A. Lange & Söhne

I am delighted to welcome in THE PROGENITOR to my humble collection ✨️ 🥰

Quick back story 😁

This was not even on my radar, to be honest, but circumstances were serendipitous 😉. Having lost my father recently has changed the dynamics of this passion and acquiring pieces, especially after inheriting a ridiculous amount of pieces from his collection.

I have been an accumulator of pieces for many years now, which has actually gotten out of hand 🙈🙊. So moving forward I truly thought about only adding pieces which move me emotionally, have historical significance, and/or connect with me on a sentimental level.

When a collector friend contacted me with this piece, I was already intrigued and tempted due to it's historical significance in the pantheon of important historical pieces, especially for Lange as the Tourbillon Pour Le Merite was the Flagship piece and showed Lange's capabilities as a brand at launch, way back in 1994 !! There has been much written about this model which is well-documented and can be found on the Langepedia website if anyone is interested 👍

I normally prefer white metal but knowing that Walter Lange himself chose and wore a yellow gold Tourbillon PLM daily made it all the more meaningful. How could I argue with Walter Lange 🤔🙄🤣

Another interesting tidbit is the fact that Renaud Papi helped develop this movement for Lange at the time. A truly groundbreaking achievement as the Tourbillon PLM was the FIRST EVER wristwatch to incorporate a fusée & chain with a Tourbillon !! All other pieces which followed from the likes of Breguet, Ferdinand Berthoud, other Lange PLM models, Zenith, etc...followed in it's footsteps...hence the moniker "The Progenitor."

Did you also know that the Grönefeld brothers were part of Renaud Papi back then and that Bart was part of the team responsible for this movement? That also hit me in the feels as I greatly respect the Grönefeld brothers and my admiration for their brand, especially the Gronograaf 🥰

What really made me pull the trigger, the "coup de grace", was the emotional and sentimental connection I felt as my collector friend was going through a similar family situation. The provenance of this particular piece being previously owned by a member of the Lange family was icing on the cake as well 😍🤩

I guess it was meant to be as now I am the happy caretaker of this magnificent Tourbillon PLM.

It came on this really cool Jean Rousseau matte chocolate gator with yellow gold stitching, but you might have already guessed that a few bespoke straps have been ordered to add that special "Don" touch 😉🤣

Forgot to say, a warm thank you to you my friend. Don't worry, I will take extra special care of this beauty 💕 

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