Most collectors have a personal preference. Some collectors focus mainly on dive watches, some on chronograph and some have a ‘weak spot’ for a certain brand.

A good friend collects Cartier watches, not just any Cartier but mainly from the Collection Privee. Another good friend collects watches from A. Lange und Söhne and he has some extraordinary pieces. My initial personal preference in watches where chronographs and although my preference has changed to watches made by independent watchmakers, chronographs still have a special place in my ‘collectors heart’.

Unfortunately chronographs made by independent watchmakers are rare, very rare and not affordable for me. There are just a few existing chronograph calibers and these are used by most brands. Glashuette Original is one of the few big brands with their own chronograph caliber and it’s available in several model including the beautiful Senator Sixties Square Chronograph.

Jeff Stein, owner of one of my favorite websites Onthedash.com and collector of vintage chronographs, is interviewed at Collector’s Weekly. He speaks about how he got into watches in general and especially into vintage Heuer chronographs. An excellent read and especially interesting for everyone who’s interested in collecting watches.

Another great read, is Jeff Stein’s article Project 99. The article, existing of three parts, is entirely about the race for the first automatic chronograph. Although i’ve already linked to the articles from my post about the first automatic chronograph, i felt mentioning this great article is in order

Go here to read Collector’s Weekly’s interview with Jeff Stein.

One of the things that really amazed me this year was the lack of pre-releases before the Salon International de Haute Horlogerie (SIHH). Now the SIHH 2010 is almost finished, the pre-releases for Baselworld are already here!

The only serieous SIHH pre-release came from Lange und Söhne. In December i already posted the new Lange 1 Daymatic, which instantly became my favorite Lange 1 and probably my favorite from this great manufacterer from Germany. After the SIHH started earlier this week, press releases about new models all come at the same time. It’s impossible to cover them all, so i’ll show a few of my favorite models. One is another novelty of Lange und Söhne that is just so good i have to show it. For all new Lange und Söhne models, check out Perptuelle.com‘s overview.

Last year A. Lange & Söhne’s Zeitwerk was one of the biggest hits of the SIHH novelties. This year Lange und Söhne comes with another surprise, the Zeitwerk Luminous. Or as the people at Lange & Söhne called it, the Zeitwerk Phantom.

A. Lange und Söhne Zeitwerk Luminous... the Phantom?

Another watch that got me really exited comes from Girard Perregaux. And again it’s from the 1966 collection, a collection that got me exited before. The new Girard Perregaux 1966 Chronograph has the looks of a classic chronograph. The movement surprised me! It’s an automatic movement and i somehow expected to see a manually wound caliber. Girard-Perregaux movement GP030C0 is a column wheel chronograph with a 30 minute counter.

Girard Perregaux 1966 Chronograph

When i’m back from my vacation it’s time to share more about the Baselworld novelties!

Lange & Söhne present their new Lange 1 Daymatic. With a completely new automatic movement with a centrally placed rotor! Will this be my new favorite Lange 1?

Lange & Söhne present their first SIHH 2010 novelty, a new Lange 1… automatic! Yes it’s kind of shocking, at least at first. A Lange 1 with an automatic movement. The Lange 1 collection has been applauded world wide by watch lovers, for it’s beautiful manually wound movement. I can only imagine it’s been quite a discussion at Lange & Söhne before they decided to come with the first Lange 1 with an automatic movement. Another first is the centrally placed rotor. In the press release Lange & Söhne states it’s the beginning of a new era. Now i’m curious what plans Lange & Söhne has??

Lange & Söhne - Lange 1 Daymatic

The Lange 1 has been Lange & Söhne’s most recognizable watch for 15 years. Famous for it’s off-centre dial arrangement  and patented outsize date display. I think the new Lange 1 Daymatic is a true revolution for this brand. Not only because the automatic movement with central rotor… The Daymatic’s mirrored dial layout features a retrograde day-of-week indication. The hour and minute hands are now on the right side. Because most people wear their watch on the left wrist, for them this is an advantage. When you pull back your sleeve, the first thing you will see is the most important information: the time.

Lange & Söhne - Lange 1 Daymatic

Below the outsize date at the top left, is the retrograde day-of-week display, replacing the power-reserve indicator. Good choice, since a self-winding watch does not require a power-reserve indicator. The date and day-of-week displays can be advanced with two push pieces.

