From Restraint to Complexity: A. Lange & Söhne's Latest Pair Take Opposite Paths
A. Lange & Söhne debuted the blue-dial 1815 UP/DOWN alongside the platinum TRIPLE SPLIT at Concours of Elegance 2026, with one embracing simplicity and the other advancing further into mechanical complication.
Launched together, the two watches head in completely opposite directions. The 1815 UP/DOWN has been trimmed down to 37.5mm with an 8.7mm thickness, leaving only power reserve and small seconds on the dial. The TRIPLE SPLIT, meanwhile, remains the world's only mechanical chronograph capable of a 12-hour rattrapante summation—its German silver three-quarter plate packing in a dense 567 components. By placing these two extremes side by side at Concours of Elegance 2026, A. Lange & Söhne makes remarkably clear what Saxon watchmaking has been up to these past couple of years.
The 1815 UP/DOWN traces its design roots back to a pocket watch by Ferdinand Adolph Lange, with power reserve and small seconds positioned on opposite sides of the dial. This is driven not by an add-on module but by a planetary gear system built directly into the hand-wound L051.2 movement, powering the AUF (up) and AB (down) indicators. The new versions come in 750 white gold and 750 rose gold, each limited to 300 pieces, pairing a deep blue dial with a silvery grey sub-dial, railway-track minute scale, and blued steel hands—a striking contrast rarely seen in this model's usually restrained palette.
The TRIPLE SPLIT's complexity, hidden beneath a rhodium-grey finish
Since its debut in 2018, the TRIPLE SPLIT has remained the only mechanical chronograph capable of rattrapante comparative timing across seconds, minutes, and hours simultaneously, complete with a flyback reset function that can theoretically handle up to 12 hours of cumulative timing—a genuinely functional feature, not a gimmick, for scenarios that require tracking multiple sets of times in endurance events. The new version comes in a 43.2mm 950 platinum case, with a cool-toned rhodium-grey dial, dark grey sub-dials, luminous hour and minute hands, and blued steel rattrapante hands. It's paired with a dark brown alligator strap and platinum folding clasp, limited to 100 pieces.
Powering it is the hand-wound L132.1 movement, composed of 567 parts. Through the sapphire caseback, you can see the untreated German silver three-quarter plate, Glashütte ribbing, a hand-engraved balance cock, five gold chatons, and a patented separating mechanism that ensures no additional friction loss occurs when the rattrapante hands stop timing.
Pricing and Taiwan release dates have not yet been announced by the brand. Interested readers should keep an eye on A. Lange & Söhne's official channels for further updates.
