Hodinkee
Hands-On: The A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Perpetual Tourbillon Lumen
The watches of A. Lange & Söhne very rarely gets a chance to step out of the stoically traditional design language the brand has established since its relaunch in 1994, but one collection from the brand offers a unique respite from it all. Lange's Lumen series is now in its 16th year since the introduction of the Zeitwerk "Luminous" back in 2010, with its inaugural display of smoked sapphire, blacked-out details, and, of course, luminous numerals for the hour and minute discs. But while that model was the first to be executed, the following Grand Lange 1 Lumen in 2012 was the first model officially given the name "Lumen." Last month, at Watches and Wonders, Lange introduced the seventh Lumen in the lineup, with the new Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar Lumen. Following the absolutely bonkers Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon in Honeygold released in 2025 for the Datograph's twenty-fifth anniversary, this new glow-in-the-dark take on the very complicated Lange 1 model marks a pattern of increasing complication (and resulting price points) for the Lumen series. A closer look reveals that there's a lot going on, and for nerds, it's certainly a feast for the eyes. In person, the cold, austere look of the chunky, 41.9mm case in platinum immediately struck me, as it was a welcome return to the combination of a smoky, black look with white metal from the past two Lumen iterations in Honeygold (that Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon and its predecessor, the Zeitwerk). For a design ...