The entire Lange 1 collection is famous for it’s manually wound movement with a twin mainspring barrel for a power reserve of three days and the three quarter plate. So seeing a Lange 1 with an automatic movement was a bit of a shock. Especially the central rotor, which is also a first for Lange & Söhne. The central rotor with platinum winding mass occupies the entire 31.6-millimeter diameter of the movement. The  on the outer rim of the rotor transforms even the most subtle gestures of the wrist into kinetic winding energy. When fully wound, the mainspring has a power reserve of 50 hours.

3 versions of the Lange 1 Daymatic

The new calibre L021.1 beats at a rate of 21,600 vibrations per hour, like the movements used in other Lange 1 models. Typical for Lange it features a hand-engraved balance cock, an index-less oscillation system based on a large balance wheel with eccentric poising weights as well as a balance spring developed and manufactured in-house.

The Lange 1 Daymatic is available in yellow gold, pink gold or platinum and has a diameter of 39.5 millimeters. That’s almost one millimeter larger than the Lange 1.

In my opinion this is the best Lange 1 to this date. Let me explain why…

• Although i admire the manually wound movement of other Lange 1 models, the automatic movement is actually more convenient.
• Personally i don’t see the necessity of a power-reserve indicator on an automatic movement is obsolete, so another good choice.
• I also like the slightly large size and i think it’s wise Lange & Söhne didn’t follow the big-bigger-biggest hype.
• The day of the week display is very clear, like the large date, and is a function that’s very convenient.

OK… and i think it’s a BEAUTIFUL watch…

Once a year Lange und Söhne and a LOG member host a dinner for a number of watch collectors and aficionados. A few weeks ago i was invited for this dinner and had the chance to see the Zeitwerk, Pour Le Merite Tourbillon and Double Split in the metal.

LOG stands for Lange Owners Group. The name doesn’t leave much to explain. Once a year A.Lange und Söhne asks several LOG members, regionally spread all over the world, to host a dinner for their friends and watch buddies. A representative of Lange und Söhne joins the dinner and brings the newest watches. An excellent opportunity for watch collectors and aficionados to see and feel watches like the Lange Zeitwerk, Datograph Perpetual, Richard Lange ‘Pour le Mérite’ and the Tourbograph ‘Pour le Mérite’ and many more.

Pour le Mérite Tourbillon and Tourbograph Pour le Mérite

The whole evening was organized at restaurant Vermeer, right across Central Station in Amsterdam. After a warm welcome by the host and mr. Schindler of Lange & Söhne it was time for a drink and a few small snacks. It’s always a pleasure to meet fellow watch enthusiasts. This hobby somehow can’t be discussed with the family or close friends, so that’s why these kind of meetings feel like a sort of homecoming. Sharing the passion for watches with fellow watch freaks

the table shot.... I M P R E S S I V E

Although the food and wines where absolutely excellent, i’m afraid most of my attention went to the extraordinary number of impressive and beautiful timepieces… 3 x Pour le Mérite, 2 x Lange Zeitwerk, Cabaret Tourbillon, 2 x Datograph, Dato perpetual, several versions of the Lange 1 and more… a beautiful Speedmaster, a Jaeger Compressor, an old and very beautiful small Patek, a Patek Nautilus and the one watch i would love to own next to my Sarpaneva Korona K1… a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5712 with date and power reserve…. drop dead gorgeous.

However of these impressive watches the Lange Zeitwerk was getting the most attention. There are two dials to choose from… no problem, we have two arms

Which one to choose....?

The instantaneous changing of both minutes and hour disks is amazing. Take a look at the A.Lange & Söhne website to read more about the technical aspects. For now just a few more photos of this beauty…

Lange Zeitwerk in white gold

Lange Zeitwerk in platinum

And a movement that makes every watch freak happy….

Lange Zeitwerk caliber L043.1

And finally one that amazed me… the Lange Cabaret Tourbillon was even better than i could imagine.

A.Lange & Söhne Cabaret Tourbillon

All photos are from Oliver and Edwin, the host of the evening. Thank you guys.

Want to read more?

Take a look at the A.Lange & Söhne website for more about the fabulous timepieces.

Check the A.Lange & Söhne forum of Timezone for more information and photos.