Grand Comeback: The New 1815
Grand Comeback: The New 1815
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Glashütte, January 2009
In a larger case and with a new manually wound movement, the latest 1815 by A. Lange & Söhne embodies the paragon of simple, classic mechanical timepieces. With its graceful sleekness, it reflects the horological principles of company founder Ferdinand Adolph Lange. It salutes his proud legacy by taking his birth year as its name.
In the best sense of the term, the new 1815 is a classic three-hand watch with a manually wound movement. It presents itself as a visibly enlarged new edition of what was the fifth Lange model of the new era when it had its debut in 1995. The four digits of its name mark a turbulent year that ushered in a new epoch in Europe. They also stand for the birth year of a man who would much later establish a world-famous dynasty of watchmakers. His name: Ferdinand Adolph Lange.
Thanks to his extraordinary talent and energetic entrepreneurial spirit, the man with the modest background became a successful pioneer in horology. He founded the precision watchmaking industry in Germany, and his ideas continue to inspire the art of crafting timepieces. In his late twenties, he had an ambitious vision: to establish an independent watchmaking industry in the Ore Mountains. And he spared no effort to reach this lofty goal. Although unassuming at heart, he worked tirelessly to build the finest watches in the world. His life principle was substance over semblance. And when he designed his watches, Ferdinand Adolph Lange always made sure that “despite its unpretentiousness, each piece is robust and will reliably serve its purpose”. The threequarter plate that he introduced in 1864 to enhance the stability of movements follows this reasoning. It is exactly this “nothing-in-excess” attitude that the 1815 expresses in paying homage to the founder: the pinnacle of sleek elegance.