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A. Lange & Söhne : The moon in Saxony’s sciences – Part 1
The moon, as one of the most prominent celestial bodies, has been preoccupying humankind for millennia. In Saxony, too, the earth’s satellite, its orbital progression, and its influence on various spheres of life intrigued citizens, scholars and regents alike. Augustus, the elector of Saxony, laid the cornerstone for the discipline of astronomy and lunar research in the 16th century. He commissioned Europe’s first large scientific apparatus and instrument collection: the “art chamber” in Dresden was the precursor of the present-day Mathematics and Physics Salon.
Elector Augustus of Saxony (1526-1586) pursued numerous interests. He accumulated extensive hands-on experience in domains such as precision mechanics, mineralogy and cartography, but also nurtured great enthusiasm for the sciences and the arts. The elector was a particularly avid observer of the nocturnal skies. He personally liaised with academics and other interested monarchs of his era and acquired a multitude of astronomical instruments. The Mathematics and Physics Salon in Dresden owes a very impressive exhibit to the elector’s close ties with William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel: Eberhard Baldewein’s planetary clock.
The Dresden art chamber encompassed more than 10,000 objects from a wide range of scientific disciplines and occupied seven rooms in the Dresden palace.
Eberhard Baldewein’s planetary clock shows the orbits of five planets, the sun and the moon.
The first hall was reserved for Augustus’ favourite artefacts and presented mainly astrological and astronomical instruments. A mechanism that made it possible to depict the moon realistically was an indispensable element of many of the devices exhibited there. The position of the Earth’s companion in the nocturnal skies and its constantly varying face repeatedly challenged scholars and artists to hone their skills, because the calculation of the lunar orbit and moon phases remained imprecise for a long time and often deviated from actual observations. Despite the fact that the parameters are now known, the exact mechanical replication of the synodic orbit is still a daunting task for watchmakers.
Some models in this year’s A. Lange & Söhne collection are dedicated to this fascinating celestial body in a special way. In the GRAND LANGE 1 MOON PHASE, the earth’s satellite moves into the focus of attention and presents itself in the centre of the hour and minute circle. The patented orbital moon-phase display in the RICHARD LANGE PERPETUAL CALENDAR “Terraluna” reproduces the constellation of the moon relative to the Earth and the sun with the utmost precision. The lucid dial layout of the LANGE 1 TOURBILLON PERPETUAL CALENDAR also delivers accurate information about the current phase of the moon.
RICHARD LANGE PERPETUAL CALENDAR “Terraluna” in front of the lunar mechanism of a planetary clock by Eberhard Baldewein (Kassel 1568)
After Eberhard Baldewein had crafted a planetary clock for Landgrave William IV, he was commissioned by elector Augustus to build a further model for the art chamber. With his complex calculation and manufacture of the individual train wheels, some of them asymmetric, Baldewein defined new standards in watchmaking. The lavishly decorated displays of the lunar mechanism show not only the current moon phase but also the position of the moon relative to the sun as well as its progression across the heavens.
The patented orbital moon-phase display in the RICHARD LANGE PERPETUAL CALENDAR “Terraluna” is also a genuine innovation in the domain of precision watchmaking. With peerless accuracy, it depicts the changing constellation of the moon relative to the Earth and the sun.
GRAND LANGE 1 MOON PHASE in front of a celestial globe, Johannes Reinhold and Georg Roll (Augsburg 1586)
The repository of the art chamber in Dresden includes a particularly fascinating instrument: a mechanical celestial globe from Augsburg dated 1587. Three superposed spheres and various circumferential rings describe numerous astronomical phenomena. The globe has thirteen different functions, from the depiction of the current nocturnal canopy and the display of sunrise and sunset times to the indication of the moon’s current position. The waxing and waning moon can also be observed with great accuracy in the centre of the hour and minute circle of the GRAND LANGE 1 MOON PHASE, a new model presented this year.
GRAND LANGE 1 MOON PHASE in front of a tellurion, William and Samuel Jones (London ca. 1800)
A tellurion (from the Latin word for earth, tellus) is a planetary machine that shows the accurate relative positions of the earth, the sun and the moon. The model is ideal for explaining the changing seasons, the moon phases, and constellation-related occurrences such as solar or lunar eclipses. Additionally, the base plate’s calendar function allows the positions of the sun, earth and moon to be observed accurately to the day.
The new model of the GRAND LANGE 1 MOON PHASE is available in yellow gold, pink gold, and platinum. A patented coating process for the lunar disc endows this astronomical complication with a richly detailed appearance.
LANGE 1 TOURBILLON PERPETUAL CALENDAR in front of lunar globe, Ernst Fischer (Dresden 1875)
Dresden native Ernst Fischer sculpted the front side of the moon on the basis of photographs and personal observations. In the project, he had to omit the opposite side because due to the moon’s synchronous rotation, the hemisphere visible from the earth is always the same. In 1959, the first pictures of the dark side of the moon were taken by the Soviet Union’s Lunik 3 space probe. The first astronaut landed on the moon in 1969, and today it is by far the best-researched celestial body.
