Important Collectors’ Wristwatches an...

Hôtel Plaza Athénée - Le Trianon, Sep 28, 2005

LOT 38

?Ursa Major? A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte i. SA, Lange 1, ?Luna Mundi - Ursa Major?, No. 53/101, Ref. 119.026. Made in a limited edition of 101 sets in 2003. Very fine and very rare, astronomic, water-resistant, 18K white gold gentleman's wristwatch with off-center hour dial, oversized date,power reserve, continuously driven moon phase, age of the moon and an 18K white gold A. Lange & Söhne buckle.

USD 25,000 - 35,000

EUR 20,000 - 28,000

Sold: USD 59,800

C. Three-body, solid, polished and brushed, curved straight lugs, push button for the date correction, transparent case back with 6 screws, sapphire crystals. D. Solid silver, subsidiary dials for the off-center hours with the ?Big Dipper? symbol and applied white gold radial Roman numerals and indexes at 9, the seconds at 5, power-reserve sector at 3, apertures for the patented ?oversized? date at 1 and the moon phases with the age of the moon at 5. Pink gold ?lozenge? hands. M. Cal. L 901.8, rhodium-plated, ?fausses côtes decoration, 54 jewels, straight line lever escapement, monometallic balance adjusted to 5 positions, shock-absorber, self-compensating flat balance spring, ?swan-neck? micrometer regulator, handengraved balance cock. Dial, case and movement signed. Diam. 42 mm. Thickness 11 mm.


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Grading System
Grade: AA

Very good
Case: 2

Very good
Movement: 1

As new
Dial: 1-01

As new

HANDS Original

Notes

Luna Mundi A set of watches consisting of the ?Ursa Major? in an 18K white gold case and the ?Southern Cross? in an 18K pink gold case. Both watches feature a continuously driven and very precise moon phase indication. Unlike most moon phases in less sophisticated movements which only adjust twice a day, the A. Lange approach to advance the moon disc provides a much higher degree of precision and a deviation from the visible lunar orbit of only 1 day in 122.6 years, if the watch is kept running continuously. The ?Ursa Major? has 398 movement parts and displays the moon phase as seen from the Northern hemisphere; the ?Southern Cross? has 402 parts and displays the moon phase as seen from the Southern one. The difference in the movement parts is due to the fact that the moon disc for the Northern hemisphere is rotating clockwise, the one for the Southern hemisphere is rotating counterclockwise. The ?Ursa Major? is the first wristwatch to realistically display the waxing and waning of the moon as it can be seen from North of the equator.