Equipped with a variety of complex mechanisms, A. Lange & Söhne watches are artistically elegant and beautiful down to the last detail of their movements. Let us introduce the charm of A. Lange & Söhne, born from the traditional craftsmanship of Glashütte, the birthplace of the German watch industry, and the pursuit of mathematical aesthetics.
A. Lange & Söhne Basics
A. Lange & Söhne is considered one of the world's top five watchmaking houses, but why is this?
Let's take a look at A. Lange & Söhne, a brand whose new releases are eagerly awaited by watch enthusiasts and which is considered a symbol of German luxury watches.
About A. Lange & Söhne
Founded in 1845, A. Lange & Söhne is a leading German luxury watchmaker based in its birthplace of Glashütte (now Saxony), Germany.
The most distinctive feature of A. Lange & Söhne is that they develop dedicated movements for each model, and even manufacture their own balance springs, a unique manufacturing system that is unparalleled even among the long-established Swiss watchmakers.
In addition, the regulator watch, based on a deck watch for scientific measurements and featuring a "regulator dial" with three independent hands for the hours, minutes, and seconds, is also a masterpiece that demonstrates the high level of A. Lange & Söhne's technical expertise.
The "outsized date (big date)" and enamel-decorated dial are highly practical and aesthetically pleasing.
German luxury watches, which are rooted in the traditions of Glashütte craftsmanship, are distinct from Swiss luxury watches in terms of their design philosophy.
The history of A. Lange & Söhne
The brand name "A. Lange & Söhne" means "Adolf Lange and his children."
Let's take a look at the history of A. Lange & Söhne, which has continued to be a family-run business through turbulent times, from its founder, Ferdinand Adolph Lange, born in 1815, to his great-grandson, Walter Lange.
Birth and Destruction
Adolf Lange attended a technical school in Dresden, Germany, and then trained as a watchmaker in Paris and other places.In 1845, with the support of the Saxon royal family, he founded A. Lange Dresden in Glashütte, eastern Germany.
Glashütte, which had once prospered through silver mining and other sources, was struggling financially at the time. Ferdinand Adolph Lange proposed a regional revitalization project to train young watchmakers, and the Kingdom of Saxony approved the opening of a watch workshop.
In 1868, when his eldest son, Richard, joined the management, the company name was changed to A. Lange & Söhne, and in 1871 his second son, Emil, also joined the management team.
Adolf Lange passed away in 1875 at the age of 60, by which time Glashütte had transformed into a precision watchmaking industry center, with A. Lange & Söhne at its apex.
A. Lange & Söhne continued to grow steadily thereafter, successfully surviving the First World War and the Great Depression that broke out in the early 20th century, but World War II brought about a major change: the company's headquarters was destroyed in an air raid on the eve of the end of the war.
After the war ended in 1948, the A. Lange & Söhne brand ceased to exist when its assets were confiscated by the socialist East Germany and merged with the Glashütte State Watch Company.
German unification and revival
Walter Lange, born in 1924, experienced A. Lange & Söhne from its heyday to its demise.
In 1948, he fled to Pforzheim, on the west side of the Berlin Wall, where he opened a watch workshop and waited for an opportunity to revive A. Lange & Söhne.
Walter Lange established a partnership with the Swiss watch manufacturer IWC, based in Schaffhausen, close to the German border, but the quartz crisis of the 1970s ended any chance of a revival.
A turning point came in November 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall, when, together with IWC's president, German Günter Blümlein, he began working to rebuild the A. Lange & Söhne brand.
Then, in 1990, as soon as East and West Germany were reunited, A. Lange & Söhne was re-registered and trademarked, and the headquarters, Lange Uhren GmbH, was established in Saxony (formerly Glashütte), reviving the brand after 42 years.
A. Lange & Söhne Today
In 1992, the new A. Lange & Söhne filed its first patent for the "outsize date." In 1994, the company released four models as the first in its revival collection: the Lange 1, Arcade, Saxonia, and Tourbillon "Pour le Mérite."
In 2000, it became part of the Richemont Group, along with IWC, which it had helped rebuild.
A. Lange & Söhne continues to uphold the traditional craftsmanship of Glashütte and has grown rapidly to become one of the world's leading brands by manufacturing precision watches using scientific methods and the handiwork of master craftsmen.
This revival is symbolized by Walter Lange's belief: "There is one thing we must demand, not only of our watches, but of ourselves above all else: never stand still."
A. Lange & Söhne's hallmarks
A. Lange & Söhne watches reflect the Lange family's tenacity and sincerity. Here are four more elements that define A. Lange & Söhne.
マニュファクチュール
From its revival collection in 1994 to the present, A. Lange & Söhne has consistently maintained a manufacture system rooted in Saxony and Dresden.
They have adopted the "three-quarter plate" developed in 1864 and the "balance screw" which can adjust position differences using four screws, and began producing their own hairsprings in 2003. Today, they are one of the few watchmakers capable of producing ultra-precise hairsprings in-house.
Furthermore, shortly after its recovery, the company continued to pursue precision, developing the first system for driving the gear train using a fusée-and-chain (tug-of-war) in a wristwatch.
Beautiful engraving
Engraving is a type of intaglio technique used in copperplate printing. This technique of carving clear lines into the plate surface began in metalwork workshops along the Rhine, including Glashütte, around 1430.
Engraving is therefore a traditional Glashütte craft, and A. Lange & Söhne uses this technique not only for dial decoration but also for movement components.
The swan-neck balance cock in particular is so beautiful that it could be called a work of art, and even though the movement's structure is hidden from the outside, it is an indispensable part of the master's ``handwriting.''
Each engraved A. Lange & Söhne watch is unique and one of a kind.
Movements by model
One of the defining characteristics of A. Lange & Söhne is the fact that each model is produced with its own movement.
Most watch brands will create movements that are customized from ebauches made by other companies, and even manufacturers will often improve their own movements.
At A. Lange & Söhne, we believe that a new model is only truly a new one if it is equipped with a new movement, and we design the movement from scratch to suit each model. The parts are made of nickel silver, which oxidizes easily, rather than brass.
All movements are pre-assembled to the perfect position, then disassembled and thoroughly cleaned, and finally assembled in a two-stage process by a master craftsman.
3/4 plate
A typical movement uses multiple plates on the back that act as bearings for the gear train, but in a transparent back model, the plates also function as design elements, so designing their shape is important.
The three-quarter plate has been an icon of Saxon luxury watchmaking since Adolph Lange adopted it in 1864. The single German silver plate, covering three-quarters of the movement's surface area, is a design element emblematic of A. Lange & Söhne.
Another traditional feature is the structure in which gold chatons, which are rarely used in modern times, are fastened with two or three blued screws.
