| Works of distinction: the Lange Tourbillon 'Pour le Merite' (left), a limited
series of 50 pieces (DM148,000); the under-dial of the Lange Tourbillon
(above); and the self-winding Langematik (right, DM26,800) |
By R Sivanithy
| Works of distinction: the Lange Tourbillon 'Pour le Merite' (left), a limited
series of 50 pieces (DM148,000); the under-dial of the Lange Tourbillon
(above); and the self-winding Langematik (right, DM26,800) |
| T |
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An unpretentious and tranquil setting not far from Dresden in the heart of the Saxonian countryside, it is in many ways an ideal place for the goods produced - not just any hand-crafted watches but those that rank among the most coveted and expensive in the world.
Which is in itself quite remarkable - after all, when one thinks of high-end watches, one tends to think mainly of the Swiss, the French or even maybe the Italians.
In this case though, what makes things even more astonishing is that not only does the company charge prices that start in five-figure territory, everything it makes is sold out - one year in advance.
| Looking within: instead of putting more on the outside, Lange decided to put
more on the inside of its watches, says the company's managing director
Gunter Blumlein |
How this happy state of affairs came about for A Lange & Sohne (how many luxury good makers can boast an order book filled for at least a year?) is a fascinating tale that starts at the end of the Cold War, has a healthy dose of clever marketing thrown in, but above all, is grounded in the ways of traditional watchmakers where almost everything is done by hand - not with fancy silicon chips but with cogs, springs and wheels.
"After Germany reunited and the company was reborn, we were faced with a real entrepreneurial challenge," said Gunter Blumlein, Lange's managing director.
"The watch industry had gone through a revolution in the '80s - the invention of quartz watches meant that almost all the entire mid-price brands like Longines and Omega had all but disappeared. A Swiss watch industry that used to employ some 90,000 staff now only had 25,000.
"We felt that watches had too many features, things had become too saturated. So we decided to position ourselves right at the top of the luxury watch market - just as we were in the past - but look at new designs and movements to survive. And we decided that instead of putting more on the outside, we would put more on the inside."
The results are starkly simple designs with intricate internal movements which, apparently, is what some high-end watch buyers seem to want - Lange's cheapest watches cost DM12,000 and a recent limited run of 150 watches named "The Tourbillion" was quickly sold out - at DM148,000 apiece.
Things, however, were not always so rosy for Lange. Founded in 1845 by Adolph Lange, the company rapidly gained a strong reputation early this century within Germany and Europe among watch collectors as being one of the best hand-crafted brands available.
At the time, such was its popularity that even the then Kaiser of Germany, Wilhelm, had to wait a year for his order to be fulfilled - a fact that, once it was known, no doubt helped enhance the firm's reputation even further.
Unfortunately, the factory didn't escape the infamous 1945 bombing of Dresden by the Allies. Worse still, the start of the Cold War in 1948 brought new state ownership which didn't quite grasp the potential available in high-end watches.
The factory - or what was left of it - was shut down and what had been a household name in Germany disappeared almost without a trace. It wasn't until 1990 when the Berlin Wall tumbled that Walter Lange, a direct descendant of founder Adolph Lange returned from exile in Switzerland to rebuild a name that had disappeared for an entire generation.
It took four years and some DM20 million for the Glasshutten factory to be rebuilt, with financing coming from the German conglomerate VDO/Mannesmann. Then, almost 50 years after the original factory was shut down, Lange relaunched itself in Oct 1994.
In the three years since, turnover has grown from nothing to DM32 million and, according to Mr Blumlein, "doubling this before the end of the century is not a problem".
"In the last eight to 10 years, we've had a huge increase in watch consumption," said Mr Blumlein. "But although we know we would have no problems expanding, we've learned from the mistakes of our rivals - namely, over-production and over-distribution".
To prevent over-production, factory output has been limited to a modest 2,000 units per year, or about only 10 every day; as for expansion plans, Mr Blumlein remains tight-lipped. "We don't mind going slow" is the only disclosure he will make on the subject.
Distribution is equally selective - in Singapore, only Sincere Watch distributes the brand. Its marketing manager Barbara Tay says the brand is doing very well: "Like everything Lange makes, everything allocated to us is snapped up quickly."
One of Lange's biggest selling points is that unlike most other hand-crafted brands, each model has its own unique movement that cannot be found elsewhere. The latest was introduced in June this year and represented another first for the company - a completely self-winding movement called the Langematik.
According to Mrs Tay, some of Sincere's customers have bought all seven available models solely because of the individuality of their movements, and they have already placed firm orders for the Langematik. The waiting time, of course, is at least one year.
The Lange success story may surprise some people who find it unthinkable to pay the equivalent of a house mortgage for a wristwatch. But perhaps Mr Blumlein has the last word on the subject: "You can fool some people some of the time, but eventually, you have to deliver. Watch collectors are very clever people, they know exactly what they're paying for." Which, in Lange's case, is a piece of history.