Haute Complication: A. Lange & Söhne Triple Split

While it has a very straightforward name, the Triple Split from A. Lange & Söhne is an extraordinarily complex watch of which there is no other. When you ask a watchmaker what is among the most challenging movements to create, you would expect to hear a tourbillon or minute repeater. While those are indeed very complex, a split-seconds chronograph also ranks in this category. Two second hands on the chronograph allow comparative times to be measured simultaneously. But what if you do the same with the minutes and hours? A. Lange & Söhne successfully completed this incredible challenge in 2018, when they launched the Triple Split, which remains the only one of its kind.

The hand-wound caliber L132.1 that powers this watch consists out of an astonishing 567 parts. As could be expected, the main challenge is how they all interact with each other. A chronograph is already quite a volatile complication, a split-seconds one even more, let alone one that also offers this function for the minutes and hours. The tolerances are very slim, one of the reasons why such a watch is complex to make. As A. Lange & Söhne is entitled to itself, are also all these parts finished to perfection, and is the movement assembled twice before it leaves their manufacture in Germany.

With such a unique, complex movement, it is impressive that A. Lange & Söhne has been able to put so much greatness in a watch case that is only 43.2 millimeters in diameter and 15.6 millimeters high. More so, is the dial kept surprisingly clean, enabling the different subdials of the chronograph to be read with ease. The brand even found room to incorporate a power reserve indicator, which is always a welcome addition to a manual wound movement. This particular version of the Triple Split, limited to 100 pieces, was introduced earlier this year in a good-looking and highly desirable combination of a pink gold case with a blue and silver dial. A dynamic color scheme fitting for one of the most dynamic and complex chronographs available today.