A. Lange & Söhne caliber L043.6

L043.6 description

Hand-wound movement with digital time indication and a power reserve of 72 hours. Total of 451 parts. Movement dimensions: Diameter: 33.6 millimetres; height: 8.9 millimetres

Lange manufacture calibre L043.6, manually wound, crafted to the most exacting Lange quality standards, decorated and assembled by hand; precision-adjusted in five positions; three-quarter plate made of untreated German silver; balance and escape-wheel cocks engraved by hand; minute jump via constant-force escapement.

The calibre L043.6 – the second generation of a mechanical masterpiece

While these challenges were already intelligently mastered by the first-generation ZEITWERK, the new generation goes a step further with the refined calibre L043.6.

Thanks to a patented barrel design with two mainsprings, it was possible to double the power reserve from 36 to 72 hours. Or, to express it with other numbers: When fully wound, the ZEITWERK now has sufficient energy to perform 4,320 minute jumps or, more precisely, 72 jumps with all three discs, 360 jumps with only two discs, and 3,888 jumps with only one disc. Another improvement versus the predecessor model is the simplified setting of the hour. A pusher at four o’clock can now separately advance the display, which is particularly useful when the time zone changes during a trip. The pusher is an inverted type: Nothing happens when it is pressed but the display switches forward when the pusher is released.

The integration of a pusher for correcting the hour indication, first introduced in the ZEITWERK DATE, required considerable constructional effort. To enable the correction independently of the switching cycles of the time indication, a patented vertical clutch uncouples the hour ring from the jumping numerals mechanism each time the pusher is pressed. The setting of the minute indication in both directions is still performed with the crown at two o’clock.

In its second generation, the ZEITWERK also features an oscillation system with its own balance spring and patented beat-adjustment system. It oscillates with a frequency of 18,000 semi-oscillations per hour (2.5 hertz). As with all of the manufactory’s calibres, the artisanal finissage of the 451-part movement complies with the most ambitious Lange standards. With a glance through the sapphire-crystal caseback, connoisseurs can admire the hand-engraved balance and escape-wheel cocks, the solarised winding wheels, the 59 jewels, and the intricate, straight-grained remontoir bridge that accommodates two recessed, screwed gold chatons.