Like the younger generation today, OY had been living a life without a watch, until a friend recommended A. Lange & Söhne to him. He was captivated by the simple, robust craftsmanship and understated elegance of the brand, and felt it was the perfect fit for him. He found A. Lange & Söhne watches to be a reflection of himself, almost like an alter ego. His current collection is entirely made up of models from the same brand, and he is well on his way to becoming a watch enthusiast.
OY is a young businessman in his late 30s who works as an executive at an investment company. His neat attire and calm manner of speaking give him an air of composure that belies his youth. In addition to watches, he also enjoys leather goods from Valextra, known as the Italian Hermes. He says that their understated, high-quality, and elegant qualities are in common with A. Lange & Söhne watches.
Photographs by Takafumi Okuda
Shigeru Sugawara: Interview and writing
Text by Shigeru Sugawara
Edited by Chronos Japan (Yukiya Suzuki, Yuto Hosoda)
[Article published in the July 2024 issue of Kronos Japan]
"An A. Lange & Söhne watch is like a reflection of me."
Among the watch enthusiasts we have met in this feature so far, there have been several cases like this: people who had little interest in watches and didn't particularly collect them, but then a certain incident suddenly awakened their interest in watches. OY, featured in this article, is one such person.
"It all started with a friend. He comes from a family of former Chinese bankers and shares my mindset. We don't like flashy things, but are drawn to simple, sturdy, and understated elegance. It was this friend who recommended A. Lange & Söhne watches to me."
OY began by saying that before he discovered A. Lange & Söhne, he didn't have any particular watch history to share.
"I've owned one or two Swiss watches, but I didn't wear them on a regular basis. I didn't need to."
If you just want to check the time, there are countless ways to do it, including with a smartphone, and it's true that younger generations are increasingly turning away from watches. This was probably true for OY, who is now in his late 30s, until a few years ago when he joined the ranks of watch enthusiasts. Even so, it's impressive that he didn't start out with an accessible entry-level or mid-range model, or even a stylish luxury sports model, but instead went straight for an A. Lange & Söhne. While many people are interested in mechanical watches and fall in love with an A. Lange & Söhne movement, OY frankly admits, "I'm not at all knowledgeable about movements or mechanisms." However, perhaps it was fortunate that he encountered the pinnacle of German luxury watchmaking without any prior knowledge and with a completely blank slate.
"I tend to make decisions quickly rather than carefully considering things. I place importance on my intuition."
Perhaps it was the investor's keen intuition that made him realize that this was the watch for him, and it was none other than A. Lange & Söhne that saw the potential. The first watch he acquired was the Saxonia Automatic, a legendary masterpiece that has sadly been discontinued.
"It's my favorite and I wear it a lot. It reflects me, or rather, it's a watch that is like me."
He said he was attracted to the watch's understated, simple design, not flashy. Since it was his first meeting, he didn't get to know the man well, but the watch perfectly matched his calm, carefully chosen way of speaking and his restrained attire. "A watch is a person," they say, meaning a watch eloquently speaks of its owner's personality, and he felt like he was witnessing a real example of this.
The next watch I bought was the Richard Lange, which caught my eye at a brand event. This model also has the same style as the Saxonia Automatic in that it is understated and simple.
These two watches do not have any particularly complicated mechanisms and are suitable for everyday use, but it was the "1815 Tourbillon" that introduced OY to the world of complications.
"I became interested in tourbillons after listening to the boutique staff talk about their history, historical background, how difficult they are to make, and why they are so expensive. Although they are highly complicated watches, I also liked their simple design that makes them easy to wear on a daily basis, and the beauty of the enamel dial."
For OY, this tourbillon was probably his introduction to full-fledged mechanical watches in a sense. He spoke enthusiastically about the amazing features of the patented stop-seconds and zero-reset seconds hand, which made him look very different from when he first started talking about how he wasn't familiar with movements and mechanisms. Even so, it's impressive that he included "easy everyday use" as one of his reasons for purchasing it.
Speaking of complications, surprisingly, I also purchased another model at the same time as the tourbillon. It's the highly advanced "Richard Lange Perpetual Calendar Terraluna," which combines a perpetual calendar with an ultra-precise astronomical moon phase. Renowned as the pinnacle of luxury among enthusiasts, this complicated watch is renowned as a top-of-the-line model, but I wonder if I'll ever actually wear it.
"I sometimes wear it at events and luxury parties. Some people don't notice, but others do. As with all A. Lange & Söhne watches, it's like a litmus test."
All four of the watches mentioned so far were acquired in the last two or three years. But that's not all. He also owns a Lange 1 Moon Phase, a Grand Lange 1, a Langematik Perpetual, and two Little Lange 1s in different colors, totaling nine watches. OY's love for Lange is impressive, as he exclusively collects A. Lange & Söhne. However, even within the same brand's product family, he shows little interest in the Zeitwerk, with its unique digital display, or the sporty Odysseus. As mentioned earlier, this is likely because they don't match his emphasis on matching watches with his personality—a "watch like me."
OY highly praises A. Lange & Söhne's approach of continuing to create high-end watches with a simple, sturdy, and classical style without being influenced by trends. Which alter ego would he like to have next?
