A. Lange & Söhne’s Minute Repeater Perpetual Sets the Tone for Watches and Wonders Geneva

When A. Lange & Söhne previewed the 2025 Minute Repeater Perpetual ahead of WWG this year, it immediately went to the top of the list for the first post from the fair. This works out perfectly, in the alphabetical scheme of things and also because we love chiming or striking watches. As far as names go, this one describes the watch in a nutshell but does not tell one where it sits in the A. Lange & Söhne assortment. It may put you in mind of Richard Lange, especially given that there has been a Minute Repeater here since 2022. That watch is powered by the manual winding calibre L122.1 while the new Minute Repeater Perpetual runs on the manual winding calibre L122.2.

In the spirit of beginning with common ground, we will first see how the chiming part of the Minute Repeater Perpetual matches up with the Richard Lange Minute Repeater. In both, the minute repeater sounds the hours, quarter-hours, and minutes on two meticulously tuned gongs, delivering 720 unique chime sequences throughout the day. This number means that every minute in the 12-hour half of the 24-hour day has a specific sound. Yes, if you have the ear for it, you can see if you can identify each one. The new calibre L122.2 is also enhanced with the pause elimination mechanism, which allows the strike sequence to seamlessly skip silent intervals. Effectively, this means there are no awkward gaps.

A flying governor, visible via the caseback at 7 o’clock (roughly), keeps the action quiet, without the low buzzing that plagues many repeaters. The other very large piece here is the so-called ‘infernal tower’ where the gears of the chiming mechanism are stacked. A patented hammer blocker prevents unintended secondary strikes, while a safety mechanism prohibits activation when the crown is pulled, preserving the integrity of the movement. Sound quality will offer the best comparison here since both the Richard Lange and the new Minute Repeater Perpetual are cased in platinum. There is a lot of debate around material choice in this regard but A. Lange & Söhne asserts that it prefers platinum for the best quality, which is of course quite different to decibel count, clarity and other sorts of criteria.

Despite our many questions here, we must move on to the front of the watch, where the perpetual calendar mechanism sits below the gold black enamel dial. Here too, there are parallels with the Richard Lange. Where that watch featured a gold white enamel dial made in three parts, the Minute Repeater Perpetual ups the ante with a four-part configuration. This is no doubt a feature of the information density of the new watch, with three subdials indicating the day of the week (9 o’clock); moon phase and small seconds (6 o’clock); and month (3 o’clock). The moon-phase display, accurate to 122.6 years, showcases a celestial scene with gold moons surrounded by 100 hand-engraved stars. Unusually, the dial is crafted in-house although that too is a feature shared with the 2022 Richard Lange and was one of that watch’s most notable features.Hefty in 950 platinum, the Minute Repeater Perpetual is nevertheless blessed with restrained proportions, being 40.5mm in diameter and 12.1mm thick. A hand-stitched black alligator leather strap with a platinum deployant buckle completes the ensemble. This strictly limited edition of 50 pieces is available exclusively through A. Lange & Söhne boutiques.

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