A. Lange & Söhne

A Lange Pilgrimage

 

Visits to the Lange manufactory are not new; I myself first learned of them by viewing the reports posted here by Purists who had been lucky enough to visit and experience the magic firsthand. Viewing the city, the people and most especially the watches through the lens of the attendee caused me to dream of one-day visiting myself; however I did not think it would happen for a long time if ever.. but life works in funny ways.

As many of you will have already experienced this trip, or read previous posts; I will refrain from going too deep into the history and locations but instead focus on the watches!

Upon my arrival in Dresden, I was greeted by a nice man holding a sign and a promise of a ride to the hotel. The accommodations were fantastic, as were all aspects of the trip; and it is something we all have come to expect from Lange.. attention to the fine details!

Arriving at the hotel I was treated to a latte to help find some energy to overcome jetlag and was happy to see a Lange display case showing some beautiful watches.. unfortunately they had no movements! I guess it makes more sense to have working watches on the wrists of collectors, and not tucked away in display cases.

After getting settled, I met with another attendee for a walk around Dresden to see the city; and more importantly visit the boutique!

Unfortunately for us, the boutique was closed.. and the treasures within eluded us for the time being. Not to be deterred, we ventured off into the wilds of Dresden talking watches.

Returning to the hotel for dinner, we met with the other collectors and the President of Lange North America, Gaetan. I will say now that Gaetan was an absolute pleasure to spend a few days with. His passion and enthusiasm for the brand was immediately noticeable, and his ability to answer questions, fulfill requests and treat us to such an experience was excellent.

Some shots from dinner.. A real treat to see such rare birds in the mix!

One could never tire of the beautiful 1815 chrono movement

Looks good don’t you think? One can dream

The owner was gracious enough to allow me to wind the tourbillon and I can say the experience was exhilarating feeling the fuse and chain being drawn out. I apologize if the pictures are fuzzy, I was having trouble keeping my hands from shaking!

The next morning we were ushered into the city to tour some of the historical sites of Dresden including the Semper Opera and Green Vault. Pictures were not allowed in certain areas, but I managed a few where possible;

A quick break for lunch and we were off to the opera;

My Darth alongside a RG TZ, such a beautiful iteration of the Lange 1;

While touring the Semper opera, we could not help but notice our guide was wearing something special.. I knew it to be a rolex, and could tell it was vintage; but it was a particularly astute Purist who recognized it to be a double-red Seadweller.

The guide was most gracious in letting us examine it, and although the details as to its procurement were a bit colourful it was no doubt a genuine piece.

After concluding our tour of the opera, and some spare time before dinner, it was finally time to see what secrets the boutique was holding! A few of us from the group ventured over and were kindly greeted by the manager who was happy to show us the watches and offer his expertise.

Apologies for the poor quality, lighting conditions will always haunt me it seems;

The owner of the PLM compares his to one on display, amazing how quickly time can pass!

The new Grande Lange 1 MP in Rosegold, I found the new MP disc to be very captivating and bright;

Comparing Sax-o-Mat movements on a Langematik Perpetual and Langematik big-date

Loving the new dial of the Langematik Perpetual, this has quickly become my favourite perpetual offered by Lange, although I must confess to prefer to the older version with single-button advancement of all date indications

After thoroughly impressing us with what the boutique had on display, the manager raised an eyebrow and asked if we wanted to see something ‘special’, before producing this..

My jaw dropped (not the only time over the course of the visit) when I was handed this;

Nothing could have prepared me for the weight, the size and the feeling of power strapping this on. Pictures cannot do justice, but what a treat to handle;

Thickness comparison, somewhat resembling David vs. Goliath

We even were able to wind it!

Leaving the boutique in a daze of Lange bliss, we were welcomed again by the residents of Dresden in the warmest of spirits as their soccer team squared in the World Cup.

Sitting down to dinner, I could not help but feel nervous.. for the chair next to mine was left unoccupied. I knew we were expecting a guest, and fate had him sitting next to me;

Getting to meet Mr. Schmidt was an experience unto itself. Speaking with him and hearing his opinions on the watch industry, Lange and life in general was something I will remember for a long time to come. The Lange 1 Tourbillon PC was something I had especially hoped to handle while in Dresden, and I was not disappointed.

Notice the 000/100, that leaves no doubt as to who’s wrist it came from.

