Georg by Lang & Heyne is a tribute to classical German watchmaking, but the display caseback reveals an in-house calibre with some very contemporary characteristics.
Lang & Heyne, a company based in Dresden
Lang & Heyne was founded in Dresden in 2001 by Marco Lang (born in 1971) and Mirko Heyne. Mirko left in 2003 and joined Nomos Glashütte, but the split was amicable and so the company retained the same name. Today Marco Lang works with about ten people in a mansion in the Bühlau district of Dresden. Their watches are a celebration of classical German watchmaking, in particular the pocket watches made in Saxony in the 18th and 19th centuries, and each of their new timepieces is named after a ruler from the House of Wettin, portrayed on the Fürstenzug (Procession of Princes) mural on a building at the centre of Dresden. The mural is 102 metres long and it is the largest porcelain work of art in the world. It was made from 1904 to 1907.
Fürstenzug (Procession of Princes), Dresden, photo courtesy of Christoph Münch, CC BY-SA 3.0
The company is now part of the larger group TempusArte GmbH & Co. KG, with headquarters in Munich, also including Leinfelder Uhren München GmbH & Co. KG and movement company UWD, Uhren-Werke-Dresden. Marco Lang is a member of the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants. Lang & Heyne make about 50 watches per year.
Movement in full view
The new watch Georg is named after Georg “der Bärtige”, Georg the Bearded (1471-1539), so named because he grew a beard in a sign of mourning after the death of his wife. Notwithstanding Lang & Heyne’s classical orientation, Georg has a modern look at least on the caseback side where you can see the movement. The case has been designed so that the back is entirely open, with a relatively narrow frame. The cantilevered steel bridges have curved tops that gives them a contemporary look. You can see all the gears of the train from the hand-wound mainspring right through to the large balance.
Open architecture
The open architecture creates an impression of space, and looking at it, you can’t help thinking “is that it?” We are so accustomed to movements choc-a-block with components that this sort of arrangement looks unusual, like opening a tin and finding a lone sardine. The movement is Lang & Heyne’s in-house Calibre VIII, hand-wound with 55 hours power reserve. It has the stop-second function for precision time-setting. The balance runs at 18,000 vibrations per hour, 2.5 Hertz. There are 19 bearing rubies and one diamond used as the endstone for the balance staff – a feature of all Lang & Heyne movements.
Curved case, enamel dial
The case is gracefully curved, and this, along with a moderate size of 40 mm from top to bottom, 32 mm width and 9,4 mm thickness, makes the watch wearable by men and women. The details of the case side recall the Art Deco style, matching the numerals on the dial. It has an alligator leather strap with shark leather lining, with pin buckle or folding clasp, mounted on the triple lugs that are another Lang & Heyne hallmark. Water resistance is 3 bar. The dial is in enamel, and it is given extra complexity by a recessed continuous seconds subdial, made from a separate piece of metal welded to the main dial plate.
Prices of Georg by Lang & Heyne
The Georg by Lang & Heyne is available in three versions, rose gold, price €26,410, white gold, €27,830, and platinum, €33,490. Further details from the Lang & Heyne website.
