A. Lange & Söhne Lightens Up With the "Lumen" Lange 1

When the maker of Glashutte's most desired watches embraces the dark side, the world takes note. A. Lange & Söhne brings its high-contrast photoluminescence to the grandest iteration of the Lange 1 yet

BY

Ken Ke

Published: 16 September 2026

If you have ever looked at your watch in the dark, perhaps in a room lit for discretion, and wished you could make out the date, well, A. Lange & Sohne has the watch for you. For many watches, as long there is some kind of luminescent material, or lume, you can tell the time just fine. But calendar indications? That is a story that we think has been neglected for too long—and we never really expected the Glashutte watchmaker to write the first chapter. First, a note about what the A. Lange & Sohne's "Lumen" series is.

According to the watchmaker, a "Lumen" watch proffers the manufacture's most captivating visual paradox: the collision of classical Saxon design language with contemporary photoluminescence from the world of sports watches. With the Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar "Lumen", launched at Watches and Wonders 2026, A. Lange & Sohne brings this high-contrast philosophy to one of its most sophisticated complications. The A. Lange & Sohne perpetual calendar is certainly one of the most visually exciting expressions of the high complication, even if it is not for everyone.

Transforming such the intricately assembled layout into a nocturnal spectacle required, of all things, deliberate restraint. Speaking with us earlier this year, A. Lange & Sohne CEO Wilhelm Schmid emphasised that the manufacture only revisits the Lumen concept every two to three years, and only where it makes horological sense. "The Lange 1 is a very elegant watch, whereas the 'Lumen' execution is rather contemporary and sporty," Schmid explained. "If you merge the two, you have to avoid going in the wrong direction."

Schmid revealed that illuminating the off-centre time sub-dial posed a major hurdle: Directly costing the Roman numerals with luminous compound made them look disproportionately thick by day. Lange's solution was applying the luminous material beneath the semi-transparent, UV-permeable sapphire crystal dial. This allows the numerals to emerge as sharp and crisp silhouettes against a glowing background at night. without disturbing daytime legibility.

As you may well know, the watch features instantaneously jumping calendar displays, including the peripheral month ring, the outsize date, retrograde day-of-week indicator, and leap-year window at 6 o'clock. If you know the Lange perpetual calendar, all that is not news. This "Lumen" version also debuts Lange's first luminous moon-phase with an integrated

24-hour day/night indicator: The celestial disc rotates once every 24 hours, transitioning from a clear daytime sky to a star-studded nocturnal expanse behind the lunar disc (accurate to one day in 122.6 years).

As for the tourbillon, it remains on the watchmaker's side, where some would argue it belongs. Those same purists might also take issue here with the word "tourbillon" appearing on the dial, and we concede that they might have a point about that. For more on this and all things tourbillon-related, see our features section this issue.

The newly developed 685-part automatic Calibre L225.1 fulfils Lange's brief to always bring a new and improved movement to the table. The steel balance and intermediate-wheel cocks are hand-engraved with shooting stars and finished in black polish, anchored by another Lange special: a diamond endstone in a screwed gold chaton.