After a fantastic meal, and perhaps a bit too much of Saxony’s finest white wine we returned to the hotel in anticipation of our visit the following day to the Lange manufacture in Glashutte.

Arriving outside, we immediately noticed how far construction has come on the new building. Sorry for the effect, I am not sure how to tastefully blur faces yet.

Donning lab coats and sharpening our eyes for any undisclosed secrets, we were ushered into the building, unfortunately no cameras allowed 

I was able however, to take a quick picture of this clock made by watchmaking students; let’s hope another regulator dial will be coming soon!

A quick story about the factory tour; seeing the Zeitwerk room was especially breathtaking. Up until this trip I had not been able to see one in the metal, and being able to speak to the watchmakers assembling the movements and testing the mechanisms was brilliant. I was completely sold on the Striking time as well. The case proportions weren’t too much and the au-passage striking is very pleasant.

I asked the watchaker assembling the movements which iteration of the Zw he most preferred, and without hesitation he reached under the desk and produced a Phantom!! An owner had it in for service and this proved to be a very unexpected surprise. I can tell why this is such a coveted LE, and feel lucky to have seen one.

The most memorable moment from the tour for me however was hidden in the high-complications room tucked away in the corner.

Walking in, I quickly began doing a mental tally of the movements being assembled; datograph, dato P, DS, another DS… and then Gaetan whispered I should take a closer look at one watchmaker in particular. Upon approaching the table, the lady assembling the movement said hello and showed me none other than a nearly completed Lange 1 Tourbillon PC Handwerkskunst. This is a watch I was not convinced by initially based on pictures; but in person… WOW. The hand-worked dial, relief engraved movement and hand-painted date discs were mind boggling.

Seeing the calendar functions advance instantly at midnight was also a sight to behold on an openworked dial.

Another attendee approached and produced a LoupeSystem which we took turns looking through to examine the dial which has not been placed on the movement. Such a lucky chance to handle a watch which will soon be on its way to a lucky owner.. if anyone reading this has placed an order for one of these beauties, take solace in knowing it is being made by exceptionally skilled and careful hands.

After exiting the watch assembly rooms, we were ushered into a final area and presented with the collection. This was what I was waiting for, a chance to handle and view Langes which had only existed for me in pictures.. below are some of my personal highlights;

The King lives! Yes, I now can understand why this is a Purists dream

Can you tell I am in heaven?

Would be hard to turn this down in WG;

Another LE I have always wanted to examine was the RL Tourbillon PLM, and the platinum version did not disappoint

When I expressed to Mr. Schmidt that this was a grail of mine, he winked and said to wait.. something might be coming similar to this. Perhaps a non-fusee & chain, or annual calendar?

Comparing the Zw striking to the standard Zw was no easy feat.. both are wonderful; my dilemma between the two continues

A family of RL’s

I concluded my time in the room of wonders by examining the new 1815 Tourbillon. As others have expressed, this is a true collectors piece;

Case proportions and weight are very comfortable, and the tourbillon opening in the dial did not feel over-sized to my eyes;

I met one last time with Mr. Schmidt and he bid us farewell and thanked us for visiting. I do hope to return to the factory again soon.

Lunch was provided on our way back to Dresden and was a very delicious German offering in a unique setting;

Returning to Dresden we toured the Mathematics and Physics salon. I tried documenting this as well, but after touring the factory I was rather exhausted!

Another collector on the trip pointed this out,  and I couldn’t help but smile to see Lange’s presence everywhere in Dresden. So good to see a company giving back to the community!

The ref. 42500 which was the basis for the GC development

Original pocketwatch which served as inspiration for the RL Tourbillon PLM

A blink of an eye later and I am once again in the airport bidding farewell to new friends and returning home.

I would like to again extend my most sincere thanks to the dedicated people at Lange, most especially Gaetan who was an exceptional host.

I went into this trip already a passionate Lange follower, and emerged with an even deeper appreciation of the quality and craftsmanship that goes into each and every piece emerging from their small spot in Saxony.

Thank you all for reading, and I highly encourage everyone to visit this beautiful place and enjoy everything Lange has to offer.

Colton

This message has been edited by colton_d on 2014-06-25 14:06:14 This message has been edited by colton_d on 2014-06-25 14:09:07 This message has been edited by colton_d on 2014-06-25 14:16:04 This message has been edited by foversta on 2014-06-25 15:22:39

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