Lang & Heyne Friedrich III Reviewed by Tim Mosso
by Tim Mosso
Wristwatch movement aesthetics generally follow two paths. On one hand, there’s decoration of the parts. This includes the embellishment of functional elements that are themselves dictated by engineering and fabrication considerations. Most watches feature some deliberate degree of decoration.
On the other hand, there is architecture, the size, shape, proportion and relative arrangement of the functional components. Very few watches elevate architecture to the level of decoration. The Lang & Heyne Friedrich III stands among that elite.
Lang & Heyne Friedrich III
Lang & Heyne is a small independent German brand based in Dresden. Founded in 2001 by Mirko Heyne, Marco Lang, and Lothar Zieger – all of whom have departed – the company today takes its cues from Development Director Jens Schneider, formerly of Moritz Grossmann.
Production is in the range of 100-200 watches per annum, and the reputation for movement pulchritude is as stout as the brand’s dial-side modesty. Choosing human names for watch models is a quirky and endearing trait of the firm. Watches are named for historic electors of Saxony and kings from the house of Wettin.
Lang & Heyne Friedrich III
While still in the tradition of Saxon watchmaking, Lang & Heyne is comfortably distant from the conventions of Glashütte. At least, it is now. Like most modern haute horlogerie German brands, Lang & Heyne drew its early aesthetic cues from the successful and trendsetting A. Lange & Söhne.
That company’s 1990 startup team strove hard to forge a link between pre-communist German pocket watches and the reborn Lange’s wristwatches.
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While mid-1990s A. Lange & Söhne timepieces generally featured solid casebacks, it didn’t take long for collectors and the marketplace to demand sapphire displays. At that point, Lange’s signature three-quarter bridge became recognized – and almost obligatory for all others seeking to build German watches for premium buyers.
An early Lang & Heyne movement, Caliber I, sports this type of bridge. While nostalgic, the design also hides much of the works under a sprawling plate, dominates the caseback, and offers few options to entice viewers by means of architecture.
Caliber VI movement of the Lang & Heyne Friedrich III
Lang & Heyne Caliber VI in each Friedrich III forges its own path. Officially, the main bridge of the movement is a “trigonal” form, but “island” works just as well. Unlike the cloaked train of a Lange 1, the Caliber VI’s driving wheels appear nearly naked. There’s enough bridge area to encompass pivots for the crown wheel, barrel, and train down to the escape wheel… and precious little else.
Elaborate engraving on the movement of the Lang & Heyne Friedrich III_
As a result, broad expanses of the media-blasted base plate become a canvas for engraving – this is decoration facilitated by architecture. All of the text on the baseplate is cut by freehand method using a burin tool. The elaborate cursive script compounds the traditional persona of the watch while adding to its artisanal value.
With the main bridge isolated at center, it features full circumferential anglage bevels that would have been impossible with a three-quarter cover.
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Pink gold movement wheels of the Lang & Heyne Friedrich III
Thanks to the physically spare bridge, all of the rose gold train wheels can be appreciated in full. Their surfaces are brushed on top and polished internally.
Beautiful 3/4 plate movement visible through the display back of the Lang & Heyne Friedrich III
Recesses in the base plate act as sinks for the crown and ratchet. Both of these steel wheels boast spectacular solarization grains and teeth with micro-beveled edges. The barrel sits on the dial side of the movement, so the crown and ratchet are almost flush with the center bridge.
Four exquisitely beveled points act as brackets flanking the crown wheel.
Each Caliber VI includes a solid gold balance cock with intricate decoration. The engraved patterns take a page from German history – and frankly, Lange’s modern playbook – but the time and effort spent by Lang & Heyne is greater.
These scrolls and volutes are more tightly packed onto the bridge than one would find on a typical modern Lange. A “black” polished steel swan’s neck rewards close viewing with immaculately profiled top and flanks.
Natural diamond capstone on the engraved balance cock of the Lang & Heyne Friedrich III
The transition from top to sides is virtuoso decoration. And for kicks, the balance has a genuine diamond as its capstone.
Mirror polished click of the Lang & Heyne Friedrich III
Thoughtful details and highlights abound. There’s an extensible click drawn from the pocket watch era. Both the click and its spring are mirror-finished and sculpted with the same deft technique as the regulator; see it again on the steel cap of the escape wheel.
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Heat blued screws on the movement of the Lang & Heyne Friedrich III
Blued screws abound, and their sheer size as bridge anchors is a kick to see. Polished screws also have their place, and the large ones atop the crown and ratchet wheel exhibit the crispest beveled slots I’ve seen.
Sharp polished bevels throughout the movement of the Lang & Heyne Friedrich III
Smaller blue screws fix the gold chaton cups that seat the train wheel pivots – because that’s how it was done in Germany’s hallowed antiquity.
Externally, the Friedrich III is distinctive but more understated than its engine room. While gold is available, this example features a versatile and durable steel case. At 39.2mm, the watch is more compact than its imposing triple lugs suggest.
Despite the passing resemblance to certain Roger Dubuis products, the triple lugs do not create any fit issues on smaller wrists, and the lateral span is only 46.1mm. Straps are fixed to the case by screws and bars – a robust and trustworthy arrangement that’s duplicated in the attachment of the pin buckle.
While this is no sports watch, shoulders flanking the onion crown add visual muscle.
Lang & Heyne Friedrich III
Friedrich III’s blue dial is crafted from sterling silver, and it is one of several colors available. Three primary planes comprise the outer time track, center dial, and small seconds.
Downward steps in the dial are paired with polished chapters. Hands are manually finished to the most minute detail and customarily offered in “cathedral” and “pike” styles.
“HyCeram” ceramic-filled hand of the Lang & Heyne Friedrich III
This example includes the optional “HyCeram” ceramic infill that swells the hands to a larger size and adds contrast with the dial; take note that it is not luminescent.
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If these details fail to please, Lang & Heyne’s prolific custom options open to the door to additional choices such as salmon dials, enamel, Louis XV hands, spade hands, and different types of material for case, dial, and handsets.
Lang & Heyne Friedrich III
At the upper limit of imagination, movement plates can be and have been cut from (extinct) mammoth tusk ivory. Customized engraving can be applied to any part of the movement and possibilities include almost any imagery desired.
Lang & Heyne is not A. Lange & Söhne, and that is to everyone’s advantage. Smaller brands can walk in the footsteps of successful giants without being obliged to follow forever.
Lang & Heyne Friedrich III
By cutting its own path to collectors’ hearts, the smaller company is a case study in the quality that only low volumes can afford. While clearly in the Saxon watchmaking tradition, watches like the Friedrich III are equally the products of their uniquely charming makers.
Their quality and character ensure uncommon pleasure for the fortunate few owners.
For more information, please visit www.lang-und-heyne.de/en/modelle/friedrich-iii
Quick Facts: Lang & Heyne Friedrich III
Case: Stainless steel; 39.2mm; 10.7mm thick; 46.1mm lug-to-lug;
30-meters WR; sapphire caseback; onion crown
Strap: Alligator top, calf leather bottom, proprietary triple-lug interface fixed by screws
Clasp: Stainless steel pin buckle fixed with screws
Dial: Sterling silver; galvanized “Royal Blue”; white Roman numerals; white minutes track; small seconds sub-dial with concentric pattern; pike hands with HyCeram ceramic infill
Movement: Caliber VI; manual wind 55-hour power reserve; 2.5Hz; overcoil hairspring; 19 synthetic rubies; 1 diamond; stop seconds by crown; 33.5mm diameter
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds
2024 Price: $29,800
2024 Preowned Price: $34,000-$36,000
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