A fake Tourbograph Perpeal Calendar is a replica of the A. Lange & Söhne Tourbograph Perpetual "Pour le Mérite," a hand-wound watch that combines a one-minute tourbillon, a rattrapante chronograph and a perpetual calendar. Replica makers copy the case shape and dial layout, but they do not reproduce the movement architecture, the fusée-and-chain transmission or a genuinely programmed perpetual calendar.
That gap matters if you are shopping, because the name on the dial promises a level of mechanical work that no replica delivers. Here is what the real watch is, what fakes get wrong, and how to tell them apart.
What the real Tourbograph Perpetual is
The Tourbograph Perpetual "Pour le Mérite" sits at the top of Lange's collection. It pairs a tourbillon with a rattrapante (split-seconds) chronograph and a perpetual calendar, all driven by one hand-wound movement. Lange builds it in small numbers and finishes it to a standard that includes engraved bridges, polished steel parts and a hand-engraved balance cock.
Two details define the watch. First, the fusée-and-chain transmission, the "Pour le Mérite" feature that delivers constant torque to the escapement as the mainspring unwinds. Second, the perpetual calendar, which tracks month lengths and leap years mechanically instead of needing a correction several times a year.
Why a convincing fake is hard to build
- Fusée-and-chain: a tiny chain wound around a cone-shaped pulley, difficult to miniaturize and expensive to assemble.
- Rattrapante: a second chronograph seconds hand that stops independently and catches up on command, which needs extra wheels, a clamp and precise adjustment.
- Perpetual calendar: a programmed cam or lever system that knows February has 29 days in leap years.
- Finishing: black-polished steel, circular graining and hand engraving show immediately under a loupe.
- Movement layout: Lange's German silver plates and screwed gold chatons are part of the look through the caseback.
How to spot a fake Tourbograph Perpeal Calendar
- Ask for a clear caseback photo. A real Tourbograph shows a large, finished movement with the chain and cone visible; replicas often show a decorated plate or a small generic tourbillon cage.
- Test the calendar. Advance the date across a month end; a perpetual calendar jumps correctly, while a replica usually needs manual correction or has a simple annual or date-only module.
- Check the chronograph. Push the rattrapante pusher; the split hand should stop and then catch up. Most fakes either do nothing or stop the whole chronograph.
- Look at the dial printing and apertures. Real Lange printing is crisp, and the calendar windows are cut with tight tolerances.
- Weigh it and feel the pushers. Platinum or honey gold feels dense, and the pushers have a crisp, engineered resistance.
- Check the paperwork and the price. A genuine piece is a six-figure watch sold through authorized dealers; a fraction of that price means replica.
What replica versions typically get wrong
Most fake Tourbograph Perpeal Calendar watches are built around a generic Chinese tourbillon or an automatic chronograph base. The perpetual calendar is usually a decorative subdial set or a simple date wheel, the moonphase is often a printed disc rather than a true lunar train, and the "Pour le Mérite" text appears without the chain-and-fusée system behind it. Case proportions can also drift: thicker mid-cases, different lug shapes and pushers that sit too proud.
If you still want one
Buy it as costume jewelry, not as watchmaking. Expect the calendar to need resetting, the chronograph to be fragile, and service support to be limited to the seller. Keep water away, since case sealing on replicas is rarely tested. And do not treat it as an investment; replica values drop the moment you open the box.
Bottom line
A fake Tourbograph Perpeal Calendar can imitate the silhouette of a Lange masterpiece, but the tourbillon, rattrapante and perpetual calendar functions are exactly where the imitation ends. Judge it on what it is: a visual tribute with a fraction of the mechanics.