I recently had a chance to check out the Lang & Heyne 'Albert'. This watch was created by the Lang & Heyne manufacture in Dresden and named in honor of King Albert of Saxony. L&H produces a very limited number of watches each year (as few as thirty by some estimates) and many avid watch collectors will live their whole lives without ever seeing one. If you have the chance though, I'd recommend it strongly!
The Lang & Heyne Albert is a chronograph that forsakes the expected array of subdials to track expired time. Instead, there's a single subsidiary seconds dial that replaces the roman numeral six on the dial and partially eclipses the 5 and 7. Sweep second and minute counters are anchored to the center arbor and extend to the outermost track to indicate elapsed time. In keeping with the clean and understated lines of the watch case, a single pusher in the center of the crown controls the chronograph functions. The Albert uses the Lang & Heyne Caliber IV movement. It's a large (37mm) 22 jewel movement that's manually wound. The intricate details of the movement are visible through the exhibition sapphire crystal caseback.
The case of the Albert is platinum, 13mm deep and almost 44mm in diameter. The triple lug design of the case is stunning in person and really adds a lot of extra character to the whole presentation. I love the look of a blue hand against a stark white dial and the 'Albert' delivers in spades (hands) on this count.
One of the many quality assurance aspects of the work being done at Lang & Heyne, is the insistence of Marco Lang himself that he personally completes the final assembly and adjustment of each watch that leaves the manufacture. This is exceedingly rare in the world of haute horology and surely indicates how serious L&H is about producing a watch of the highest quality and workmanship.
Price of admission: $60,000 US. For one of the rarest 'tickets' in the watch world.... not at all crazy.. expecially if you say it fast!
