Manufacturer: A. Lange & Söhne
Year: Circa 2016
Reference No: 252.025
Movement No: 127’868
Case No: 230’211; Numbered 019/100
Model Name: Richard Lange Jumping Seconds
Material: Platinum
Calibre: Manual, cal. L094.1, 50 jewels
Bracelet/Strap: Crocodile
Clasp/Buckle: Platinum A. Lange & Söhne deployant clasp
Dimensions: 40mm Diameter
Signed: Case, dial, movement, and buckle signed.
Accessories: Accompanied by A. Lange & Söhne guarantee booklet dated November 11th 2016, instruction manual, leather folio, additional platinum A. Lange & Söhne pin buckle, fitted and numbered presentation box, and outer packaging.
Catalogue Essay
Born 10 days after the establishment of his father’s company A. Lange & Cie., Richard Lange was the second and eldest child of Ferdinand Adolph Lange. A watchmaker by training, the company was renamed A. Lange & Söhne upon his partnering with his father in 1868. Like his father, he was a passionate watchmaker who sought to advance precision timing with mechanical finesse. During his tenure, the firm patented complications from split-seconds chronographs to dead-beat seconds timepieces, as well as patent number 9349 for an up/down power reserve indicator. In 1867, his father had developed a one-second movement with jumping hand, and was finally granted a patent for this innovation in 1877.

First introduced at SIHH in 2016 in a 40mm platinum case and silver rhodium dial, like the present lot, only 100 pieces were to be produced. The reference 252.025 offered here is numbered 19 of that limited series of 100, and given its guarantee date of November 2016, was one of the first pieces assembled and delivered. Like a Venn Diagram of horological accuracy, three large circles adorn the dial indicating the hours, seconds, and minutes respectively. The intersection of the hours and seconds circles shows a tiny triangular aperture that flashes red when the power reserve is depleted. Additionally, pulling out the crown engages the zero-reset function, allowing a complete and instantaneous restart. As with any Lange, the movement in solid German silver is lavishly finished with Glashütte stripes and a hand-decorated balance cock. The 40mm case combined with a 10.6mm height makes the watch highly wearable for such a powerhouse of watchmaking excellence.

This limited edition example and is offered here in hardly worn condition, with all original accessories and consigned by the original owner.

PROPERTY OF THE ORIGINAL OWNER
Artist Biography
A. Lange & Söhne
German • 1845
Originally founded in 1845 by Ferdinand Adolph Lange in Glashütte, Dresden, Germany, the firm established an entire watchmaking culture and industry in Glashütte. The brand quickly became Germany's finest watchmaker, first creating dependable, easy-to-repair watches before going on to produce some of the world's finest complicated pocket watches, including Grande Sonnerie watches, tourbillon watches and Grande Complications.
On the final day of World War II, their factories were destroyed by Russian bombers, and in 1948 the brand was confiscated by the Soviet Union. Following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990, Ferdinand's great grandson Walter Lange re-established the brand with the objective to once again produce top-quality luxury watches. Now part of the Richemont Group, its original vintage and modern creations are highly coveted by collectors. Key models from the modern era include the Lange 1, Pour Le Mérite Tourbillon and the Zeitwerk.
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