Lange & Söhne History
By: Bill (registered) Friday, March 31st, 2006
Lange & Sohne
A. Lange & Sohne persistence in Time
The watchmaking name of A. Lange & Söhne was first established in 1868 by
Aldoph Lange in the town of Glasshutte, Saxony. The firm established itself
as makers of distinctive timepieces, and had an illustrious history.
Reinhard Meis' excellent book: "A. Lange & Söhne - The Watchmakers of
Dresden" ISbN 2-940019-23-1, translated by Alan Downing devotes much space
to the history, and gives a good account of the watches made. The true story
of Walter Lange's efforts to continue the family heritage of fine watch
making reveals a man endowed with both drive and patience in addition to his
watch making prowess.
On May 7th 1945, Russian fighter-bombers bore down on German Panzers retreating through the city of Glashutte. Their ostensible military targets were missed but the industrial center of Glashutte was left in ruins - the Lange factory included. There wasn't much of a factory left to re-organize after the flames and looters were finished with the facility but the remaining employees made efforts to repair damaged machinery, gather up what few watch parts remained, and attempt to bring order to the chaotic times. An appeal to other German watch companies to return any material useful for the production of the Lange Caliber 48 was put forth in an attempt to glean enough parts to re-establish Lange production. While the remaining employees of A. Lange & Sohne pieced together watches in rented rooms, the brothers Lange made forward looking plans to re-open the facility in May 1948 The Lange's struggle was far from over after the bombing. They had to fend off a full property confiscation after the war. In March 1946 under the auspices of the post war Denazification order 124, the factory was threatened with a complete property confiscation. With no ties to the Nazis and by asserting that only watches were made before, during and after the war, the Langes succeeded in forestalling the appropriation of the family owned business. Two years later the order was officially rescinded. Three days after successfully defending their right to their own property the regional communist government took control of the all A. Lange & Sohne assets.
After refusing to work for the socialist labor union that taken control of Lange and six other engineering companies., he was sentenced to forced labor in the local uranium mines. With no hope remaining of salvaging his company, he had little reason to stay in Glashutte and fled to West Germany. Shortly after, 1951 the Lange name ceased to exist on watches as it was now one of seven German companies organized in a combine under the name Glashutte Uhrenbetrieben or GUB by the communist government.
After an aborted earlier attempt to re-establish Lang as a watch making house Mr. Walter Lange registered the name Lange Uhren GMBR on December 7th 1990- just two months after the re unification of Germany. With the financial and technical assistance of IWC and their parent company LMH, A. Lange & Sohne was back in business. Using his great Grandfather's journey book as a guiding beacon, Walter Lange began the journey back to horological eminence.
The latest creations from A. Lange & Sohne were premiered at this years Basel fair and highlight Walter Lange's commitment to producing extraordinary timepieces. Lange's patented over-size date window has now been incorporated into a column wheel controlled chronograph with a flyback feature. This new "Datograph" epitomizes the attention to aesthetics and mechanics found in all Lange timepieces. The higly finished movement is like a work of art unto itself. Blued screws, screw secured chatons and a hand engraved balance cock are all aspects of a micro machine that looks as good as it performs. The whiplash style precision balance wheel adjustment also lends elegance and functionality - allowing minor rate changes without the need to remove the balance wheel. The entire movement is comprised of 390 separate parts Most of which have been blued, polished, beveled, or decorated in one way or another. This extra finish work is visible through a sapphire crystal back allowing a full appreciation of the fine inner mechanism. Including the damascened German silver plates, hand beveled edges and independent 4th whell bridge. Attention to detail is also clear in the custom engineering of the minute counter. It has a patent pending on its design which suspends the adjustable lever between jewels - similar to a wheel in the gear train. The design makes the minute counter jump exactly as the second hand passes sixty and allows for simple fine tuning without disassembly. Cased in platinum only the Datograph retails for $46,200.
Another new offering from Lange is the 1815 Moonphase. In an editorial in issue #39 I stated that all mechanical moon phase watches will need manual adjustments to keep synchronous with earth's only natural satellite. Whereas most mechanical moon-phase watches will need manual adjustments every few years, the Lange 1815 will, if kept constantly running, deviate from the synodic phase by only a single day in 1058 years! This was accomplished by engineering the moon phase display to the hour as opposed to most moon phase watches which are geared to either change either once or twice daily depending on the movement. This elegant watch quietly draws attention to its moon phase function with the addition of the constellation Ursa Major (the big dipper). A sub seconds dial balances the dial opposite the moon phase display. Only 400 of these very special Lange moon phases will be produced. 250 in 18 kt rose gold and 150 in platinum. Retail price for the Lange Moon phase is $18,200 in platinum and $13,200 in rose gold.
All movements used in Lange watches are designed and manufactured in house.
