A. Lange & Söhne Editorial G.r.r. Limited Edition spotlight New Releases New Watches New Watches 2022

The German Watchmaking Giant Forays Into The World Of Titanium With The New A. Lange & Söhne ODYSSEUS Titanium LE From Watches & Wonders 2022

Editor’s note: Like you, we are also excited for the Watches & Wonders 2022 novelties. Before we get to dive deep into them, here’s our preview & Gut Reaction Review (Grr…) of the new A. Lange & Söhne ODYSSEUS Titanium. For our detailed hands-on reviews, please head to our dedicated reviews section here. This is NOT a sponsored post.

The New A. Lange & Söhne ODYSSEUS Titanium In A Nutshell

The new A. Lange & Söhne ODYSSEUS Titanium is presented as limited edition of only 250-pieces and features a grey-ice-blue colour dial that against the titanium body is simply elegance personified. I love that the A. Lange & Söhne ODYSSEUS Titanium is not just another high-end luxury timepiece that will get scared if you expose to any elements of life outside a safe. On one hand it is elegant and dressy, and on the other robust and sporty. This sturdiness is further accentuated with the use of the lightweight case and bracelet material, whose “warm gloss is paired with a unique patina that comes to the fore in the ODYSSEUS with a combination of polished, matte, and brushed surfaces”. This duality is rarely achieved by watches, and is commendable. I am also someone who personally loves big date apertures, so the symmetrically balanced dial with opposing day and date windows is obviously more than welcome. 

A. Lange & Söhne ODYSSEUS Titanium
Back view of the ODYSSEUS, reference 363.117. With the titanium ODYSSEUS, A. Lange & Söhne presents a casually elegant timepiece for high-end technical and aesthetic expectations. Additionally, it underscores the Saxon manufactory’s motto to never stand still. The new ice-blue colour and an exclusive surface structure adorn the dial of the brand’s first titanium timepiece in a 250-watch limited edition.

Basic Specs Of The New A. Lange & Söhne ODYSSEUS Titanium

The new A. Lange & Söhne ODYSSEUS Titanium ref. 363.117 features a 120m water-resistant 40.5mm diameter and only 11.1mm thick stainless steel case with a lug-to-lug spacing of 47mm — with ~52mm with end links — and interhorn spacing of 20mm. 

A. Lange & Söhne ODYSSEUS Titanium
Front view of the ODYSSEUS, reference 363.117

The multi-faceted case frames a brass dual with the ice-blue colouring on which white gold baton markers work their magic of assisting with revealing the time. No A. Lange & Söhne watch review is really complete without talking about the classic double aperture oversized date windows that are achieved by dividing outsize-date display into a units ring and a tens disc. To achieve this, the ODYSSEUS features a mechanism consisting of 99 individual parts that is characterised on the watch face with a day-of-week display on the left and date display on the right. Trademark of the brand, they help in identifying the watches even from a distance.

A. Lange & Söhne ODYSSEUS Titanium

The date-and-day mechanism is powered by the hour wheel that rotates once every 12 hours. It transfers its motion to the 24-hour wheel that requires exactly one day to perform a full revolution. The day-of-week display is switched directly by the 24-hour wheel. At the same time, a program wheel controls the correct switching action of the units ring and the tens disc. 

ALS L155 1 Odysseus Technical Drawing 2019 1960579 Scaled 1

Inside the A. Lange & Söhne ODYSSEUS Titanium ticks the calibre L155.1 DATOMATIC which is a 32.9 x 6.2mm self-winding manufacture movement decorated and assembled by hand and precision-adjusted in five positions. It features a unidirectionally winding central rotor with platinum centrifugal mass. It beats at the frequency of 4Hz (28’800 A/h). It comprises of 31 jewels, features 312 components and boasts of a decent 50-hour power reserve. It is obviously excellently decorated including the German-silver plate decorated with Glashütte ribbing and the screwed gold chaton that marks the position of the escape wheel.

ALS 363 179 Odysseus Technical Drawing Explosion 2019 1960577

The limited edition was announced yesterday on 30 March 2022 as part of the Watches & Wonders 2022 March 30 to April 5 (both online and at the Salon).

ALS L155 1 MR Odysseus 2019 1944015 Original
Lange manufacture calibre L155.1 DATOMATIC

Best Foot Forward

The most striking feature about the new A. Lange & Söhne ODYSSEUS Titanium is that dial that features an array of finishings and inter-play of various textural elements. The top most layer is of the bevelled argenté-coloured flange ring with a printed minute scale that frames the dial. Lower than that is the concentric lined peripheral circle featuring a technique called azurage. At 6’o clock this peripheral ring intersects with the outer scale of the subsidiary seconds dial that features the same azurage concentric circles but is sunken. This weird mixture of similar surfaces with differing depths brings a whimsical textural play to the dial. Then we have the sunken middle layer that contrasts well with the above mentioned concentric circled layers. These grained inner surfaces of the main and subsidiary dial bring about a roughness to the dial, adding to the daily wear sporty charm.

A. Lange & Söhne ODYSSEUS Titanium

On the whole, the new A. Lange & Söhne ODYSSEUS Titanium is one of the better and distinct looking luxury integrated sports watches out there, that no matter your personal tastes, you have to admit it separates itself from the shadows of the Nautilus and the Royal Oak.

A. Lange & Söhne ODYSSEUS Titanium

Quotable 

“With the titanium ODYSSEUS, A. Lange & Söhne presents a casually elegant timepiece for high-end technical and aesthetic expectations. Additionally, it underscores the Saxon manufactory’s motto to never stand still”.

Press release
A. Lange & Söhne ODYSSEUS Titanium

To find out more about the new A. Lange & Söhne ODYSSEUS Titanium and their other watches, please head to their website here. All images unless otherwise stated are courtesy are © A. Lange & Söhne 2022. Make sure to check out our reviews of other Watches & Wonders 2022 novelties here.

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