Limited to 100 pieces, the Richard Lange Jumping Seconds 252.056 arrived in September 2025 as the fourth execution of a model that A. Lange & Söhne first presented in 2016, and it is notable for a dial made entirely of solid Rose Gold. It was only the fourth Lange watch to use such a dial, a material choice the manufacture reserves for special editions because solid gold is far more demanding to finish than silver. Set within a White Gold case, the warm dial creates a deliberate contrast between cool metal and glowing surface, giving the watch an identity quite distinct from the silver and black versions that preceded it. The model's mechanical concept has not changed since its debut: a constant-force escapement, a seconds hand that steps once each second, and the ZERO-RESET that allows the time to be set exactly. What has changed is the setting in which those mechanisms are presented, and the result is one of the most distinctive watches in the current Richard Lange range, as well as one of the scarcest.
The White Gold case measures 39.9 mm across and 10.6 mm in height, with polished and satin-finished surfaces that follow the classic Lange case construction and sapphire crystals on both sides. The Rose Gold dial is printed in black with three intersecting circles laid out in regulator form, an arrangement that A. Lange & Söhne took from chronometer No. 93 by the late eighteenth-century Dresden watchmaker Johann Heinrich Seyffert. The largest circle, at the top of the dial, belongs to the seconds, while the hours and minutes occupy two smaller circles below it. This hierarchy is a statement of purpose, placing the unit that the movement is designed to display at the center of attention. The hands are finished in rhodiumed gold and steel, keeping the palette cool against the warm dial and ensuring clear contrast. The solid gold surface has a soft sheen that shifts gently as the wrist moves, bringing warmth to a design that could otherwise feel purely technical. A brown alligator strap with a White Gold prong buckle completes the watch and complements the colour of the dial without competing with it.
The defining feature is the jumping seconds. Rather than sweeping around the dial in a continuous motion, the seconds hand moves forward in single, decisive steps, exactly once per second, in the manner of a laboratory regulator clock. This is made possible by a constant-force escapement, which stores energy from the mainspring and releases it in equal portions, so that the balance receives the same impulse whether the watch has just been wound or has almost run down. The benefit is consistent timekeeping over the full running time, and the visible expression of that mechanism is the stepping seconds hand at the top of the dial. The ZERO-RESET adds a practical refinement: when the crown is pulled out to set the time, the movement stops and the seconds hand returns to zero, so the watch can be restarted in exact step with a time signal. Fully wound by hand, it keeps running for 42 hours, and a small triangle between the lower two circles changes to red when the energy begins to run low, prompting the wearer to wind it.
The Jumping Seconds has become one of the defining models of the Richard Lange family since its introduction in 2016. The collection began a decade earlier with a time-only watch inspired by Lange's observation pocket watches and named after Richard Lange, the founder's eldest son and a technical director with a scientific approach to his craft. The regulator dial entered the family in 2011 with the "Pour le Mérite" tourbillon, and the Jumping Seconds used that layout to celebrate the seconds themselves. Subsequent executions have explored the design through different materials and colours, and the 252.056 takes it furthest by pairing a White Gold case with a solid Rose Gold dial. Through all of these versions, the mechanical core has remained identical, which shows how completely the concept was worked out at its launch and how comfortably it accommodates changes of material.
For collectors, the 252.056 combines scarcity with genuine mechanical interest. Its limitation to 100 pieces makes it considerably harder to find than the regular versions of the model, and its solid Rose Gold dial gives it an unusual material distinction within the Lange catalogue. Yet its appeal rests just as much on the experience of wearing it: watching the seconds hand step forward with metronomic regularity connects the owner directly to the constant-force mechanism beneath the dial. It suits a collector who values technical depth expressed with restraint, and who appreciates the contrast of warm and cool metals in a single watch. It also sits naturally beside more classical Lange models, adding a technical and visually distinctive note to a collection. Few watches at this level make their engineering so visible and so satisfying to observe, and fewer still do so with a dial of solid gold framed by a White Gold case. It is a watch to be worn and watched, not simply stored away in a safe.
