A Lange & Sohne Watches – Fine German Quality

One of the most renowned German luxury watch brands, A. Lange & Sohne remains located in their original hometown of Glashutte, Germany. Featuring the finest luxury watches in the world, the brand has a combination of mechanical precision, exquisite detailing and utilization of fine rich materials. The timepieces are crafted from 18kt gold or platinum, and the bridges and plates of the movement are made of silver, the dials are created with silver or enamel and each design is distinctive and unique. Each timepiece is manufactured completely in house by the brand and mostly display blued screws, hand-engraved balance cocks, gold chatons and three-quarter balance plates.

The creation of more than 40 in-house calibers, and a history that dates back over 170 years, Ferdinand Adolph Lange founded the brand in 1845 to craft pocket watches. Modeling the company after the Swiss, the horological master started his magnificent empire in the Ore Mountains. After the Second World War the brand re-established themselves and Walter Lange, great-grandson of the founder helped to relaunch in 1990 and re-create with a new brilliance. The first collection presented consisted of four new timepieces, the legendary Lange1, the Saxonia, the Arkade, and the tourbillon, the Pour le Merite.

Developing the brand, A. Lange & Sohne became a high quality German watchmaker and a competitor of the finest Swiss companies. The biggest difference for the brand was they utilized precious metals for their cases, and only a few stainless steel versions were created. Because of this rarity of the brand, these watches can sell for very high prices at auctions. A characteristic of the brand that sets them apart from others is the outsize date, and this was patented by the company in 1992. Creating functional timepieces was always a goal of the brand and quality and reliability built in are always the utmost goal. The characteristics of the brand watches, blued screws, sunburst design, swan-neck fine adjustment, three-quarter plate and that finely engraved balance cock are unmatched by other watch makers. Presitigious and discerning, watches from A. Lange & Sohne provide classic designs with delicate mechanics that are of the highest quality.

The brand created five difference series. The symbol of the company, the Lange 1, crafted with a outsize date and off-center dial, has become an icon of the brand. The Datograph model is also very popular, and allows one to utilize the chronograph function for time intervals and events. The Zeitwerk collection is clearly identified and defined by the unique feature, the mechanical numeric time display format. Displaying hours and minutes in apertures, similar to the date display, this collection is a real favorite with horological experts. The Saxonia was the brands introductory series and top models feature the annual calendar complication and platinum case.

The Lange 1 has been such a success with distinctive features and exquisite details, not to mention the movement that consists of 368 pieces, 43 of them jewel bearings. The timepiece also featured the perpetual calendar in a new design and highlight some of the inner workings of this magnificent piece. The Grand Complication model is the most intricate of the watches that A. Lange & Shone offer and one of the most expensive in the world. The timepiece takes an entire year to produce just one, and features a perpetual calendar, a moon phase display, a double chronograph, flying seconds and a technical excellence, the Grande Sonnerie, which is an independent chiming complication. There are only six copies of the watch in existence worldwide.

The founder of the brand started his watchmaking apprenticeship at the age of 15 and learned from Christian Friedrich Gutkaes who was a royal court watchmaker. Ferdinand trained, travled Europe to learn from the best and ended up back in Dresden where he helped complete the Five-Minute Clock in the Semper Opera House, which featured a numeric display that could be seen from all seats. There were many famous clients of Lange, Russian Czar Alexander II was one and was partial to the pocket watches that were the start for the brand. The founder trained watchmakers, helped Germany become a high quality horological country and grew an empire from his love of excellent craftsmanship, and exquisite movement.