A. Lange & Söhne presents four new models at Watches & Wonders

The timeless elegance of the German luxury watchmaker

At the heart of A. Lange & Söhne there’s a story unlike any other. The German high-end watch manufacturer, founded in 1845 in Glashütte (Germany, a few kilometres from Dresden, the capital of Saxony), was expropriated following the Second World War and reestablished after the reunification of Germany in 1990.

The new Grand Lange 1 rose gold case

The company’s relaunch in the 90s also coincided with an intuitive understanding of aesthetics and a tireless commitment to precision: characteristic of Lange, every watch is assembled twice to ensure maximum quality. So today, the Glashütte-based company, part of the Richemont group, stands out from all other luxury watch manufacturers for the intrinsic value and elegant presentation of its products, making them attractive to collectors and ensuring that the brand is among the most acclaimed and sought-after in the world today.

Today, Lange crafts only a few thousand wristwatches, mainly in gold or platinum, per year. They are endowed exclusively with proprietary movements that are lavishly decorated and twice assembled by hand. A. Lange & Söhne greatest successes include brand icons such as the Lange 1, the first regularly produced wristwatch with an outsize date, and the Zeitewerk, with its precisely jumping numerals. Extraordinary complications such as the Zeitewerk Minute Repeater, the Triple Split and the so far most complicated model, the Grand Complication, introduced in 2013 in a limited edition of six, represent an object of desire by both connoisseurs and collectors. The sporty yet elegant Odysseus, introduced in 2019, marked the start of a new chapter for the Saxon company. 

NEW IN 2022

But 2022 sees the start of a new and successful chapter for the German high-end watchmaker. A. Lange & Söhne has recently introduced three new novelties, a new variation of the Odysseus, a Richard Lange Minute Repeater and an upgraded classic Grand Lange 1. Here they are in detail.

ODYSSEUS TITANIUM

The Odysseus makes its debut in titanium, considered the ‘new steel’ by luxury watchmakers. Although titanium is generally used to reduce weight and increase comfort, in the case of the Odysseus the choice is about aesthetics, because in this sense the steel version is certainly not lacking. A. Lange & Söhne will build just 250 examples of the Odysseus Titanium and, given the waiting time for the steel model, it’s highly likely that all these have been sold out, despite the not exactly low price tag. The blue dial and shiny finish are replaced by an ‘ice blue’ color. The result is a uniformly grey watch. The balance wheel ensures absolute precision with 28,800 semi-oscillations per hour (4 hertz) underneath the balance wheel bridge, which is adorned with a hand-engraved wave pattern. Odysseus in titanium is waterproof up to 12 bars (120 metres); to summarise, this is a singularly sophisticated and sporty product.

The new Odysseus Titanium

RICHARD LANGE MINUTE REPEATER

The last time A. Lange & Söhne created a minute repeater was the Zeitwerk, the trademark mechanical watch, thanks to its entirely digital display of hours and minutes. The Richard Lange is purity embodied, the classic slide on the left-hand side of the case hints at the complexity hidden behind the extremely simple aesthetics. The setting of the hammers allows the watch to chime in 760 different combinations, one for each minute in the 12-hour cycle.  The audible tone has a distinctive and progressive tone: a lower single chime for the hours, a double note for the quarters, and for minutes after the last quarter, a single higher note. The Richard LangeMinute Repeater is limited to just 50 pieces.

The new Richard Lange Minute Repeater

GRAND LANGE 1

Refined by definition, the Grand Lange 1 moves to the next generation with a new grey dial and, above all, a case thickness of 8.2 millimetres. The central section of the dial is now fine-textured, contrasting with the circular grain of the continuous seconds counter, which almost imperceptibly overlaps the off-centre hours and minutes dial.

The single L095.1-calibre barrel gives 72 hours’ autonomy when the spring is fully loaded.

The three-quarter plate conceals a complex construction: 397 components make up the movement. With a case diameter of 41 mm, the new Grand Lange 1 is available with a white or rose gold case. With these three new models, A. Lange & Söhne gives further proof of its inimitable signature, made of excellence in complex mechanics - in other words, the genius hidden behind a seemingly simple style.

The new Grand Lange 1 white gold case