"The new model “King Albert of Saxony” of the watch manufactury LANG & HEYNE in Dresden is a classical timepiece with a chronograph placed on the backside and a central minute counter.
The idea for the construction of this watch came to Marco Lang and his watchmaker’s apprentice Johannes Jahnke while discussing about the future journeyman watchmaker exam piece of Johannes. Traditionally, models of escapement are constructed for those exams, but Johannes already had built such a model with Marco before even starting his watchmaker apprenticeship with LANG & HEYNE.
To challenge and to support the talented boy, the master decided therefore, to make the task more complicated. Different concepts were worked out and Johannes had to chose one. As an enthusiast of classical chronographs, he had not to think about it for a long time. Both, Marco and Johannes, decided for a mechanism built on the backside, where the beauty of the mechanism is especially shown to advantage. To give the possibility for a future increase of models for LANG & HEYNE, the basis of the caliber is the already known “Caliber I”.
In contrast to the complicated appearing architecture of the movement, the optic of the dial should leave a clear impression. Therefore, Johannes decided for a central minute counter, which is technically particularly difficult to realize in a model with a chronograph on the backside. For all known constructions with central minute counters, the everlasting friction of the minute counter arbor on the permanent moving minute pinion is very disturbing, when the chronograph is not in use. To resolve this problem, the construction of Johannes owns an arm at the pivoted detent which uncouples the minute counter arbor from the minute pinion.
Johannes Jahnke, already as a young boy, was inspired by watches. Already in the age of 16, he became acquainted with Marco Lang in his watch shop, where he gathered hints and tricks for his own little watch collection. The former idea to become a precision engineer fell proportionally to the growing of the wish to learn all about the classical watchmaking. He took voluntarily the opportunity to absolve his apprenticeship at LANG & HEYNE’S, as, here, he could achieve and learn an ideal combination of traditional watchmaking with today’s production and restoring methods.
Johannes is going to finish his formation with the best grades in the summer 2006. No question, that he will continue to support LANG & HEYNE with his skills in the future. The small manufactury is growing and progressing well. We can be curios of the projects which the young watchmakers of Dresden will present us in the future."
vielen Dank für die Informationen ! Ich mag diese Eindrücker Chronographen und habe da auch Uhren von Chronoswiss und evtl. (trotz schlechter Erfahrung) Blancpain im Visier.
Wenn da Lange draufstünde - ich hätt's auch geglaubt. Die Uhren sehen nicht schlecht aus, ich hab' mir vor zwei Jahr mal den Katalog bestellt. Die 'Johann' mit Handaufzugskaliber und kleiner Sekunde kostete in Gold 15.000 Euro, die 'Friedrich August I' ebenso. Die 'König von Sachsen' mit der Komplikation bringt's sicher bald aufs Doppelte.
