The LANGE 1 Turns 15

The LANGE 1 Turns 15

Milestones from the history of a great watch family.
The LANGE 1, in the centre is surrounded, clockwise from top left, by: the LANGE 1 MOONPHASE, LANGE 1 TIME ZONE, GRAND LANGE 1, LANGE 1 TOURBILLON.

About the ascent of an impressive watch family

Since it premiered in October 1994, the LANGE 1 has been “the face” of A. Lange & Söhne. With its striking dial design and its patented outsize date – the first truly legible date display ever to grace a wristwatch – it gained global fame virtually overnight and garnered a host of product awards. Today, the LANGE 1 symbolises Lange watchmaking artistry. It embodies the skills and know-how of an entire watchmaking dynasty that was founded by Ferdinand Adolph Lange almost 165 years ago. At the same time it represents the performance of the master watchmakers at A. Lange & Söhne as well as their tireless quest for the perfect timepiece.

With its novel language of form, the LANGE 1 pays tribute to the courage and the innovative energy of the Saxon manufactory, but its balanced design is the hallmark of a timeless classic. This is also the reason why the LANGE 1 remained unchanged for 15 years, and thus established its very own tradition. Now, with the GRAND LANGE 1, the LANGE 1 MOONPHASE, the LANGE 1 TIME ZONE, and the LITTLE LANGE 1 “Soirée” it is not only embedded in its own family, but it also constitutes the underlying design philosophy for future watch models. The following pages present the key milestones in the 15-year history of the acclaimed collection.

A legend springs back to life

A classic after merely 15 years:
the LANGE 1.

With its compelling and inimitable personality, the LANGE 1 not only wrote a decisive chapter in the history of watches. It is also the benchmark for every new watch created by A. Lange & Söhne. After all, since it had its debut in 1994, it has preserved its status as the archetypal timepiece. Its design epitomises the ideals handed down across generations, including the ambition “to craft the world’s finest watches”, a mission statement formulated by the manufactory’s founder Ferdinand Adolph Lange in 1845. Beyond that, the LANGE 1 symbolises the entrepreneurial courage of his great-grandson Walter Lange who shared a vision with his business partner Günter Blümlein: to put Germany back on the map of the luxury timepiece segment with a bold opus.

Featuring a polarising yet utterly balanced dial design, the LANGE 1 is the physical manifestation of a brave and remarkably successful foray into uncharted territory. With its innovative technical hallmarks such as the patented outsize date display and the twin mainspring barrels for a power reserve of three days, it proved to be a worthy successor of earlier masterpieces crafted by A. Lange & Söhne. Additionally, it embodied quality assets that by then had practically disappeared from the domain of mechanical watchmaking. The LANGE 1 single-handedly established a second home base for precision horology outside the Swiss Confederation.

Watch of the Year 2000:
the LANGE 1 TOURBILLON.

A millennial event

It is a revered tradition at Lange to honour the last year of a century with a special timepiece. This was the case in 1900 when Lange presented the famous Centennial Tourbillon at the Paris Universal Exposition. The year 2000 was another opportunity for the eminent Saxon manufactory to demonstrate that even an exceptional instrument like the LANGE 1 can rise to the occasion with fresh panache. With a rotating cage that neutralises the influence of gravity on the balance wheel, the LANGE 1 TOURBILLON experienced a millennial launch that stirred the hearts of watch enthusiasts around the world.

Moonlight sonata

A special moon rose above the Ore Mountains in 2002 when the LANGE 1 MOONPHASE was presented. It owes its horological charm to the exceptionally realistic display – continuously driven by the hour wheel – of the waxing and waning moon.

Accurate to 122 years:
the LANGE 1 MOONPHASE and the LITTLE LANGE 1 MOONPHASE with diamond-set bezel and mother-of-pearl dial.

And as befits a Lange watch, it takes its function very seriously: the moon phase display deviates from the actual progression of the earth’s satellite by only one day every 122 years.

Saxon splendour

“Themes and Variations” aptly describes the ever new compositions in gold, mother of pearl, and diamonds created by Lange’s master watchmakers for their arguably most famous movement. Since 2005, the LITTLE LANGE 1 “Soirée” has been seducing a growing community of discerning women who know that intrinsic values matter – even in watches.

Stately format:
the GRAND LANGE 1.

Radiant, lucid, compelling:
this is the LANGE 1 in 2009, with a noble white-gold case as well as luminous hands and appliques.

That is why the heart of the LANGE 1’s little sister, despite its case diameter of only 36 millimetres, is the same exclusive manufacture calibre that beats in the LANGE 1. The latest edition of this endearing feminine companion features a moon-phase display, no doubt one of the most poetic complications that can grace a lady’s wrist.

True stature

In 2003, the manufactory presented the GRAND LANGE 1 in response to LANGE 1 aficionados who had expressed the wish for a more stately presence of their favourite wristwatch. With a case diameter of nearly 42 millimetres and a noble monochrome dial design, the larger edition of the LANGE 1 features all of the typical hallmarks of Lange watchmaking artistry.

The cosmopolitan:
LANGE 1 TIME ZONE.

For cosmopolites and frequent flyers

In a globalised world, watches for frequent flyers are obviously more useful than aviators’ timepieces. For this reason, the master watchmakers in Saxony presented an enhanced version of the LANGE 1 in 2005. Its key asset is a second time zone that can be adjusted very easily with a push piece. Additionally, it incorporates an ingenious mechanism that allows the owner to conveniently swap the home time display on the main dial with the zone time indicated on the auxiliary dial. The LANGE 1 TIME ZONE was presented under the motto “Born in Saxony, at home in the world” during a globally co-ordinated event that embraced all time zones. The stunning model quickly conquered the hearts and wrists of numerous cosmopolitan watch lovers.

Unfaltering enthusiasm

In the fifteenth year since it was launched, the success story of the LANGE 1 and its siblings continues unabated. Today, the watch that established the ascent of the A. Lange & Söhne brand is a style icon among classic timepieces. And it keeps inspiring new ideas in the hearts and minds of Lange’s product developers, designers, and calibre engineers. Accordingly, watch enthusiasts can continue to look forward to interesting news about the most successful A. Lange & Söhne watch family.