Cabaret Tourbillon Honeygold

CABARET TOURBILLON HONEYGOLD

Perfectly formed in honey-gold

With the CABARET TOURBILLON HONEYGOLD, A. Lange & Söhne presents a new version of its distinctive, rectangular timepiece, limited to 50 pieces: its case and dial are crafted from 750 honey gold (HONEYGOLD®). The high-precision relief elements on the dial prominently stand out against the black-rhodiumed background, thus providing the timepiece, equipped with a stop-seconds device for the tourbillon, with an artistic three-dimensional effect.

In the new model, a case and dial in 750 honey gold play a starring role. This rare combination of Lange’s exclusive material accounts for the timepiece’s particularly noble personality. Its warm-hued lustre contrasts crisply with the black-rhodiumed dial where relief elements can be admired. An aperture at 6 o’clock draws attention to the tourbillon with stop seconds. The upper tourbillon bridge and the top side of the cage are adorned with an elaborate black polish.

Honey-gold dial manufactured in-house

The black-rhodiumed, honey-gold dial of the CABARET TOURBILLON HONEYGOLD is entirely crafted in the manufacture. It consists of three parts: the main dial as well as two auxiliary dials for the subsidiary seconds and the UP/DOWN power-reserve indicator.

Both frames, the scales and the “A. LANGE & SÖHNE” inscription were painstakingly sculpted from the dial material, making them stand out prominently as a relief with a height of 0.15 millimetres. Extreme meticulousness is applied to accomplish the exact shape and sharply chiselled contours of all elements. The precise detailing of all angles and edges sets a formidable challenge even to the most experienced finishers.

In a next step, the three dial parts are black-rhodiumed. Subsequently, the finishers carefully polish the raised elements by hand, shining the spotlight on the re-emerging lustre of the honey gold, radiant against the dark background. Then, the finely polished Roman numerals III, IX, XII, the six lozenge-shaped hour appliques and the frame for the outsize date are separately integrated in the dial. Finally, the auxiliary dials are connected with the main dial from the back. The entire process, from the first to the last step, takes several weeks.

Black polish ‒ a rare and sophisticated type of finish

An aperture in the dial affords a captivating view of the tourbillon. The artisanal virtuosity manifests itself especially in the eye-catching upper tourbillon bridge and the top side of the cage that are decorated with one of the most elaborate finishing techniques: black polish. It involves using special abrasive pastes and uniformly sliding the workpiece with just the right pressure across a tin plate by hand until the surface reflects the light like a mirror when viewed from a certain angle. And from another perspective, it has a jet-black sheen. All the acute internal angles of the cage are polished: this also requires extreme meticulousness and experience.

A small stage for great watchmaking artistry

The CABARET TOURBILLON is a milestone in the history of precision watchmaking. It was with this watch that A. Lange & Söhne introduced the world’s first stop seconds for the tourbillon in 2008. Since then, several of the manufacture’s models have been equipped with this useful additional function. The novelty in honey gold now continues this tradition.

The then patented Lange mechanism allows stopping the tourbillon at any time with an arresting spring, regardless of the momentary positions of the balance and the cage. Only now is it possible to set the watch with one-second accuracy. While this function is standard in conventional mechanical watches, it remained an unresolved matter in tourbillon watches for a long time. The A. Lange & Söhne engineers presented the elusive solution in 2008.

A form movement ‒ sublimely finished

A glance through the sapphire-crystal caseback unveils the technical intricacy and mechanical beauty of the manually wound calibre L042.1. It is composed of 370 parts, of which no fewer than 84 are integrated in the filigreed tourbillon, weighing only approximately a quarter of a gram. It has a twin mainspring barrel that delivers a substantial power reserve of 120 hours while the balance spring operates at a frequency of 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour.

Measuring 22.3 by 32.6 millimetres, the large form movement of the CABARET TOURBILLON HONEYGOLD is tailored to the shape of the case. It is based on the rectangular CABARET model, which, since its launch in 1997, has stood for extravagance as well as for a distinctive movement philosophy.

As is the case with round A. Lange & Söhne movements, the wheel train of the manufacture calibre L042.1 is also mounted on a three-quarter plate made of untreated German silver and decorated with Glashütte ribbing. Further typical hallmarks include the manually engraved tourbillon cock and intermediate-wheel cock, screwed gold chatons, blued screws and the ratchet wheel that is embellished with solarisation.

Extravagant personality

The case measures 29.5 by 39.2 millimetres and 10.3 millimetres in height. The refined colour composition of a warm-hued, resplendent honey-gold case and a black-rhodiumed dial is complemented by the dark-brown alligator leather strap secured with a honey-gold prong buckle.

The CABARET TOURBILLON HONEYGOLD is the 18th Lange watch crafted in honey gold. In mid-May 2026, it will be introduced during the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este held on the shores of Lake Como.