Watch Paparazzi

Politician Jean Todt spotted wearing A. Lange & Söhne

Jean Todt was spotted pitside at an ABB Formula E Season 7 race wearing one of the rarest and most technically accomplished watches in the A. Lange & Söhne catalogue: the Lange 1 Tourbillon in platinum. The sighting, captured on the starting grid, offers a rare glimpse of a watch that almost never surfaces in the wild.

The Lange 1 Tourbillon is built around Calibre L961.1, a manually wound movement comprising approximately 400 individual components, of which 72 are dedicated exclusively to the tourbillon mechanism. Beating at 21,600 vph and offering a power reserve of 72 hours, the movement embodies everything Lange stands for: hand-finished German horology at its most uncompromising. The signature Lange asymmetric dial layout is preserved in full — large outsize date at 12 o'clock using the brand's iconic twin-window complication, subsidiary seconds at 9 o'clock, power reserve indicator at 3 o'clock, and the open tourbillon carriage occupying the lower dial quadrant between 5 and 7 o'clock. The silver dial and platinum case together project quiet, almost austere authority.

This specific variant was produced in a limited series of just 150 pieces in platinum, making it one of the most restricted references in the entire Lange 1 family. The platinum case amplifies the watch's visual restraint — cooler in tone than white gold, denser on the wrist, and carrying collector cachet that gold simply cannot replicate. Among serious Lange collectors, the Tourbillon references are considered crown jewels, rarely traded and almost never discounted.

Jean Todt's personal affinity for precision engineering is well documented. As the architect of Ferrari's most dominant Formula 1 dynasty in the early 2000s and later as FIA President, Todt has spent decades at the intersection of mechanical excellence and elite competition. A platinum Lange 1 Tourbillon is, in that context, a deeply coherent choice — not a fashion statement, but a considered declaration of mechanical values.

At an official retail price of $117,200 USD, the Lange 1 Tourbillon in platinum sits at the upper tier of Lange's commercial catalogue. On the secondary market, examples in unworn or near-mint condition routinely trade at or above retail, reflecting the combination of extreme production scarcity and sustained collector demand. This is not a watch that loses value.