Hands-On I Thought I Knew The Lange Zeitwerk But I Was So, So Wrong

A few years ago, I dragged my then-girlfriend to an auction preview at Phillips. Wandering through the rare watches from the usual suspects – and a less rare, delightfully unusual rainbow Daytona, my first one – I stopped in front of a case with a number of more unusual watches.

"See that? That's a Zeitwerk made by A. Lange & Söhne, and I really don't like it," I said. I explained the history of the watch, the Semper Opera House clock in Dresden, and all the rationale behind its existence and unusual aesthetic. My reaction mirrored that of the general public when the watch was released in 2009. It was an unusual watch for any brand, let alone one as traditional as Lange, and a show of opulence in the midst of a global recession. Years later, biased by my love of what I considered more traditional watchmaking, as my exceedingly patient ex-girlfriend's eyes undoubtedly and (unnoticed by me) glazed over, I just said, "I can't imagine ever liking that watch."

A few years older and wiser, I've been wrong about a good many things, including, and especially the Zeitwerk.

As I've been lucky to experience more watches first-hand and formed opinions based on real-world experience rather than just theoretical knowledge, I've started to understand why the Zeitwerk has the cachet it does as one of Lange's most coveted models. There are few watches I've been more excited to spend quality, focused time with. It's the kind of watch that stops everything and everyone in its tracks (ask the Lange-loving Hodinkee staff who all gathered around to get their own hands-on time). But the "hands-on" opportunity left me so intimidated I avoided writing this article for so long.

I will hit the highlights of what's different in the newest generation, this isn't an in-depth history, nor a "Reference Points" but a review of wearing the newest Zeitwerk, specifically the ref. 142.031 in pink gold with black dial – extreme subjectivity ahead. And while the case and color combination are great, for fans of all the various models over the years – from the original Zeitwerk to the Lumen, Date, Decimal strike, and more – the newest Zeitwerk might not seem vastly different.

Sure, to do pink gold and black in this combination feels like a bit of a (somewhat weak) consolation prize for everyone who didn't get a Honeygold Zeitwerk Lumen. But viewed on its own it's still a fantastic watch that combines the iterative improvements Lange has made with their variants in the 13 years between the original and today's Zeitwerk. Trust me when I say between 2009 and today, there's a world of difference. To see that difference we need to start (as I often find myself doing) by looking at the movement. And as much as I promised a review of the wearability – and we will get there – fair warning, there's nerdy watch mumbo-jumbo coming your way.

I can conceptually understand the function of outwardly-complicated watches. Watches like a minute repeater, perpetual calendar, rattrapante, and so on have a design and function that tell you exactly how complicated they are. But the ingenious nature of the Lange Zeitwerk is that the time-telling function of the Zeitwerk of a digital display of a black-and-white set of straightforward numbers belies the incredible and complex watchmaking under the dial. Imagine showing this watch to a member of the general public. I think their reaction would be to ask "how complicated could a watch with a display that resembles one of those bedside table digital flip-clock designs really be?" The answer: incredibly.

When the new Zeitwerk was announced last October, Logan did a fantastic job summarizing a lot of those improvements. The new L043, found in various forms powering the Zeitwerk Date and Lumen (with their own movement sub-designations for things as minor as modifications needed to accommodate the translucent dial of the Lumen for example), has a massive increase in power reserve from the original, doubling from the previous 36 hours to 72. And while the original watch measured 42mm by 12.6mm thick, a relatively svelte size for a complicated watch, its previous power reserve seemed (in hindsight) pretty lacking. But just imagine the amount of power that has to be reserved and released to generate enough force instantaneously and precisely move one, two, or three parts of the digital display, rather than to slowly and incrementally move two hands on a traditional watch.

To do so, both watches rely on a remontoire to reserve and release that power. The new Zeitwerk 142.031 does that, and nearly everything, better while being 0.4mm thinner.

A quick glance at the remontoire bridge gives you a sense that something is different with the new Zeitwerk (even more apparent when you're able to ask a friend to bring an original Zeitwerk into the office to compare). The "kinked" bridge with a more traditional anchor shape bottom on the original Zeitwerk has (among other modifications) been changed to a straight-line remontoire bridge that is cleaner and sleeker. I get the impression that some traditionalists appreciated the wabi-sabi nature of the original. But the finishing on this movement –between the remontoire, plates, balance cock engraving, and yes, interior angles – is immaculate and captivating, and the facets could keep me occupied for days. Either way, it's more than just the shape. The remontoire spring is thinner, the balance wheel is lighter, and the entire movement train is optimized so less power is needed for the remontoire while still keeping the watch running at 18,000vph.

