A. Lange & Söhne is introducing a new Cabaret reference for the first time since 2021 this week with the reveal of the Cabaret Tourbillon Honeygold. The Cabaret is the brand’s enigmatic rectangular design that was first introduced in 1997, taking the square-ish design of the original Arkade, and giving it four 90 degree angles. While regular production of the watch was relatively short lived, the Tourbillon variations would mark an important milestone for the brand (and the industry) for their use of a stop second feature, allowing precise setting in the hand-wound caliber L042.1. The Cabaret Tourbillon was phased out of production by 2013, though a Handwerkskunst appeared in 2021, marking the watch’s last appearance. Until today, that is.
The Cabaret is among the most interesting square case watch designs to ever be produced thanks to the level of detail applied by the German brand. Everything from how the lugs integrate to the case, to the composition of the dial, to the perfectly framed movement all bear the hallmarks we’ve come to expect from A. Lange & Söhne. The watch also boasts a peculiar quality that can only come from being designed in the late ‘90s that hits a bit harder in person than is conveyed in photos.
Seeing the Cabaret return is a welcome sight, and even more so rendered in the brand’s proprietary Honegold alloy paired with a black-rhodiumed dial. The caliber L042.1 makes a return here as well, with hand engraved German silver bridges and Geneva striped three quarter plate. As usual, it’s fit perfectly within the rectangular viewing window around back. A Lange & Sohne was the first to incorporate a device that would stop the seconds hand along with the escape wheel and the tourbillon cage, allowing the watch to be set to the second.
Let’s pause for a moment to consider the purpose of a tourbillon being to negate the adverse effects of gravity on the hairspring throughout the day to preserve accuracy. However, that accuracy is dependent on having the watch set to a known source in the first place, so all tourbillons up to this point were seemingly missing a big piece of the puzzle by not stopping the seconds hand for setting.
This stop-second mechanism returns here, and gets a running seconds indication on the dial in the form of a sub-dial at the bottom left, while a power reserve sits at its opposite. The tourbillon sits below and between the sub-dials. A big date display sits at the top of the dial, with a quick change presser in the case above the crown. It’s the same great Cabaret Tourbillon you remember, but now, it comes in Honeygold. And if it seems like we’ve seen an uptick in the appearance of Honeygold references, you’d be right. This is the fifth in the past 18 months.
There’s nothing inherently new here, other than the material configuration, but seeing the a new Cabaret is always exciting. It’s a collection that deserves a home in the modern A. Lange & Söhne stable, which is exactly what I said in 2021 when the 30 piece Handwerkskunst edition appeared. I’ll echo the same sentiment here, with the 50 piece limited edition Cabaret Tourbillon Honeygold. A. Lange & Söhne
Leave a Reply