Friday, January 23, 2015

A. Lange & Söhne – Saxonia Datograph Perpetual


A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Datograph Perpetual Chronograph NEW

DATOGRAPH PERPETUAL
Chronograph and perpetual calendar with a noble 
white-gold/grey contrast

The pairing of a solid white-gold case with a grey dial adds elegance and charisma to the combination of a flyback chronograph with a perpetual calendar.

For French writer and Nobel laureate André Gide, grey was the colour of truth, which might be due to its counterbalancing effect and the seductive radiance of this hue. In the DATOGRAPH PERPETUAL, the juxtaposition of a white-gold case and a grey dial accommo-dates both of these aspects. Since 2006, its name has been a synonym for the ingenious combination of a flyback chronograph and a perpetual calendar.

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With three highly elaborate, technically advanced mechanisms, it fully lives up to the task of precise short-time measurements: The column-wheel concept assures dependable control of all chronograph functions, the jumping minute counter always delivers distinct legibility of stopped times and the flyback system makes it possible to accurately measure the durations of events in quick succession.

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With its Lange outsize date, day of week, month and leap year indications, the perpetual calendar is so precise that it requires no adjustment until the year 2100, when a one-day correction is needed. All calendar displays can be advanced simultaneously with a convenient rapid-correction pusher. Additionally, three recessed correctors allow the displays to be adjusted separately.

Lange manufacture calibre L952.1

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The dark grey hue of the dial clearly emphasises the displays and prominently showcases the deep blue lunar disc with its golden stars. Baton hour markers as well as hour and minute hands in rhodiumed gold highlight the rich-contrast design that was first introduced with the 2010 launch of the pink-gold version. The chronograph hand indicates the stopped time to one-fifth of a second. It is made of blued steel.

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The same material was chosen for the minute counter and seconds hands, allowing them to stand out prominently against the bright rhodié background of the subsidiary dials.

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With its movement consisting of 556 lavishly finished parts, it delivers fresh proof of the Saxon manufactory’s virtuosity in the realm of horological complications.

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Technical Specifications

Model: Saxonia Datograph Perpetual (Ref. 410.038)

Movement 
Lange manufacture calibre L952.1; manually wound, crafted to the most exacting Lange quality standards, decorated and assembled by hand; precision-adjusted in five positions; plates and bridges made of untreated German silver; balance cock engraved by hand
Diameter: 32.0 millimetres; height: 8.0 millimetres
Movement parts: 556
Bearing jewels: 45
Screwed gold chatons : 4
Escapement: Lever escapement
Oscillator: 
Shock-resistant balance wheel with eccentric poising weights;  balance spring manufactured in-house with a frequency of  18,000 semi-oscillations per hour, precision beat-adjustment  system with lateral setscrew and whiplash spring
Power reserve: 36 hours when fully wound
Functions
Time indicated in hours, minutes and subsidiary seconds with stop seconds
Fly-back chronograph with precisely jumping minute counter
Tachymeter scale
Perpetual calendar with date, day of week, month, moon phases and leap year
Day/night indication
Operating elements 
Crown for winding the watch and setting the time, two pushers for operating the chronograph, rapid-correction pusher for collectively advancing all calendar displays, one recessed corrector each for adjusting the day of the week, the month and the moon phases
Case 
White gold
Diameter: 41.0 millimetres; height: 13.5 millimetres
Crystal and back: Sapphire crystal (Mohs hardness 9)
Dial 
Solid silver, grey; subsidiary dials rhodié
Hands: 
Hour and minute hands in rhodiumed gold, luminous; day, month and four-year hands in rhodiumed gold; chronograph sweep seconds hand, subsidiary seconds hand and minute counter hand in blued steel
Strap 
Hand-stitched alligator leather strap, black
Buckle: 
Lange prong buckle in white gold

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Contact information for the media
Arnd Einhorn, Director Press and PR
* Tel.: +49 (0)35053 44 5505
* E-mail: presse@lange-soehne.com
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ZENITH – ACADEMY GEORGES FAVRE-JACOT















ZENITHACADEMY GEORGES FAVRE-JACOT Limited Edition 


ACADEMY
Georges Favre-Jacot
150 years is a milestone worth celebrating

An asset as precious now as in yesteryear: daring…
One of the first industrial watch Manufactures in the modern sense of the term was born in a small Swiss village. To fully grasp the revolution such a company represented at the time, it is well worth trying to imagine the winter of 1864 in Le Locle, nestling in the Neuchâtel mountains. Like every other year, the season was far too harsh for tilling the soil and drove farmers to become watchmakers. In 1865, Georges Favre-Jacot, a youthful native of the village barely 22 years of age, founded his watch factory. It was not the first, nor the only one, but it would change forever the way of producing watches. He had spacious light-filled workshops built in a location where they still stand today. They were the first to be fitted with electric lighting and he assembled all the region’s key talents there. Over the years, the factory grew into an international company renowned for the excellence of its production and Georges Favre-Jacot became a captain of industry such as one encounters only a handful per century. Throughout the period the firm remained under his wise guidance, this youthful visionary would consistently instil a unique mind-set into his teams.


Daring is the mother of innovation…
The daring cultivated by a company is a state of mind that must flow from the top down. The “Zenith spirit”, the famous enterprising spirit of George Favre-Jacot, passed on by subsequent generations, became a genetic code nurtured by a whole host of artisans at the height of their powers. The very ones who would enable the Manufacture to set a number of records, including an absolute all-time one: 300 patents, 600 movement variations and 2,333 prizes in the field of chronometry (precision timekeeping).

