A. Lange & Söhne Pour le Mérite
Pour le Mérite is the name used by A. Lange & Söhne on their specialized complicated watches which employ a fusée-and-chain transmission power delivery mechanism. As of 2021, there have been five such watches produced by the German watchmaker.
Etymology and History
The term, "Pour le Mérite" is derived from an order of merit established by Prussian King Frederick II. In 1740, Frederick created the honor as a way to recognize military and civil service in Prussia. It is represented by a medal featuring a blue Maltese cross on a gold background. The honor would be split later, with the military cross informally renamed the "Blue Max" after World War I flying ace, Max Immelmann.
A. Lange & Söhne was established in Glashütte, Germany in 1856 by Ferdinand Adolph Lange. It was supported by the Kingdom of Saxony, ironically an enemy of Prussia at the time, as a way to create manufacturing jobs in the sparsely-populated mountains of "Saxon Switzerland". The company rose to prominence by the turn of the century and continued to produce watches through World War II but was expropriated in 1948 by the communist government, becoming VEB Lange Glashütte and later absorbed into VEB Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe.
When Walter Lange re-established his family's firm in 1990 with the help of IWC, the decision was made to create a line of watches with in-house movements. The "halo model" of this line would be a tourbillon with a fusée-and-chain transmission, representing a new level of complication in watchmaking. The initial model, realized in 1994, was nicknamed "Pour le Mérite" as a show of pride, and the company has continued to produce such specialized pieces ever since.
1994 Tourbillon "Pour le Mérite"
The first "Pour le Mérite" model was part of A. Lange & Söhne original 1994 collection. The Tourbillon "Pour le Mérite" combined a tourbillon and fusée-and-chain transmission, something never before accomplished in a wristwatch. Along with a planetary gear, this complex mechanism normalizes power delivery from the mainspring, increasing theoretical precision and accuracy.
The original Tourbillon "Pour le Mérite" was produced in a limited edition of 200 examples, 50 in platinum and 150 in gold, originally priced at DM 140,000 and DM 125,000, respectively. These were constructed by hand from 1994 through 1998 and helped establish A. Lange & Söhne among the finest watchmaking companies.
2005 Tourbograph "Pour le Mérite"
In 2005, A. Lange & Söhne marked the 15th anniversary of the company with the Tourbograph "Pour le Mérite". Like its predecessor, this watch featured a tourbillon and fusée-and-chain transmission, and it strongly resembled its famous predecessor. But the Tourbograph added a rattrapante chronograph and would be the world's first one-minute tourbillon in a wristwatch.
The Tourbograph was dedicated by the company to Günter Blümlein, who had supported Walter Lange in re-establishing A. Lange & Söhne in 1990 but had passed away suddenly in 2001. It represented Blümlein's vision for the future of watchmaking and came at the height of the fervor for complicated mechanical watches. But it was so complicated that Lange had to bring in Renaud & Papi to help with development and was unable to deliver the first production example until 2006. Even then, it took over a month to produce each example. 101 examples were produced, 51 in platinum and 50 in gold, with the platinum model selling for $460,000 or 380,000, the most expensive watch produced by the company to date.
Upon commercial availability, the Tourbograph was submitted to the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève. It was selected for the "Special Jury Prize" in November, 2006, recognizing the outstanding accomplishment it represented.
2009 Richard Lange "Pour le Mérite"
At the end of 2008, A. Lange & Söhne introduced the first Pour le Mérite model without a tourbillon. The Richard Lange "Pour le Mérite" was part of the specialized Richard Lange range, dedicated to accuracy of timekeeping, and was nevertheless quite specialized. It brought the fusée-and-chain transmission to a watch with a conventional assortment rather than a tourbillon.
The Richard Lange model is deceptively simple at a glance, with two blued hands and a small seconds subdial. But the dial is constructed of enamel in three parts, and includes subtle details, including small red numerals at the four cardinal directions and a "railroad" style track for the seconds. The movement is as complicated as any of its predecessors, consisting of 636 components, and is dedicated to absolute precision of timekeeping while being "more efficient" than a tourbillon. 250 examples were produced, 50 in platinum and 200 in rose gold. The platinum model was priced at $128,600 while the gold sold for $107,600.
2011 Richard Lange Tourbillon "Pour le Mérite"
SIHH in 2011 saw the introduction of another Richard Lange "Pour le Mérite" offering, this time with a tourbillon like the others. Featuring a regulator style layout with separate dials for hour, minute, and seconds hands, it returns to the open heart design as well, with the tourbillon visible at 6:00. A novel "shutter" opens the overlapping portion of the hour subdial between 12:00 and 6:00, exposing more of the tourbillon beneath. This was also the first tourbillon watch with hacking seconds, allowing precise time setting.
The Richard Lange Tourbillon "Pour le Mérite" was produced in platinum and rose gold, priced at $211,900 or $175,600, with the platinum offering limited to 100 examples.
2017 Tourbograph Perpetual "Pour le Mérite"
A. Lange & Söhne returned to the Tourbograph concept in 2017 with the Tourbograph Perpetual "Pour le Mérite". This model adds a perpetual calendar to the rattrapante chronograph, including a moon phase indicator. It has a similar appearance to the earlier Tourbograph and original "Pour le Mérite" tourbillon, with the moon phase and date pointer added at 12:00.
The Tourbograph Perpetual "Pour le Mérite" was limited to 50 examples in platinum and was offered at 480,000 Euro.