跨越2020閏年　見證萬年曆腕錶的強大

二零二零年是全新十年的開端，同時也是閏年，而2月29日便是其每四年一次的閏日。至於一枚腕錶能否計算閏年，正是普通年暦腕錶與萬年曆腕錶的區別－－當中作為機械腕錶三大複雜功能之一的「萬年曆」裝置，功能背後承載著怎樣的強大技術？

萬年曆腕錶，並非按字面理解的能夠顯示一萬年日期的手錶的意思。它的英文為Perpetual Calendar，意旨永恆的日曆，萬年曆的實際作用，主用來識別當前的月份、計算當前的年份以及閏年，並自動在閏年的2月嵌入第29日，順利過渡。

View this post on Instagram

The LANGEMATIK PERPETUAL was the last new development that Günter Blümlein accompanied until its launch. Its latest version, launched in 2019, comes in a honey gold case. Proprietary to Lange, this material is more resistant than other gold alloys. Once correctly set and running without interruption, the indications of this self-winding perpetual calendar need to be adjusted only once in 80 years, as 2100 is a secular year and does not include a 29th day in February. At the end of this month, owners of this timepiece will experience the rare changeover from 29th February to 1st March that happens only in leap years. #alangesoehne #langematikperpetual #langematik #perpetualcalendar #finewatchmaking #engineering #craftsmanship #art

A post shared by A. Lange & Söhne (@alangesoehne) on Feb 3, 2020 at 5:02am PST

View this post on Instagram

“It is not salmon, it is pink gold!” is a sentence we have said quite often over the past year. And, indeed, the dial is not “salmon-coloured”, but made of solid pink gold. The development of the DATOGRAPH PERPETUAL TOURBILLON is based on an impressive success story in chronograph making that started with the first DATOGRAPH in 1999. The movement of the latest complication comprises of 729 components working in harmony. Their exceptional surface finish and architecture can be observed on the back of the watch’s 41.5-millimetre white gold case. #alangesoehne #datographperpetualtourbillon #datograph #finewatchmaking #perfection #chronograph #engineering #craftsmanship

A post shared by A. Lange & Söhne (@alangesoehne) on Feb 13, 2020 at 5:18am PST

1815 RATTRAPANTE PERPETUAL CALENDAR

萬年曆腕錶的閏年功能看似簡單，但能夠正確地由2月28日過渡至29日，並在閏日午夜之時跳至3月1日，是一項相當複雜的計算技術，也正是腕錶愛好者所追求的時計精準。由2001年至今，品牌A. LANGE & SÖHNE朗格便推出過八款可以計算閏年的時計，其腕錶更以只此一家的專門技術去駕馭萬年曆裝置。當中朗格有七款探用傳統萬年曆計算方式，由一個具有48個凹槽及階段的程式輪控制，對應三個平年及一個閏年為一個四年週期內48個不同長度的月份。當程式輪每四年轉完一圈，以槓桿控制的凹槽及階段會按照深淺，便會顯示出閏年二月多出的閏日。

LANGE 1 TOURBILLON PERPETUAL CALENDAR

而A. LANGE & SÖHNE朗格頻同樣以全新方向設計萬年曆功能，在2012年推出的LANGE 1 TOURBILLON PERPETUAL CALENDAR，將多個日曆顯示完美融合至LANGE 1的錶盤結構，透過是以全新方式顯示月份的專利月份外圈，取代傳統的凹槽程式輪，月份外圈由內置的齒輪驅動，每年自轉一圈，透過計算槓桿的延伸部分的偏離幅度與凹槽深度，當在與閏年盤下的凸輪接觸時，用以分辨平年與閏年。