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Current A. Lange & Söhne timepieces are featured in the newly opened Math-ematics and Physics Salon

After a six-year pause, one of the world's oldest scientific history collections is reo-pening in new splendour: the Mathematics and Physics Salon in the Dresden Zwing-er Palace. The "Cabinet of Knowledge" established by Augustus the Strong in 1728 is one of the most eminent museums dedicated to scientific instruments and time-keeping devices. The astronomers and clockmakers who worked here laid the foun-dation for precision watchmaking in Saxony in the late 18th century. Today, Lange's master watchmakers are the legitimate heirs of this rich heritage.

As a long-standing partner of the Dresden State Art Collections, A. Lange & Söhne sup-ported the refurbishment of the museum. Af-ter extensive renovation work, it is reopening to the public on 14 April 2013. The fundamen-tally redesigned concept of the permanent exhibition now includes the history of preci-sion watchmaking in Saxony as well: The time-line unfolds from the early days at the Dresden Zwinger and the establishment of the first horological workshop by Ferdinand A. Lange in Glashütte to present-day Saxon high-end watchmaking with its most prominent repre-sentative – A. Lange & Söhne.

On the occasion of the reopening, some mod-els from the current A. Lange & Söhne collec-tion enter into a dialogue with historic time-keeping instruments from the inventory of the Mathematics and Physics Salon:

1815 UP/DOWN and Nocturnal by Johann Michael Haager, Braunschweig, 1707
Also referred to as the "Star Clock", the Nocturnal indi-cates the time at night on the basis of the positions of the stars. The hole in the middle of the disc is aimed at the North Star, and the pivoting hand is aligned with the guide stars of the Ursa Major constellation. The full hour can now be determined by counting the number of rounded teeth. During the day, the 1815 UP/DOWN indicates the time to the second. Its three-day movement is lavishly finished by hand and endowed with classic UP/DOWN power-reserve indicator.

GRAND LANGE 1 with a model of the five-minute clock in the Semper Opera House in Dresden by Ludwig Teubner, Dresden, 1896
The original clock, high above the opera stage, was crafted by famous Dresden clockmaker Johann Christian Friedrich Gutkaes in 1841 with the help of Ferdinand A. Lange, his most gifted apprentice. The innovative digital time display was a sensation and 150 years later inspired the design of the equally revolutionary Lange outsize date. The black dial of the white-gold GRAND LANGE 1 gives it an impressive presence.

SAXONIA ANNUAL CALENDAR in front of a turret clock by Paulus Schuster, Nuremberg, 1586
The turret clock presented to Christian I, Elector of Saxo-ny, by his wife Sophie as a Christmas gift in 1587 is a truly regal keepsake. No fewer than eight movements were needed to indicate the time, drive an astrolabe, a striking mechanism with alarm function and an annual calendar. A single self-winding manufacture calibre in its platinum case is all the SAXONIA ANNUAL CALENDAR needs to precisely tell the time and provide numerous clearly organised calendar indications for a full year.



Original Language: English