I remember when A. Lange & Söhne made its reappearance in 1994–and I and other watch lovers became entranced with what we were presented.  But the crown jewel of the original Lange collection was the legendary Tourbillon Pour le Mérite watch, with its fusee-and-chain transmission mechanism with tourbillon.  A coveted collectors piece, and one of the most desirable A. Lange & Söhne watches, the “PLM”, as it is known among the cognoscenti, is the watch you most often see on the wrist of the ever-smiling Walter Lange, “father” of the modern A. Lange & Söhne brand.

The magic of German haute horlogerie continues this year with the new A. Lange & Söhne Cabaret Tourbillon watch.  Surely one of the most beautiful tourbillon timepieces in current production, this new star of the Cabaret collection has a great sense of opulence, strongly tempered by sobriety and elegance.  I love the visual balance of the displays; the dominant outsize date at 12, balanced by the lovely tourbillon carriage at 6, which is in turn balanced by the small seconds subdial and the power reserve to its left and right, respectively.  It goes without saying that the handwound L.961.1 movement is absolutely breathtaking!

While A. Lange & Söhne’s Lange 1 Tourbillon was impressive, and the Tourbograph is a staggering showpiece, I think that this new Cabaret is the most beautiful of the A. Lange tourbillons, standing right up there with the magnificent Pour le Mérite watch of 1994.