A. LANGE & SÖHNE - Homage to the founder

A. Lange & Söhne with 19 New References, Three as a 165-Year Anniversary Homage to Founder F.A. Lange.

WORLDTEMPUS - January 19, 2010

Elizabeth Doerr

 
Philippe Dufour, a surprise guest at the Lange booth, was particularly partial to the Saxonia Annual Calendar. © Elizabeth Doerr/Worldtempus

Lange & Söhne has never been a brand to introduce many new references all at once – even if technical director Anthonie de Haas and product manager Tino Bobe are quick to remind us that 2004 was a year in which the Saxon brand presented nearly as many as during the 2010 edition of the SIHH.


Anniversary

The Tourbograph Pour le Mérite in honey-colored gold completes the limited edition © A. Lange & Söhne

This year would have been company founder Ferdinand Adolph Lange’s 165th birthday had he lived to see it. To commemorate, the brand at home in Glashütte, Germany decided to issue three extraordinary timepieces in a case material the manufacture has been working to perfect for at least five years: honey-colored gold is twice as hard as regular gold alloys at 300 Vickers. It houses three special versions of the Tourbograph Pour le Mérite (completing the original limitation of 101 pieces), the Lange 1 Tourbillon, and the 1815 Moonphase. These anniversary versions additionally boast new finishes on the dial and the movement, with a beautifully innovative engraved pattern visible on the German silver plates in place of the usual Glashütte ribbing.

Philippe Dufour, a surprise guest at the Lange booth, with product manager Tino Bobe. © Elizabeth Doerr/Worldtempus

Reference watches

Lange also proudly introduced a new member of the Richard Lange family called Referenzuhr, which was inspired by a Dresden time service clock of the 1770s. A button on its case returns the second hand to zero using Lange’s patented Zero Reset function.

A new addition to the Lange 1 family is the Daymatic, an automatic timepiece with a heavy central rotor that only adds about half a millimeter of height to the precious metal case.

The new 1815 Chronograph features a hand-wound movement with 60 hours of power reserve, while the Zeitwerk line receives a luminous new member to its family.


Annual calendar

The Saxonia Annual Calendar is perfectly proportioned inside and out
© A. Lange & Söhne

The Saxonia family now boasts an annual calendar among its ranks. This perfectly proportionate and informative calendar powered by the tried-and-tested automatic Sax-o-mat movement is also outfitted with the Zero Reset function and is available in rose or white gold. Like so many of Lange’s modern wristwatches, it represents a benchmark in design and mechanical ingenuity.