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Innovation inspires artisans…
1969. Six months before humankind’s first steps on the moon, the Zenith master-watchmakers introduced the world’s first integrated automatic chronograph movement. While it was the first of its kind, it was also the most accurate, since it beat at the hitherto unprecedented frequency of 36,000 vibrations per hour. The aptly named El Primero chronograph movement has since given its name to an entire Zenith collection and equipped a number of Haute Horlogerie models. While it has now earned the status of an industry benchmark, the Manufacture has never ceased surpassing itself in the demanding field of precision.


Artisans add their own touch of mastery…
The best means of alleviating the loss of amplitude of a movement that is winding down is to compensate for the progressively reduced force of its barrel. Two years of research and development enabled the Zenith magicians to accommodate within the tiny space of a wristwatch a 300 year-old system: the fusée and chain mechanism. The helical shape of its fusée means that the mechanism is able to keep the driving force perfectly stable, even during the letting down of the spring. The chain ensuring transmission between the barrel and the fusée comprises 575 parts and measures 18 cm long. Double links alternate with intermediate links to create a highly complex structure that enables the chain, once rewound, to withstand an over three-kilo traction force. Throughout the power reserve (at least 50 hours), the mainspring transmits its energy to the fusée via the chain which coils around the barrel. By adjusting the variations in tension, the fusée regularises the force distributed to the going train and then to the silicon escape-wheel. The size and the cone-like shape of  the fusée stem from particularly complex calculations performed for each of its seven construction stages.
 
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Mastery engenders daring…
To mark Zenith’s 150th anniversary, the Academy Georges Favre-Jacot offers a magnificent compendium of the multiple skills exercised within the Manufacture. More than a mere tribute, this Haute Horlogerie model testifies to a profound respect for the spirit of the founder without whom nothing would have ever have taken shape.

On the technical side, the Academy Georges Favre-Jacot naturally houses – what else? – a high-frequency hand-wound El Primero 4810 movement. Occupying the entire lower right-hand side of the dial, the power-reserve display between 4 and 5 o’clock topped by the inscriptions “Force constante” and “High frequency”, gives an immediate indication of the movement’s high quality. To its left, the small seconds subdial between 7 and 8 o’clock bears the logo of the Manufacture with the guiding star.

But the feature that immediately catches the eye and will strike connoisseurs is the upper dial opening revealing the fusée and chain transmission, with the barrel between 10 and 11 o’clock and the fusée around which the chain wraps itself located between 1 and 2 o’clock. While the movement takes more than 50 hours to unwind, meaning for the chain to coil around the barrel, a few seconds of winding via the stem are enough to see the fusée and barrel turning counter-clockwise to the running direction in order for the chain to once again wrap around the fusée. Two bridges screwed to the mainplate support the arbors of the fusée and barrel, giving the watch the look of a late 19th century architectural accomplishment. The barrel is engraved with the inscriptions Zenith/Manufacture Le Locle.

The finest talents of the Manufacture were enlisted in achieving this masterpiece logically issued on this exceptional occasion in a 150-piece limited edition. The incredible technical sophistication of the Academy Georges Favre-Jacot is teamed with an equally refined aesthetic approach to its exterior, combining modern lines with perfect proportions, while evoking the brand’s glorious past. The 18-carat rose gold case, along with the brown alligator leather strap, undoubtedly contribute to its noble bearing. The slender bezel rims a grained silver-toned dial crafted according to the finest watchmaking traditions. The hours and minutes hands are blued, while the seven hour-markers are gold-plated and facetted.

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Daring, today as in yesteryear
150 years of creations infused with a sense of daring and an enterprising spirit deserve a celebration! 2015 will be a festive year brimming with events that will be announced in due course. Watch this space…

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Model: Academy  Georges Favre-Jacot
150 Piece Limited Edition 
Fusee and chain transmission linked to the barrel to ensure constant force
797 parts
Cosc-certified movement


Reference: 18.2210.4810/01.C713

Movement:
El Primero 4810, hand-wound
Calibre: 16 ½’’’ (diameter: 37 mm)
Thickness: 5.90 mm
Parts: 222 (  575 for the fusée and chain system)
Jewels: 30
Frequency: 36,000 vph (5 Hz)
Power reserve: 50 hours minimum
Over 50-hour power reserve
Functions:
Hours and minutes
Fusée and chain transmission linked to the barrel
Small seconds between 7 and 8 o’clock
Power reserve between 4 and 5 o’clock
Case:
Material: 18-carat rose gold
Diameter: 45 mm
Thickness: 14.35 mm
Glass: cambered sapphire crystal glareproofed on both sides
Case-back: Power-reserve Bridge adorned motifs and inscriptions featuring the line engraving technique
Water resistance: 3 ATM
Dial: grained silver-toned
Hour-markers: gold-plated rhodium, facetted
Hands: blued
Dial:
Aventurine and Turquoise Dial
Depiction of Felix Baumgartner’s jump
Stratosphere in aventurine
Earth in blue turquoise
Felix Baumgartner emerging from the capsule: hand-chased and engraved gold
Hands: rhodiumed and facetted
Hour-markers: white lacquered
Strap:
Brown alligator leather with protective rubber lining
Triple-blade folding clasp in 18-carat rose gold
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