The LANGE 1 TOURBILLON PERPETUAL CALENDAR combines two classic complications. Thanks to the lucid arrangement of the calendar displays around the time indication, it presents a wealth of clearly legible information.
This message has been edited by Kong on 2014-07-01 09:43:53
Elector Augustus of Saxony (1526-1586) pursued numerous interests. He accumulated extensive hands-on experience in domains such as precision mechanics, mineralogy and cartography, but also nurtured great enthusiasm for the sciences and the arts. The elector was a particularly avid observer of the nocturnal skies. He personally liaised with academics and other interested monarchs of his era and acquired a multitude of astronomical instruments. The Mathematics and Physics Salon in Dresden owes a very impressive exhibit to the elector’s close ties with William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel: Eberhard Baldewein’s planetary clock.
The Dresden art chamber encompassed more than 10,000 objects from a wide range of scientific disciplines and occupied seven rooms in the Dresden palace.
Eberhard Baldewein’s planetary clock shows the orbits of five planets, the sun and the moon.
The first hall was reserved for Augustus’ favourite artefacts and presented mainly astrological and astronomical instruments. A mechanism that made it possible to depict the moon realistically was an indispensable element of many of the devices exhibited there. The position of the Earth’s companion in the nocturnal skies and its constantly varying face repeatedly challenged scholars and artists to hone their skills, because the calculation of the lunar orbit and moon phases remained imprecise for a long time and often deviated from actual observations. Despite the fact that the parameters are now known, the exact mechanical replication of the synodic orbit is still a daunting task for watchmakers.
Some models in this year’s A. Lange & Söhne collection are dedicated to this fascinating celestial body in a special way. In the GRAND LANGE 1 MOON PHASE, the earth’s satellite moves into the focus of attention and presents itself in the centre of the hour and minute circle. The patented orbital moon-phase display in the RICHARD LANGE PERPETUAL CALENDAR “Terraluna” reproduces the constellation of the moon relative to the Earth and the sun with the utmost precision. The lucid dial layout of the LANGE 1 TOURBILLON PERPETUAL CALENDAR also delivers accurate information about the current phase of the moon.
RICHARD LANGE PERPETUAL CALENDAR “Terraluna” in front of the lunar mechanism of a planetary clock by Eberhard Baldewein (Kassel 1568)
After Eberhard Baldewein had crafted a planetary clock for Landgrave William IV, he was commissioned by elector Augustus to build a further model for the art chamber. With his complex calculation and manufacture of the individual train wheels, some of them asymmetric, Baldewein defined new standards in watchmaking. The lavishly decorated displays of the lunar mechanism show not only the current moon phase but also the position of the moon relative to the sun as well as its progression across the heavens.
The patented orbital moon-phase display in the RICHARD LANGE PERPETUAL CALENDAR “Terraluna” is also a genuine innovation in the domain of precision watchmaking. With peerless accuracy, it depicts the changing constellation of the moon relative to the Earth and the sun.
GRAND LANGE 1 MOON PHASE in front of a celestial globe, Johannes Reinhold and Georg Roll (Augsburg 1586)
The repository of the art chamber in Dresden includes a particularly fascinating instrument: a mechanical celestial globe from Augsburg dated 1587. Three superposed spheres and various circumferential rings describe numerous astronomical phenomena. The globe has thirteen different functions, from the depiction of the current nocturnal canopy and the display of sunrise and sunset times to the indication of the moon’s current position. The waxing and waning moon can also be observed with great accuracy in the centre of the hour and minute circle of the GRAND LANGE 1 MOON PHASE, a new model presented this year.
GRAND LANGE 1 MOON PHASE in front of a tellurion, William and Samuel Jones (London ca. 1800)
A tellurion (from the Latin word for earth, tellus) is a planetary machine that shows the accurate relative positions of the earth, the sun and the moon. The model is ideal for explaining the changing seasons, the moon phases, and constellation-related occurrences such as solar or lunar eclipses. Additionally, the base plate’s calendar function allows the positions of the sun, earth and moon to be observed accurately to the day.
The new model of the GRAND LANGE 1 MOON PHASE is available in yellow gold, pink gold, and platinum. A patented coating process for the lunar disc endows this astronomical complication with a richly detailed appearance.
LANGE 1 TOURBILLON PERPETUAL CALENDAR in front of lunar globe, Ernst Fischer (Dresden 1875)
Dresden native Ernst Fischer sculpted the front side of the moon on the basis of photographs and personal observations. In the project, he had to omit the opposite side because due to the moon’s synchronous rotation, the hemisphere visible from the earth is always the same. In 1959, the first pictures of the dark side of the moon were taken by the Soviet Union’s Lunik 3 space probe. The first astronaut landed on the moon in 1969, and today it is by far the best-researched celestial body.
The LANGE 1 TOURBILLON PERPETUAL CALENDAR combines two classic complications. Thanks to the lucid arrangement of the calendar displays around the time indication, it presents a wealth of clearly legible information.
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A. Lange & Söhne : The moon in Saxony’s sciences – Part 1
The moon, as one of the most prominent celestial bodies, has been preoccupying humankind for millennia. In Saxony, too, the earths satellite, its orbital progression, and its influence on various spheres of life intrigued citizens, scholars and regents a...
