A. Lange & Söhne’s ‘Lange 1’ Gets New Limited Editions for Its 30th Birthday

Lange 1 Limited Editions

        Courtesy A. Lange & Söhne
      




    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    


  



  Text size

This week marked a major milestone for A. Lange & Söhne, the historic German watch brand that was revived exactly 30 years ago, with the debut of the Lange 1, among other premier models, at the Dresden Royal Palace.

This fall, the company is celebrating the Lange 1’s 30th birthday with four uber-elegant limited editions. A platinum case is paired with a glossy jet black onyx dial to create the ultimate tuxedo watch, while a rosy, pink gold case is complemented with a rich blue solid silver dial—both unprecedented combinations. Each is available in two sizes: the 38.5mm Lange 1—limited to 300 pieces each (US$50,200 in pink gold/price upon request in platinum)—and the 36.8mm Little Lange 1 limited to 150 pieces each (both price upon request).

MORE: The Matriarch of France’s Oldest Jewelry House Reflects on Her Favorite Things

“For the Lange 1, we purposely wanted to come up with an edition that we can produce in bigger numbers to please all the clients and collectors who have been with us for a long time,” says Lange CEO Wilhelm Schmid at the brand-sponsored Audrain Newport Concours d’Elegance in Newport, R.I., earlier this month. “We wanted to avoid having people feel like there is no chance of getting one because they are so limited. That sounds easy until you try to identify what could be that hasn’t been before.”

These limited editions are powered by the L121.1 manufacture caliber first introduced in 2015. Its outsize date instantaneously switches at midnight and the twin barrels generate a 72-hour power reserve. In keeping with the brand’s hallmarks, the three-quarter plate is made of untreated German silver decorated with Glashütte ribbing, the balance cock is hand engraved with a floral pattern and eight gold chatons held by blued screws add colorful accents.

When it was unveiled 30 years ago, Lange 1 defied established design conventions with its eccentric off-center dial featuring an oversize date display inspired by the Five-Minute clock above the stage at Dresden’s Semper Opera House. The watch’s distinctive asymmetrical design featured hour and minute circles appointed with Roman numerals and lancet-shaped appliques on the left balanced with the large date, power-reserve display and subsidiary seconds dial on the right. The length and size ratios of the various displays follow the rules of the golden ratio for timeless, visual harmony.

Lange 1’s distinctive design made a defining original statement for the resurrected brand, while its exceptional movement finishing soon drew the attention of the world’s elite watch collectors at a time when mechanical watchmaking was experiencing a renaissance after the decimation of the ”quartz crisis” during the 1970s and ’80s.

Datograph Handwerkskunst:

        Courtesy A. Lange & Söhne

And Lange 1 is not the only model marking a milestone this year. In August, the brand introduced the 25-piece limited edition Datograph Handwerkskunst (price upon request) commemorating the 25th anniversary of the brand’s ground-breaking Datograph chronograph. This special metiers d’art piece followed two limited-edition Datographs that launched last spring for the anniversary.

Lange applies the Handwerkskunst label to a select few special editions that are artistically decorated. In this case, the 41mm yellow gold Datograph’s dial is opulently embellished with frosty engraving that imparts a “trembling” effect, known as tremblage. A single craftsman, dedicated to each piece, uses a special burin to create a uniform finely grained surface across the 3-D dial. Dial elements that are usually printed—such as the brand’s emblem, minute and second markers and tachymeter scale—are instead relief engraved, carved out of the solid yellow gold dial. Faceted and satin-finished yellow gold Roman numeral and hour indices are then applied.

A sapphire crystal case back showcases the manually winding manufacture caliber L951.8, finished with black polish on the chronograph levers, an age-old, time-consuming technique that is rarely seen today. Inspired by historic pocket watches, the granular surface of the bridges on the German silver three-quarter plate offers a visual echo to the tremblage engraving on the dial. And Lange’s signature hand-engraved balance cock is decorated with a vine motif rather than the usual floral pattern.

**MORE: **Former Unilever CEO Paul Polman Urges Food and Beverage Companies to Deliver Healthier, More Sustainable Products

With its intricate in-house movement, Datograph put Lange on the map as a chronograph specialist in 1999 and likely played a role in prompting old-guard Swiss manufacturers to develop their own chronographs instead of relying on specialist movement suppliers.

“Datograph changed the industry, because it was a wake-up call for the others.” Schmid says. “For a long time, it was an underappreciated complication. And then a lot of chronograph movements came out three to six years later. Today, every big brand has at least one chronograph movement that they do for themselves. I think no other complication gained so much momentum and ground in the last 20 years.”

Little Lange 1 in platinum with an onyx dial.

        Courtesy A. Lange & Söhne

On Nov. 9, a white gold Datograph Up/Down Hampton Court Edition with an engraved, hunter cover case back will be auctioned in a Phillips sale to benefit the King’s Trust (formerly Prince’s Trust), a U.K.-based youth charity under the patronage of King Charles III.