by Dresden watchmaker Johann Heinrich Seyffert, a pioneer who influenced Ferdinand Adolph Lange himself. Its dial consists of three intersecting subdials : the largest for seconds, with smaller ones for hours and minutes, a structure that ensures perfect legibility and visual harmony. It expresses the discipline and order of scientific timekeeping while carrying Lange’s classical spirit.
A Clever and Functional Design
At the center, a small triangle turns red when the remaining power reserve drops below ten hours, reminding the wearer to wind the watch. Inside, the hand-wound L094.1 movement combines three technical mechanisms that work together: a constant-force escapement that delivers uniform energy for stable precision; a jumping-seconds system that releases energy every second to make the seconds hand jump precisely 60 times per minute and a zero-reset function using a multi-disc clutch that lets the seconds hand return to zero when the crown is pulled, allowing exact time setting.
Through the sapphire back, the coordinated movement of these systems can be seen clearly. The 3/4 plate reveals how the constant-force escapement stores and releases energy each second, how the jumping-seconds mechanism is driven by a star-shaped wheel and how the zero-reset levers and springs engage when adjusting the time. Once the crown is pushed back, the seconds hand reconnects with the gear train and the watch resumes running instantly.
Limited Creations for True Collectors
For collectors, these two models represent the very peak of Lange’s craftsmanship and are also valuable investment pieces. With only 50 pieces of the 1815 Tourbillon and 100 of the Richard Lange Jumping Seconds, along with Lange’s strong secondary-market performance, they are among the most anticipated high-end watches of 2025.
A German Duet of Precision and Beauty
The 1815 Tourbillon and the Richard Lange Jumping Seconds shine as twin stars in the Lange universe. The former reveals the precise art of the tourbillon in deep black enamel, while the latter shows the mechanical rhythm of the jumping seconds through a soft salmon hue. Together, they continue Lange’s tradition and express its eternal pursuit of accuracy. In an age dominated by smart devices, Lange reminds us through these creations that true precision is not only a technical achievement but also an artistic one. Each limited watch is a dialogue between the watchmaker and time itself - a masterpiece worthy of lasting admiration.
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