Jamie Weiss
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Lange imagines their extremely popular sports watch in their proprietary Honeygold alloy for the first time.This especially hard and lustrous gold alloy has been paired with a similarly decadent chocolate brown dial.A limited edition of 100 individually numbered pieces, it features Lange’s first gold bracelet with micro-adjustment.A. Lange & S?hne is a watchmaker that epitomises quality over quantity. The prestigious German brand only makes around 5,000 watches a year (for comparison, that’s less than a tenth of Patek Philippe’s annual production), and they’re similarly restrained when it comes to introducing new models. Last year at Watches and Wonders, the brand unveiled only two new watches. The year before, they only had one, the Odysseus Chronograph. This year, depending on how you count it, they have three – but to me, there’s one clear knockout release, and that’s the new Odysseus Honeygold.The Odysseus already ranks as extremely hot property among watch cognoscenti. It might not have the same amount of mainstream recognition as a Nautilus or Royal Oak, but they’re much rarer, and waiting lists for the Odysseus stretch into years – especially for the stainless steel model. The Odysseus Titanium from 2022, Lange’s first titanium watch, is even more coveted: a limited edition of 250 pieces, they were snapped up quicker than a German sports car. This new, decadent Honeygold model is even more limited.So, down to brass tacks – or gold tacks, as it happens. Measuring up at 40.5mm in diameter and 11.1mm thick (the same proportions as previous Odysseus releases), the Odysseus Honeygold features a full case and bracelet made from Lange’s Honeygold, a proprietary 18-karat gold alloy typically reserved for select models. It has a distinct, warm hue somewhere between pink and white gold and is also reputedly significantly harder than other gold alloys. Lange is tight-lipped about the precise mix, only revealing that it is “75% pure gold with copper and zinc proportions.” Lange’s headline release of Watches and Wonders 2024, the Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold Lumen, also uses this alloy.This means this Odysseus has the distinction of being Lange’s first sports watch with a pink gold or Honeygold case, as well as their first gold bracelet with on-the-fly micro-adjustment. By the way, the Odysseus’ micro-adjustment system is pretty brilliant: by pressing the Lange roundel on the clasp, you can extend the bracelet up to 7mm without even having to open the buckle. Clever German engineering.The Odysseus looks good no matter what metal it’s made of, but Honeygold’s lustre plays particularly well with all of its different surfaces. The narrow bezel is polished to a brilliant shine, framing the dial, as are the chamfered edges on the lugs, bracelet links and day/date pushers near the crown. Then, finely brushed top surfaces cascading down the lugs and bracelet give it a dapper feel. Lange typically polishes most surfaces of its watch cases, so the brushing is a nice point of difference.In case the dessert-like implications of a name like Honeygold wasn’t enough, Lange has paired this gold case with a rich chocolate brown dial that’s good enough to eat. Gold lancet hands, indices and window frames continue the theme, with the only (pleasingly) discordant pop of contrast coming from the 60-minute marker on the chapter ring, which is red. Could you call that a cherry on top?Under the hood beats the L55.1 Datomatic movement, which despite being one of Lange’s more utilitarian movements, easily ranks as one of the prettiest movements in watchmaking today. While it has a balance bridge rather than a balance cock like other Lange movements – a concession that needs to be made for a movement destined for a sports watch – the bridge is still hand-engraved, with the rest of the movement featuring all the lovely Lange hallmarks: a German silver construction, blued screws, a screwed gold chaton above the escape wheel, beautiful striping, a 950 platinum rotor… The day and date wheels are also colour-matched to the chocolate dial.With the Odysseus, we laid the foundation for our latest watch family in 2019, thus unfolding a creative potential for us that we further tapped into by developing this new model in Honeygold… In a special way, the warm lustre emanating from this exceptional colour combination reflects our ambition to never stand still, A. Lange & S?hne CEO Wilhelm Schmid says.Ambition certainly feels like the operative word there when it comes to the Odysseus Honeygold… Or perhaps boldness is better. Because, at the risk of sounding gauche, the Odysseus Honeygold is one of the boldest and blingiest watches Lange has ever made. White gold and titanium fly under the radar, and steel is steel. With its full gold bracelet and case, the Odysseus Honeygold offers acres of gold on the wrist – Lange has made more than a few statement piece-worthy watches over the years, but this is a proper baller’s watch.A. Lange & S?hne Odysseus Honeygold pricing and availabilityThe A. Lange & S?hne Odysseus Honeygold is a limited edition of 100 individually numbered pieces. Price: TBCBrandA. Lange & S?hneModelOdysseus HoneygoldReference Number363.15Case Dimensions40.5mm (D) x 11.1mm (T)Case Material750 HoneygoldWater Resistance120 metresCrystal(s)Sapphire front and backDialChocolate brownBracelet750 Honeygold 5-link bracelet, safety clasp with on-the-fly micro-adjustmentMovementL55.1 Datomatic, in-house, automaticPower Reserve50 hoursFunctionsHours, minutes, small seconds, day, big dateAvailabilityLimited edition of 100 piecesPriceTBC
01.04.25