The name Marco Lang will be familiar to the most experienced of our readers for an obvious reason. The man is one of the most respected German watchmakers and one of the founders of the Lang & Heyne brand with Mirko Heyne. After leaving the manufacture in 2019, Marco Lang founded his own brand in 2020 and launched the first two-face watch, a watch with two dials that features either an ultra-classic, Saxon-inspired side and a far more technical side. With the idea of simply going “back to the workbench” and making watches that bear his name, Marco Lang is now presenting his second creation of the same name, the Seven Spheres. And it features one of the most complex multi-axis tourbillon regulators on the market, rotating around no fewer than seven axes.
With this watch, Marco Lang joins the small circle of highly specialized watchmakers who regulate their watches with multi-axis tourbillons. It can have two axes, it can be three or even four axes, it can be super fast… But these technical features remain rare (and expensive) solutions, considered as much a kinetic structure as pure chronometry. With his aptly named “Seven Spheres,” Marco Lang shapes the niche market of multi-axis tourbillon watches with one of the most complex proportions, because the regulating organ is “surrounded by seven intricately interconnected rings that conduct the energy of the four barrels from the outside to the inside via seven planetary gears.”
Inspirations
There are two main inspirations for the development of this watch. The first, although now outdated, is that of Ptolemy in the 1st-2nd centuries. The geocentric worldview, established in the 19th century, assumed that the Earth was stationary at the center of its visible universe. In this theory, seven planetary spheres orbited the Earth (Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn), and above them were the Fixed Star Sphere, the sphere of motion, and the Empyrean, the “Seat of God.” Much later, in the heliocentric solar system defined by Nicholas Copernicus in the mid-16th century, the sun was at the center, surrounded by seven spheres (Mercury, Venus, Earth (with moon), Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, fixed stars).
The second is a 1997 film called Contact, based on the novel by Carl Sagan, which had a major impact on the young Marco Lang, particularly the machine that Jodie Foster used to connect with an alien civilization. Lang is said to have been inspired by the three rotating rings of this machine, which were later converted into a seven-axis cage for a control organ.
The seven spheres by Marco Lang
First, let's briefly talk about the exterior and casing of this new kinetic creation. Made from 950 platinum, the Marco Lang Seven Spheres has a more classic case design that is both reminiscent of Lang's first watch and reminiscent of his time at Lang & Heyne. The case is 42mm in diameter and features a discreet crown protection module and sloping lugs with screw heads. Ornamental hand engraving is optionally possible. A curved, polished bezel frames an ultra-tall sapphire crystal, giving the 10mm case a total thickness of 18mm – not unlike a Vianney Halter Deep Space or an MB&F Thunderdome. There is a sapphire crystal on the back and the watch is rated for 50m water resistance.
What needs to be explained in more detail, however, is the movement and its central control organ. Just like with watches like the Vianney Halter Deep Space or the Arceau Duc Attelé from Hermès, the multi-axis regulator takes center stage and is undoubtedly the main attraction of this watch – although the back also has stories to tell. The caliber ml-02/7sp, a creation of Mr. Lang, is spectacular in many ways and represents a significant advance in terms of construction, creativity and complexity compared to the man's previous watches.
At the center of this movement is a complex module with a four-legged balance wheel with a 3 Hz beat and eccentric regulation, driven by an anchor escapement, which in turn is set in no fewer than seven titanium rings. This makes the already complex modules even more complex, as multi-axis tourbillons are notoriously difficult to assemble and adjust. So far we have seen two-axis, three-axis or even four-axis tourbillons, but seven of them are unknown. Basically, the more axes, the better the chronometric results, as each position cancels out the influence of gravity. However, Marco Lang emphasizes that chronometry was not the main goal of the Seven Spheres, but rather pure idealism.
This complex, relatively slowly rotating module (the outermost ring rotates once every hour, the innermost once every 50 seconds) is placed exactly in the middle of the movement and feels like floating in mid-air. The free-swinging balance wheel is mounted in 7 nested titanium ball rings, each offset by 30 degrees, with 6 planet wheels (curved wheels and pinions) with a ratio of 1:2 and one with a ratio of 1:2.25. An animation of the seven-axis control organ can be found here. Since this module was in the middle, the display had to be redefined, and here Marco Lang relies on a rather complex and completely exposed ring structure with two “floating” arrow-shaped hands made of heat-blued steel. The hands appear to move above the movement as they are held under the arrowhead and hover over the tourbillon cages. The time is read on a guilloche circumferential ring that is integrated into the movement.
If you turn the clock over, you will discover an equally impressive view. The back of the movement shows its torus-like shape, with all elements positioned on the periphery of the central regulator. The latter is oversized and does not leave much space for important elements such as energy storage, which is why it is constructed with four parallel barrels. No fewer than nine gears are visible to connect the crown to the four barrels, and these are connected to two swan-neck winding clicks with decorative diamond set. The movement can store a power reserve of 55 hours.
The decoration is elaborate and highly descriptive, from finely grained, gilded and hand-engraved panels to moving parts and bridges made of steel with a mix of brushed surfaces and hand-polished bevels. Blued screws complete this maximalist movement.
Availability and price
The Marco Lang Seven Spheres is worn on a blue alligator leather strap with shark leather on the inside to increase water resistance. It is available in a limited edition of 18 pieces. “As I continue to do most of the work myself, this unfortunately leads to longer delivery times,” Marco Lang tells us. As one would expect, such complexity and mechanical artistry come at a price, and the Seven Spheres require it 250,000 euros before tax.
For more information, visit www.marcolangwatches.com.
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