SONOROUS HARDNESS: THE GONGS.
One of the formidable challenges faced by the master watchmakers is crafting the gongs for each LANGE ZEITWERK STRIKING TIME. The steel of which they are made is hardened in several consecutive steps that constitute an elaborate process. The difficulty lies in imparting precisely the right pitch to each gong. To achieve the perfect result, the weights of the two hammers, their impact angles, and their impact speeds must be accurately matched. Only very few watchmakers master this art; the process is one of the best-kept secrets in the world of horology.
OPTIMISED ENERGY UTILISATION.
The constant-force escapement of the LANGE ZEITWERK generates to much energy that some of it must be dissipated with a fly governor. In the calibre L043.2 movement of the LANGE ZEITWERK STRIKING TIME, this surplus energy is routed to the chiming mechanism. Two snail discs on a shared arbor rotate about their own axis once an hour and tension the springs for the two hammers. The hour-hammer spring trips after the rotation is complete and causes the hammer to strike the gong. Conversely, the quarter-hour hammer is tripped three times per revolution and thus generates the quarter-hour sounds.
THE SOURCE OF THE FORCE: THE PATENTED MAINSPRING BARREL.
The patented mainspring barrel delivers the enormous amount of energy required by the movement, especially when all three discs need to be simultaneously advanced at each full hour. The venerable wind/unwind principle was literally turned upside down for this purpose. As the mainspring relaxes, the barrel rotates in the minimised-friction bearing. Conversely, the mainspring barrel bearing with the higher friction rating is involved while the watch is being wound. Thus, a slightly greater effort is required when winding the watch but in return, more of the energy stored in the mainspring remains available for powering the movement. Additionally, the size of the mainspring itself can be reduced without any concessions in terms of energy yield.
