PIONEERING PRECISION
A Lange & Söhne celebrates the 200th anniversary of its founder’s birth
The reincarnation of A Lange & Söhne took place on December 7, 1990 — the exact date that Ferdinand Adolph Lange opened a small workshop in Glashutte, Saxony, in 1845. “It was an incredible comeback for us in 1990. This year we celebrate not only the 25th anniversary of a new era but also 200 years of founder Ferdinand Adolph Lange,” said Arnd Einhorn, director of press and public relations.
The new era of watchmaking combines tradition with innovation, resulting in families of timepieces such as Lange 1, Saxonia, and 1815, whose special models with unique case and dials were recently launched at the Watches & Wonders exhibition in Hong Kong.
“Our families of watches come at a different price range. The first step into the world of A Lange & Söhne can be by owning a classic three-hand Saxonia at an entry level price,” said Einhorn.
Besides pioneering precision watchmaking in Saxony, Ferdinand Adolph Lange also became Glashutte’s mayor, and transformed the agricultural village into an industrial town.
His sons continued the family business until it was expropriated after World War II. Hence, the A Lange & Söhne brand disappeared from the watch industry until Germany’s reunification allowed its revival in 1990 by t he family’s fourth generation, Walter Lange.
The Saxonia family reflects Saxony’s tradition of craftsmanship through the unostentatious elegance of the watches. Two new 37mm Saxonia models are presented in a white or pink gold case that bring out the beauty of the grey dial. Besides the noble colour, the dial has been redesigned with a newly developed minute scale and twin baton appliques, as well as slightly extended minute markers.
Also in white and pink gold versions, Little Lange 1 boasts a solid-silver dial endowed with a blue base tint and faced with a thin layer of mother-of-pearl to achieve a delicate blue colour saturation effect.
“While we cannot please everyone, we do listen to the need of each market. A request for a smaller Lange 1 came from an Asian market, and this resulted in the feminine Little Lange 1,” said Einhorn.
Smaller and housed in a 36mm case, the Little Lange 1 carries the same design code as the original recognised by an off-centre dial configuration and outsize date inspired by the famous Five-Minute Clock in Dresden’s Semper Opera.
On the other hand, the 1815 timepieces transfer the spirit of A Lange Söhne’s pocket watches to modern-day models with Arabic numerals and railway-track minute scale as key features of the dial.
The limited edition 1815 “200th Anniversary FA Lange” boasts a case in honey gold — a patented alloy twice as hard as gold.
Available in 200 pieces, the 40mm commemorative model also appeals with a solid-silver dial endowed with a finely textured argente-graine surface reminiscent of the silvery dials of historic observation watches and marine chronometers.
In addition, a chronograph version in a white gold case has been redesigned with blue numerals against an argente-coloured face in solid silver. The dial’s periphery features a pulsometer used for heart-rate measurements, which is done by stopping the time while counting 30 heartbeats.
“Over the 25 years, we have created beautiful timepieces, with the last couple of years introducing more complicated models, such as Grand Complication combining seven, partly very rare, complications, which demonstrates the capability of our watchmakers,” said Einhorn.
The growth of the manufacture includes the opening of a new building in August for its under-one-roof watchmaking.
“The new building is not for producing more watches as we produce only a few thousand wristwatches per year,” he said. “It’s a new home to our watchmakers for them to work under a good environment in order to craft the finest watches.”
The craftsmanship is not only reflected in the faces of the watches but also on the movements of which the German brand has developed 51 calibres in 25 years.
The artisanally finished movements are revealed through sapphire crystal of the case back. Signature elements include German-silver three-quarter plate decorated with Glashutte ribbing and hand-engraved balance cock that makes each timepiece one of a kind.