But the bulk of the power comes from the new inclusion of two stacked mainspring barrels arranged in series. By making the actual springs narrower, the barrel takes up only slightly more space vertically but no more footprint on the movement while doubling the power reserve to 72 hours.

That's a fortunate improvement because, with my big fingers, I found the placement of the crown to be challengingly close to the top right lug when winding the watch or setting the time – an issue that luckily won't come up as much with all that extra power reserve. But it does bring me to the biggest improvement in the Zeitwerk: the quickset hour button. It might seem obvious, but it's hard to overstate how big of a change this is.

Bless your heart if you own an original Zeitwerk and find any enjoyment in setting the time on that thing. I had to set the time on the example that my friend Paul (@alangejourney on Instagram) graciously brought to be photographed and god forbid the time is off by a few hours, it feels like an inordinate amount of work. But with the push of a button, the new Zeitwerk jumps forward by an hour, saving time and a lot of frustration. And frankly, it's just fun to watch.

There are, of course, other, mostly aesthetic changes. On the dial side, the power reserve track now has a bright red "warning" to show when power is low, and each hash mark represents double the remaining power. The power reserve and small seconds, which formerly were equal in size, have been adjusted and the small seconds are now slightly larger. In all honesty, it took me a long time to fully notice and internalize that change in balance, and while, if pressed, I'd say I like the new dial better (something Lange fans have told me adamantly and in equal number that I'm both 100% right and 100% wrong about), I still have a hard time believing it would make a world of difference when it came to a question of buying or not buying the watch. But watch enthusiasts are a sucker for details and when you're talking about a watch just a hair over $101,000 in rose gold and $112,000 and change in platinum, every detail makes a world of difference.

In the same way that the dial changes weren't earth-shattering to me, shrinking the watch thickness by 0.4mm didn't suddenly win me over to the Zeitwerk. Whether 42mm wide and 12.6mm or the new-and-improved 12.2mm, it's still a large and heavy watch on the wrist. It's comparatively more comfortable, sure, and I applaud Lange for continuing to push itself to improve technology while not sacrificing dimensions. The balance is better (I've been reassured of this many many times by my Lange friends) and while I struggle to think this makes a world of difference, you have to remember that at this price point, every change is important. On the flip side, and maybe this is something that I intuit from growing up in Wisconsin around a large German community, regardless of the size change there's still something about the presence of wearing the Zeitwerk that can only be described as appropriately "German." It's the kind of watch that reminds you that you've got the pleasure of wearing something serious.

All this pales in comparison to the joy of the watch itself.

I enjoyed – dare I say even loved – every minute of the 23 hours I spent with the new Zeitwerk. I loved it in a way that's hard to put into words. I texted friends and told them that it was the kind of watch that made me sad that I don't own anything near this fantastic. It made my day better to share it around the office or wear it while having a glass of wine. The unstoppable impulse to take wrist shots, the joy of watching the second hand to know how long before the magic of the remontoire would take place and the minutes would roll over. If the watch were sentient, it would have wondered why we changed timezones about 5 million times as I just pushed the quickset button over and over to marvel at how the entire package comes together so well. The movement finishing is, again, fantastic and the interplay between the different shine of the remontoire bridge finishing and the balance cock engravings could keep your attention for days on end. To put it simply, it's the kind of watch that makes wearing a watch enjoyable.

But throughout all this, and even writing the story, I also struggled to understand what had changed about the watch that had drawn me in so much which still leaves me somewhat confused. After all, I didn't know years ago that winding the watch every 30-some hours or setting the time on the original Zeitwork would be a chore. I didn't have any strong feelings about some nearly imperceptible dial change that was needed. There was no part of me that thought "if only the movement layout was a bit cleaner." Every change here was thoughtful, necessary, and not earth-shattering, but they shouldn't have made the difference between disdain and love. I thought I knew back then all I needed to know to make up my decision and was proud to say it.

But among all the changes Lange has made – and I loathe to say it because it's so nauseatingly cliché – the biggest change was my own experience. It feels appropriate to quote Nietzsche here. "It is hard enough to remember my opinions, without also remembering my reasons for them." And it's true I've had to fight to remember why I felt so strongly about the Zeitwerk in the past. In growing as a watch lover I've been able to reframe my understanding of where the Zeitwerk sits in the watch space. Over those same years, I've come to love Urwerk and MB&F for their futuristic approach and still looked cockeyed at the Zeitwerk for having a foot in two worlds of tradition and the future, as if it didn't know what to be.

That was my misunderstanding of the Zeitwerk as modern for modernity's sake in the face of more, not as a part of, traditional options. What I thought was a weakness was actually its strength. The Zeitwerk might be one of the most modern lenses through which you can view traditional watchmaking and it's a view you'll never get sick of.