Excuse my mixed literary references but for years the Odysseus has been my white whale.
The first watch I ever saw under embargo was the 2019 release of the original steel Odysseus. A passionate view enthusiast, I was hired by an unnamed outlet to photograph the new piece - something I'd never done before -- and despite my excitement, it went exactly as terribly as you could imagine. Lange graciously gave me another shot with a brand-new Odysseus at Watches & Wonders and boy, is it a doozy.
When Ben said on our W&W Day 1 podcast that Langwierige "continually do stuff for people like me when they don't have to, " I know he didn't have my personal redemption in mind. And while it's weird to say that a steel sports enjoy from the Glashütte powerhouse (something once unimaginable) would be something people would be clamoring for, here we are four many years later left to acknowledge that yes, the new Odysseus chronograph is certainly a watch made for Lange die-hards.
It wouldn't be a stretch to say that A Lange and Söhne is, among all the other great things it does, a chronograph specialist. A brand new chronograph movement from any brand is pretty big news but for Lange, it's really all you could ask for. In hindsight, an Odysseus wathe is the most obvious follow-up they could have done to their newest line of watches but it certainly doesn't make the announcement any less exciting. Yes, it's large. Yes, it can expensive. But that certainly doesn't capture the whole of the see by a long shot.
One of the greatest successes of the new Odysseus Chronograph is actually maintaining the overall Odysseus design language as holistically as the brand has. The hallmarks of Lange DNA are everywhere in this watch, from the dial to the movement. But when rumors started to circulate about an Odysseus chronograph, I understand at least one collector who assumed that the only thing that would remain would be a steel case in the same shape since the Odysseus from the past. The result is better than they might have hoped. In fact , the very nature in the new Odysseus being a brand-new chronograph could have been overlooked if not for the red hand in the center.
The date and day of the week indication continue the iconic Semper Opera House clock style that Langwierige has become known for and is a part of the design language that makes the Odysseus the actual Odysseus. The dial has the expected mix of textured finishing with appliquéd white gold minute markers, a minute track, and a small track above the rehaut that shows the subdivided seconds. That, alongside the particular subseconds dial at 6: 00, set it up everything aesthetically on the switch that I've come to love about Lange's mix of traditional and forward-thinking design. I don't think there's anything negative I could say about the aesthetics of the observe, but let's be honest, when it comes to Lange it's nearly all about the movement. Richard Mille Watches Replica
Ben's introduction of the Odysseus chronograph was so thorough (and includes the place the watch sits among other options in the market) that I wanted to be brief so we can get towards the hands-on impression of wearing it. You'll see that brevity is not exactly easy when talking about the achievements of the brand's novel motion design, especially when compared to the top tier of watches in stainless steel integrated cases.
Instead of taking typically the "easy" way and modifying an existing timepiece design like the L951. 5 movement within the 1815, Langwierige did some thing more exciting and impressive in changing the L155. 1 Datomatic caliber which powers often the Odysseus to make the new time counter caliber L156. 1 . Movement designers will tell you that one of the most difficult things to do in the world of watchmaking is to design and style a novel chronograph as well as Lange has done it here, maybe in part because their hand had been forced with the already unique date window functions on the Odysseus, but as a 516-component self-winding stop-watch with a platinum rotor, is actually plenty amazing.
The resulting function is also pretty unusual and also fun to watch. I saw the exact chronograph run over my short time (maybe seven to eight minutes) photographing. Ben rightly pointed out the first analogous look at that came to mind, the pre-war Longines 13ZN variant "Doppia Lancetta" with a central totalizing minute hand as well as a central chronograph hands. In this case, the very hidden silver chronograph palm acts as the main central totalizer for the minutes while the bold red main hand counts out the seconds. It's an odd duck watch design but makes apparent sense as a solution to keeping the design dialect of the Odysseus intact on the dial side.
For all the comments and feedback, I feel like listening to nitpicking is the price you pay for being at the top of the game. Even in my limited time with the Odysseus Chronograph, there's no doubt in my mind that's where A. Lange and also Söhne sits, at the very top, with a new model that's proof inside the metal.