[Interview] Wilhelm Schmidt, CEO of A. Lange & Söhne

We spoke to A. Lange & Söhne CEO Wilhelm Schmidt about the company's current production system, where supply is not keeping up with demand.

What is beautiful in the moment falls out of favor in the long term

"It's true that when a watch is hard to come by, it becomes even more precious and desirable. A. Lange & Söhne has always been making genuine watches. This involves a great deal of manual work by skilled craftsmen. There is a limit to the amount of work they can do, and this limits our production volume. In addition to our in-house watchmaking school, we hire 12 new employees every year to increase our technical staff. Currently, the company employs around 560 people, and we only produce around 5000 watches a year. If we increased production any further, we would no longer be able to meet the demands of watch enthusiasts in terms of quality. Moreover, all of the planning, design, and manufacturing is done in-house, and most of the processes involve manual work, so it is difficult to speed up the process."

　This will ultimately increase the scarcity in the market, but is that also a strategy?

"My brand's customer base is concentrated among collectors. They are true watch lovers and very passionate people. Many of them know these watches very well. They love Lange, so they have been buying watches for a long time and have become collectors."

　Schmidt continues with a confident look on his face.

"However, we cannot stop there. We must continue to release products that do not disappoint. In other words, we must continue to attract collectors forever. In fact, when we first released the Odysseus, it was not well received by long-time collectors. However, they gradually became accustomed to it, and began to say they wanted it. Things that are beautiful in the moment are no longer popular over the long term, that is, people grow tired of them. Initially, some critics said that it was 'unlike Lange,' but that is incorrect. This is because we plan, design, develop, and manufacture it ourselves from a clean slate, and we create it while expressing perfect beauty without compromising on any detail. It is a different matter if you don't like the design, but I don't think it's accurate to say that it is 'unlike Lange.'"

　While striving for perfect quality, the company never stops creating watches, always striving to surprise enthusiasts. The Odysseus Chronograph, which was just unveiled at Watches & Wonders, is no exception.

"This is Lange's first automatic chronograph, but it's much more than that. The movement of the hands when resetting the watch is a 'surprise'. The rest is up to you to enjoy at Watches & Wonders."