A Lange & Söhne has a reputation for taking things to the next level. This is a brand that likes to assemble every one of its exquisitely hand-finished movements twice – once to test for precision, the second time after all the parts have been cleaned and decorated. It embraces traditional techniques, while simultaneously pushing boundaries. It certainly pushed boundaries in 2009 when it launched the Zeitwerk. This watch was unlike anything else. At its heart was an extremely precise jumping hour and minute display; something Lange powered with a constant-force escapement that not only transmitted power to the movement, but also provided a burst of it to the numeral discs every 60 seconds. It was clever, entertaining and beautifully executed.

In many ways, it wasn’t surprising that Lange could produce a watch like this. The brand has been blazing the German watchmaking trail since 1845. That was the year its founder, Ferdinand Adolphe Lange turned up in Glashütte, then a down-on-its-luck mining town that had run out of silver to mine, with money from the government to set up a pocket-watch factory. World wars and communism may have tested Glashütte’s watchmaking resolve, but Lange and Söhne was re-established in 1990, thanks to Ferdinand’s great-grandson Walter, continuing the brand’s reputation for making precise, intrinsically Germanic timepieces.

One such piece is the Zeitwerk. Its name translates romantically as “time machine”, and its aesthetics are based on Dresden’s famous five-minute clock installed in its Semper Opera House, which was co-created by Ferdinand Lange himself. At a glance, there doesn’t seem to be much that is different from the 2009 original. The jumping hours and minutes remain, however the silver “time bridge” – the metal framework that encases the numerals – has been subtly increased to accommodate a larger small-seconds subdial at six o’clock. It’s under the dial that the real transformations have occurred.

The new calibre, the L043.6, has been given a new oscillation system, with its own balance spring and patented beat adjustment system. Thanks to a new patented barrel design with two mainsprings, the power reserve has now been increased from 36 to 72 hours. However, the most significant change is Lange’s decision to pilfer, and rework, the quick date-change mechanism from its Zeitwerk Date – using it here to instantly change the jumping hour. When the pusher at four o’clock is pressed, a patented vertical clutch decouples the hour ring from the jumping-numerals mechanism, allowing it to move without effecting the minutes. Despite adding 63 extra components, taking the total up to 451, the 41.9mm case, which now comes in platinum or pink gold, is 0.4mm slimmer, giving this second-generation Zeitwerk a more sophisticated silhouette. Lange may call this a digital watch, but that description undersells a watch that really is a modern-day mechanical marvel.

£POA; alange-soehne.com