A. Lange & Söhne

A short history lesson

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.

After the end of the Second World War, the factory was seized by the German Socialist Union. Walter Lange, the heir to the company fled what was then East Germany.

It was only after the German reunification in1990, the founder's great grandson, Walter Lange, began work to revive the company. Lange found a sponsor in Gunter Blumlein, at that time the boss of Switzerland's famous International Watch Company. (Gunther has now moved to the parent company LMH, who also has interests in Jaeger LeCoultre, IWC and Lange Uhren.) And with funding from LMH, Walter set about to restore the fine name of A. Lange und Söhne. Click here to read about an interview with Gunter Blumlein.

Some characteristics of Lange movements

Lange movements often have the following characteristics:

1. A 3/4 plate anchoring the movement. This is in comparison to most modern watches' use of full bridge movements, or the full plate movements used in antique watches pre-1850. Click here for a discussion of movement plates.
2. whiplash precision regulator on the index, also known as a swan neck regulator, for precision tuning of the balance.
3. a patented method of positioning the hairspring so that the watch can to be put into beat without dismantling the movement or upsetting previous adjustments.
4. rubies presented within gold chatons held by blued steel screws. Practically, this allows for the rubies to be replaced easier than those embedded in the plates. Visually, this adds stunning beauty to the movement. I believe this is the only wristwatch to use this technique to hold the jewels.
5. use of German Silver in the plates. While, the material is soft, it is very stable, and displays a beautiful sheen only possible with this alloy, instead of the more usual rhodium plated brass.
6. solid silver dial.
7. for the Tourbillon, the fusee and chain arrangement for transferring constant power.
8. for watches with date indication, the patented large oversized double date.
9. for the automatic, a reset to zero mechanism.
10. each movement caliber is used uniquely in one model in the limited range.

Some of these characteristics are typical of watches made in the Saxon tradition, which originated in the mid 1800s by Aldoph Lange himself. Another watch which uses very similar techniques in their movement is Glashutte Original. A comparison of the Lange and Glashutte Original can be found at this link

Six Basic Calibers

All movements used in Lange watches are designed and manufactured inhouse. Follow this link for an in depth tour of the Lange Manufactory, and how the watches are made.

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

The entire collection, up to Basel 1999 is shown.

Go to view the Watches

Take me home

I am interested in hearing your comments on A. Lange & Söhne watches, or on this web page. Click here to comment.
I also run a Lange Forum, where anybody can participate and ask questions or share their expreiences.
Finally, if you are a Lange watch owner, either their older watches or those in current production, I am Founding Chairman of the Lange Owners Group. Click here to register yourself.
This page is created by Peter Chong on April 15, 2000.Copyright © 2000 Peter Chong
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