The 6 basic calibers are:
* L901 in the Lange 1
* L902 in the Pour La Merite tourbillon
* L911, L931, L941, L942, L943 as a caliber family, used in the
Arkade, Cabaret, 1815, 1815 Up/Down, 1815 Moonphase respectively
* L921 in the Langematic
* L951 in the Datograph chronograph
* L961 in the Lange 1 Tourbillon
*
On May 7th 1945, Russian fighter-bombers bore down on German Panzers retreating through the city of Glashutte. Their ostensible military targets were missed but the industrial center of Glashutte was left in ruins - the Lange factory included. There wasn't much of a factory left to re-organize after the flames and looters were finished with the facility but the remaining employees made efforts to repair damaged machinery, gather up what few watch parts remained, and attempt to bring order to the chaotic times. An appeal to other German watch companies to return any material useful for the production of the Lange Caliber 48 was put forth in an attempt to glean enough parts to re-establish Lange production. While the remaining employees of A. Lange & Sohne pieced together watches in rented rooms, the brothers Lange made forward looking plans to re-open the facility in May 1948 The Lange's struggle was far from over after the bombing. They had to fend off a full property confiscation after the war. In March 1946 under the auspices of the post war Denazification order 124, the factory was threatened with a complete property confiscation. With no ties to the Nazis and by asserting that only watches were made before, during and after the war, the Langes succeeded in forestalling the appropriation of the family owned business. Two years later the order was officially rescinded. Three days after successfully defending their right to their own property the regional communist government took control of the all A. Lange & Sohne assets.
After refusing to work for the socialist labor union that taken control of Lange and six other engineering companies., he was sentenced to forced labor in the local uranium mines. With no hope remaining of salvaging his company, he had little reason to stay in Glashutte and fled to West Germany. Shortly after, 1951 the Lange name ceased to exist on watches as it was now one of seven German companies organized in a combine under the name Glashutte Uhrenbetrieben or GUB by the communist government.
After an aborted earlier attempt to re-establish Lang as a watch making house Mr. Walter Lange registered the name Lange Uhren GMBR on December 7th 1990- just two months after the re unification of Germany. With the financial and technical assistance of IWC and their parent company LMH, A. Lange & Sohne was back in business. Using his great Grandfather's journey book as a guiding beacon, Walter Lange began the journey back to horological eminence.
The latest creations from A. Lange & Sohne were premiered at this years Basel fair and highlight Walter Lange's commitment to producing extraordinary timepieces. Lange's patented over-size date window has now been incorporated into a column wheel controlled chronograph with a flyback feature. This new "Datograph" epitomizes the attention to aesthetics and mechanics found in all Lange timepieces. The higly finished movement is like a work of art unto itself. Blued screws, screw secured chatons and a hand engraved balance cock are all aspects of a micro machine that looks as good as it performs. The whiplash style precision balance wheel adjustment also lends elegance and functionality - allowing minor rate changes without the need to remove the balance wheel. The entire movement is comprised of 390 separate parts Most of which have been blued, polished, beveled, or decorated in one way or another. This extra finish work is visible through a sapphire crystal back allowing a full appreciation of the fine inner mechanism. Including the damascened German silver plates, hand beveled edges and independent 4th whell bridge. Attention to detail is also clear in the custom engineering of the minute counter. It has a patent pending on its design which suspends the adjustable lever between jewels - similar to a wheel in the gear train. The design makes the minute counter jump exactly as the second hand passes sixty and allows for simple fine tuning without disassembly. Cased in platinum only the Datograph retails for $46,200.
Another new offering from Lange is the 1815 Moonphase. In an editorial in issue #39 I stated that all mechanical moon phase watches will need manual adjustments to keep synchronous with earth's only natural satellite. Whereas most mechanical moon-phase watches will need manual adjustments every few years, the Lange 1815 will, if kept constantly running, deviate from the synodic phase by only a single day in 1058 years! This was accomplished by engineering the moon phase display to the hour as opposed to most moon phase watches which are geared to either change either once or twice daily depending on the movement. This elegant watch quietly draws attention to its moon phase function with the addition of the constellation Ursa Major (the big dipper). A sub seconds dial balances the dial opposite the moon phase display. Only 400 of these very special Lange moon phases will be produced. 250 in 18 kt rose gold and 150 in platinum. Retail price for the Lange Moon phase is $18,200 in platinum and $13,200 in rose gold.
All movements used in Lange watches are designed and manufactured in house.
The 6 basic calibers are:
* L901 in the Lange 1
* L902 in the Pour La Merite tourbillon
* L911, L931, L941, L942, L943 as a caliber family, used in the
Arkade, Cabaret, 1815, 1815 Up/Down, 1815 Moonphase respectively
* L921 in the Langematic
* L951 in the Datograph chronograph
* L961 in the Lange 1 Tourbillon
*
