GRAND COMPLICATION

The most complicated A. Lange & Söhne wristwatch

Inspired by the Grande Complication No. 42500, a pocket watch that dates back to 1902, A. Lange & Söhne presented its most complicated wristwatch in 2013: the GRAND COMPLICATION. This outstanding timepiece features a grand and small strike, a minute repeater, a perpetual calendar and a rattrapante-chronograph function with flying seconds. The assembly and the adjustment of the mechanisms are so intricate that only one watch can be crafted per year and only 6 of these masterpieces will be built altogether.

The grand and small strikes indicate the time in quarter-hour intervals. The minute repeater is triggered by actuating the slider at 8 o’clock. The striking mechanism has its own spring barrel; it provides enough power for 24 hours. Small gold hands grace the calendar displays and indicate date, day of the week, month and leap year. The small blued hands and the slender pair of sweep-seconds hands are assigned to the rattrapante-chronograph function. The energy consumption of the flying seconds is so high that a separate spring barrel is needed to deliver it.