A. Lange & Söhne TOURBILLON “Pour le Mérite”

A very special unique piece of A. Lange & Söhne has found a new owner at the 85th watch auction of the renowned auction house Dr. Crott on 12th May 2012 in Frankfurt: a TOURBILLON “Pour le Mérite” with a reduced platinum case and a black dial that was sold in 1996.

At the price of EUR 330.000 a Lange TOURBILLON “Pour le Mérite” has changed its owner last Saturday in Frankfurt. With this high amount the unique piece was far beyond the value that experts of the renowned auction house Dr. Crott had expected.

The watch has over 1000 parts inside, carefully finished by hand. The split second or 'rattrapante' chronograph is a 30 minute counter that can split between two time.

Indeed, the exceptional masterpiece of A. Lange & Söhne fetched nearly the fivefold of the original retail price from 1996. It is number 45 out of a total of 50 pieces in platinum, a unique piece within this limited edition.

The TOURBILLON “Pour le Mérite” with the movement number 353 is a custom-made product with a case diameter reduced from 38,5 to 36 millimetres and a black dial with applied bevelled lozenge indexes instead of the usual silvered face of the standard platinum model. These individualisations have been made on personal request of the first owner.

The auction catalogue of Dr. Crott named an estimated value between EUR 190.000 and 240.000 for this complication.

Watch collectors from all over the world had expressed their interest. The auction result is the highest ever reached by a Lange TOURBILLON „Pour le Mérite“ since the first presentation of the model in 1994.