A. Lange & Söhne

About A. Lange & Söhne

Ferdinand Adolph Lange founded his workshop in Glashütte in 1845 and effectively created German fine watchmaking. The company was nationalised after WWII and disappeared for forty years, until Walter Lange relaunched it in 1994 with four watches — including the Lange 1, with its off-centre dial and outsize date. Every movement is assembled, disassembled for cleaning, and assembled again, and the balance cock is hand-engraved individually.

Signature models

The references that define the house — and the ones you are most likely to meet.

• Lange 1
• Datograph
• Zeitwerk
• Saxonia
• Odysseus
• Grand Lange 1

What to look for

Details worth checking before you trust a dial. None of them certify authenticity on their own.

• Untreated German silver movement plates, which develop a warm golden patina rather than being plated
• A hand-engraved balance cock — the pattern differs on every single watch
• Gold chatons held by blued screws, and a three-quarter plate typical of the Glashütte school
• The Lange 1's outsize date uses two separate discs; the numerals should be level, sharply printed and share a common baseline

Facts

• The Lange 1's dial layout is built on the golden ratio, and no two indications overlap.
• The Zeitwerk shows jumping digital hours and minutes driven mechanically, with a constant-force escapement to survive the energy spike each time the discs jump.