116.066, Lange 1 Time Zone, 25th Anniversary, White Gold

This is the ref. 116.066, a little-known Lange 1 Time Zone featuring an argenté dial, blue printing, blued steel hands, and unique 25th Anniversary flourishes (cased in white gold. While the aesthetic is an obvious nod to the classic limited edition 101.027X palette, the execution is distinct. Unlike any other iteration, the 25th Anniversary features a distinct blued hand-engraving of 25 on the Time Zone bridge. Made in just 25 examples from the First Generation of the model, it is something of the ultimate A. Lange & Söhne travel watch (and the rarest Lange 1 Time Zone).

A. Lange & Söhne introduced the Lange 1 Time Zone in 2005 as a dual-time reading of the 1994 legend rather than a true world timer, despite its rotating city ring. The first generation (calibre L031.1) placed the home-time dial at nine o'clock and a second-zone subdial at five, each with its own day/night aperture—logical, if slightly busy. This ran until the 2020 redesign, when the second-generation reference-136 series arrived on cal. L141.1 with a cleaner day/night layout. The 116.066 sits squarely and proudly in that First Generation.

In 2019, A. Lange & Söhne celebrated 25 years since Walter Lange and Günter Blümlein unveiled the Lange 1 at Dresden's Residential Palace in 1994. Lange honored the occasion with a ten-strong '25th Anniversary" series in white gold, each sharing an argenté solid-silver dial with deep-blue printing, blued-steel hands, and a blue alligator strap. The 250-piece Lange 1 (ref. 191.066) opened the run at SIHH in January; nine sister editions of 25 pieces each followed monthly—the Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase, Little Lange 1, Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar and Daymatic among them. The Time Zone, presented in May 2019, was the fifth. 

Mechanically, calibre L031.1 is what both dates and distinguishes the piece. Comprised of 417 components, its defining function is the city-ring-linked second zone: a pusher steps the zone hand in one-hour increments to the chosen reference city, with independent day/night reading. It keeps the manufacture staples of an untreated German-silver three-quarter plate, screwed gold chatons, hand-engraving and twin mainspring barrels good for 72 hours. 

The 116.066 is the First Generation Time Zone’s quiet goodbye, though not yet viewed as such widely. Few references from are known definitively to have been made in such low numbers, particularly outside high complications. Distinguished in the palette and details, it is a little-known, contemporary pinnacle. 

This 116.066 is in exceptional condition. It was worn for the first time for the photograph in this listing. Prior to this, the factory protective stickers were still applied to the case. Its state is exceptional, including full mechanical health. It comes with its original complete set, including all factory accessories on its matched blue alligator strap.

This example is modelled on an average-sized 7-inch wrist.