great complication NR. 42500 – Wikipedia
The Grande Complication Nr. 42500 is a high -quality, historical pocket watch and a unique piece by A. Lange & Sons.
The Grande Complication No. 42500 Pocket watch was built in 1902 by A. Lange & Sons, Glashütte. [first] It is one of the most complicated pocket watches that have ever been produced worldwide. It has a self-sailing impact with an hourly large and quarter-hour small ringing, a minute repetition, a tower chronograph, stopwatch with the meantime and fifth-class division. In addition to the main rip-off, the clock has 4 circle rounds, that is an eternal calendar on the 12, a day indicator in the current month on the 3, a moon phase display on the 6 and a day of the week on the 9. The calendar synchronizes all advertisements with exception of the moon every day at zero o’clock. Your clockwork with nickeled worktop made of new silver consists of 833 individual parts. The clock weighs almost 300 grams. All Arabic digits and the symbols on the enamel plate are hand painted.
The design of the engraving of the gold housing comes from Carl Ludwig Theodor Graff, director of the Royal Saxon Saxon School in Dresden. It was designed and awarded in 1890 for a competition that Johannes Dürrstein had advertised. The manual execution comes from the Graveur Gustav Gessner, Glashütte [2] , for the 42500. On the front, the housing in the center shows the head of the goddess Minerva as a symbol for the belief in progress at that time. The back of the clock carries the monogram “GS” in the middle. On both sides you can see two viewing birds, two fillers and garlands. [3] The border of the watch as well as the crown and its brackets are decorated with multi -row, repeated, miniaturized engraved ornaments. The clockwork is located in a 750/1000 red gold clock housing in the mold Louis XV With work glazing. [4]
The GRANDE COMPLICATION WORD COMPLICATION was only produced by A. Lange & Sons as a unique piece, as was typical for watch manufacturers at the time for such high -quality watches. A Grande Complication was the “flagship” of a manufacturer. [5]
The Center for Complication Watches with a high level of production depth had formed in western Switzerland at the end of the 19th century. From there, the Glashütte Union watch factory moved into 3 raw works for the planned construction of highly complicated pocket watches. They were scheduled for sale in 1895 on the occasion of the 50th year of founding in the watch manufacture in Glashütte and offered as a “universal watch”. The 42500 is based on such a raw work. [5] The 1902 built Grande Complication bears the serial number 42500 and was sold in Glashütte to a Viennese private individual in Glashütte. The purchase price was demonstrably a handwritten entry in the family book of A. Lange & Söhne from the German Watch Museum Glashütte 5,600 Goldmark. [3] [6] In 2001 she came back to the manufacturer in a completely rusty, incomplete and partially destroyed state. The clockwork was most damaged; [7] Calendar and bridge were in a more restorable condition. [8] In the 2002 August flood in the Erzgebirge, which the company building suffered in affecting, the clock was not affected by a chance. However, the flood and legal questions with the owner delayed the beginning of the restoration of the 42500. A. Lange & Söhne finally undergone the clock from 2003 to 2006 under the direction of Jan Sliva in a team of 5 experts in full restoration. The effort was 5000 working hours. [4] In deviation from usual restorations, in which the preservation of the original parts is given priority before the functionality of the system, three goals were set in this order when restoring this specimen: First, the clock should be as perfect as possible look compared to the time of their production. Second, it should be as perfect as 1902 function And third, should As many original parts as possible be used. [9] In order to achieve these goals, not only did not have to be restored new parts, but also tools, shapes and procedures had to be developed. All screws were renewed.
In 2010, the copy was first exhibited at the Geneva Watch Salon (Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie). The clock is today as a permanent loan in the mathematical-physical salon of the Zwinger in Dresden.
The existence and whereabouts of this clock were repeatedly discussed before it will be recovered in specialist circles. Their exact determination, the unique stopwatch mechanics with fifth-second accuracy display, the reset mechanics for all functions and the elaborate restoration by the manufacturer itself give it a cultural-historical value with incomparable and invaluable hypothetical auction value. The fact that your history is not known throughout and that new parts were used during the restoration does not reduce their value in auction circles. The number of experts who were in question for the restoration of this watch in the quality carried out was estimated to be less than 20 worldwide. [ten]
- Margret Klinkewitz u. a.: Grande Complication No. 42500 . A. Lange & Sons, Glashütte 2010. (German and English edition)
- Jan Sliwa: The restoration of a very special pocket watch. The Grande Complication N. 42500 by A. Lange & Sons . In: Restoration , Band 119 (2013), Heft 1, S. 30–37. ISSN 0933-4017
- ↑ Grande Complication Nr. 42.500
- ↑ Gustav Gessner
- ↑ a b Luxify.de Grande Complication No. 42500
- ↑ a b A. Lange Glashütte & Sons Grande Complication No. 42,500
- ↑ a b P. Plaßmeyer: Mathematical-physical salon , Dresden, in: Grande Complication No. 42500, A. Lange & Sons. Glashütte 2010. pp. 84f.
- ↑ Note: the equivalent of 5 annual salaries of a teacher at the time
- ↑ Grande Complication No. 42500, A. Lange & Sons. Glashütte 2010. p. 30f
- ↑ Grande Complication No. 42500, A. Lange & Sons. Glashütte 2010. p. 42 and 16
- ↑ Grande Complication No. 42500, A. Lange & Sons. Glashütte 2010. p. 40
- ↑ S. Muser, auctioneer. Interview in: Grande Complication No. 42500, A. Lange & Sons. Glashütte 2010. pp. 28f.
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