The Richard Lange Tourbillon "Pour le Mérite" 760.026F is the White Gold edition that A. Lange & Söhne unveiled in 2014 to celebrate the opening of its New York boutique, and it remains available only through the manufacture's own boutiques. The model itself arrived in 2011 as one of the most technically ambitious watches in the Richard Lange family, combining the fusée-and-chain transmission that defines every "Pour le Mérite" watch with a one-minute tourbillon and a patented stop-seconds mechanism. The result is a watch devoted entirely to the steady, consistent running of the movement, presented through a dial layout inspired by one of the great scientific instruments of eighteenth-century Saxony. In White Gold with a Silver dial and blued steel hands, it takes on a cool, scientific character that suits its technical purpose. For collectors of high complications, it stands among the most coherent and intellectually satisfying watches in the manufacture's catalogue. It also reflects Lange's habit of marking important moments in its history with carefully chosen editions rather than with overt decoration.
The White Gold case measures 41.9 mm across and 12.2 mm in height, proportions that accommodate the fusée, the chain and the tourbillon while remaining comfortable on the wrist. The Silver dial is made of solid silver and follows the layout of chronometer No. 93 by the Dresden watchmaker Johann Heinrich Seyffert: a large minute circle dominates the upper part of the dial, while the hours and seconds occupy two smaller circles below. Blued steel hands and blue hour markers set within the minute ring provide contrast against the pale silver surface. The hour dial carries a remarkable detail: a section of it pivots out of the way to reveal the one-minute tourbillon, and swings back into place only when needed to show the hour, so the tourbillon remains in view for most of the day. This ingenious solution preserves the regulator's logic while allowing the owner to enjoy the tourbillon's rotation. The blue accents are carefully matched, so the hands and markers read as one family of colour against the silver. A black alligator strap with a White Gold deployant buckle completes the watch.
The fusée-and-chain transmission is the heart of every "Pour le Mérite" watch. As a mainspring unwinds, its force naturally declines, which can influence how evenly the balance swings. Its solution is a conical pulley joined to the barrel by a miniature chain; the chain works on a small radius while the spring is strong and on an ever larger radius as it weakens, which keeps the driving force almost uniform. The one-minute tourbillon adds a rotating cage that carries the balance and escapement, averaging out the effects of gravity in different positions. Lange's patented stop-seconds allows the tourbillon, and with it the entire movement, to be stopped when the crown is pulled, so the time can be set exactly to the second, something that was once impossible with a tourbillon. Lange first introduced this stop-seconds for a tourbillon on the Cabaret Tourbillon of 2008, and it has since become a hallmark of the manufacture's tourbillon watches. The hand-wound movement runs for 36 hours and is assembled twice before leaving Glashütte.
The "Pour le Mérite" name has been reserved by A. Lange & Söhne for watches with the fusée-and-chain transmission since 1994, when the Tourbillon "Pour le Mérite" became one of the four watches that relaunched the brand and the first wristwatch to combine a fusée and chain with a tourbillon. The name recalls the Prussian order of merit for achievements in science and the arts, and every watch that carries it represents a significant technical undertaking. The Richard Lange Tourbillon "Pour le Mérite" of 2011 brought the concept into a family that had begun five years earlier as a tribute to Richard Lange, the scientist among the founder's sons. Its regulator dial and pivoting hour segment made it one of the most original designs of its time, and the White Gold edition of 2014 linked it to the manufacture's growing presence in the United States. Few watches in any collection combine a fusée, a tourbillon and a regulator dial, which makes this reference an unusually complete statement of classical watchmaking.
For collectors, the 760.026F combines several of the most admired achievements in traditional watchmaking in a single, highly legible watch. Its fusée-and-chain transmission and tourbillon place it among the most technically significant pieces in the Lange collection, while the pivoting hour dial and regulator layout give it an unmistakable character. Its boutique-only availability and its connection to the opening of the New York boutique add a sense of occasion to an already exceptional watch. It will appeal to collectors who value mechanical depth and historical resonance, and to those who want a tourbillon that is designed around readability rather than spectacle. It also sits comfortably alongside the Datograph and the Lange 1 Tourbillon as one of the manufacture's defining high complications, a watch that rewards both close study and everyday wear. Wearing it, the owner carries a piece of scientific history on the wrist, one that has been refined rather than simply reproduced.
