Lang & Heyne and Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo and The Lavish Attic
LANG & HEYNE
Lang & Heyne was founded in the historical German city of Dresden in 2001 whose philosophy was to create hand-made timepieces of the highest quality in the purest of Saxon tradition. With an estimated output of no more than 80 timepieces a year, Lange & Henye creates exclusive and innovative timepieces for watch aficionados.
LANG & HEYNE stands for perfect craftsmanship - honest handmade watches of the highest quality, created in exclusive small series. For the very first time in its history, LANG & HEYNE has developed and manufactured a unique timepiece in collaboration with PHILLIPS and long-term partner THE LAVISH ATTIC.
The FRIEDRICH II - Remontoir “Prototype 00” movement has challenged the master watchmakers of LANG & HEYNE in many ways. The traditional skills of crafting a movement including the remontoir complication have had to be rethought to achieve the given high standards LANG & HEYNE stands for.
Friedrich II Remontoir Prototype 00 - LOT 933
The Hong Kong Watch Auction: XIV Hong Watch 27-28 May 2022
Manufacturer: Lang & Heyne
Year: Circa 2021
Movement No: Prototype 00
Model Name: Friedrich II Remontoir Prototype 00 – Unique Piece
Material: Stainless Steel
Calibre: Manual, cal. V-I, 24 jewels, 1 brilliant
Bracelet/Strap: Stainless steel Lang & Heyne bracelet, max length 190mm
Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel Lang & Heyne concealed folding clasp
Dimensions: 39mm diameter
Signed: Case, dial, movement, bracelet and clasp signed
Accessories: Accompanied by Lang & Heyne certificate & rating report, portfolio, instruction manual, product literature, framed Remontoir artwork, fitted presentation box and outer packaging.
THE REMONTOIR
Lang & Heyne developed an entirely new movement in-house for this special project, choosing their exquisite Friedrich II as the model. It is for the first time, Lang & Heyne integrated a Remontoir mechanism into the movement, but with a slight twist, using titanium as the base material. This costly but durable material has been a popular choice of material for watch cases for a long time due to its skin-friendly characteristic, it is evident that it does not show any allergenic effects on skin contact.
THE MOVEMENT IN TITANIUM
It is almost unheard of until now, with movement made in titanium, a material which is hard to manufacture and process mainly due to its hardness and many other interesting properties that make it even harder for most manufacturers to consider this material as an option to create a movement out of it. The independent German manufacturer took on this challenge together with the brilliant team of watchmakers, Lang & Heyne was able to create a movement almost entirely made out of titanium. Knowing that the thermal conductivity is poor, which makes mechanical processing more difficult, the matt finish of the main plate was achieved by blasting the graining with ceramic beads and the polishing of the main plate, trigonal bridge, lever bridge and balance cock are done laboriously by hand with wood and polishing paste.
The result was an impressive movement both technically and aesthetically. One will be greeted by a warm greyish sandblasted finishing that is beautifully decorated which contrasts nicely with the purple screws that can only be achieved by heating it a precise temperature. The movement is further enhanced with the tasteful engraving ‘Prototype 00’ on the baseplate.
THE DIAL & BRACELET
The Friedrich II Remontoir ‘Prototype’ model is simple and discreet and If the dial is the face of the watch, the simple sunk black enamel dial and Arabic numerals are the features that give depth to its personality. The minimalistic appearance symbolizes the amusement of simplicity, yet, not having to sacrifice exclusive details at the same time. Noticeably, the high-quality index 00 and second indexes are in red rhombi filled by hand with superluminova, a non-radioactive and nontoxic afterglow pigments for illuminating markings on watch dials.
Toping it off, the bracelet was exclusively designed and produced in stainless steel just for this unique piece. It is made of Milanese wrap knitted fabric and the length of the bracelet can be adjusted by the screws that is able to be removed individually. The present timepiece is luring and seductive thanks not only to the complex mechanism one has come to expect from Lang & Henye as well as its serene black enamel dial and an innovative approach to use titanium for the movement which was a quantum leap for the brand.
Phillips is honoured to present this sophisticated design and unique timepiece for the first time. Offers an enormous combination of breakthroughs for any discerning collector.