Lange Nation, Rejoice! The German Watchmaker Just Dropped 4 New Lange 1s
Consider, when admiring the timepiece pictured above, that the debut model of this collectors’ darling was introduced to the world the same year that Friends aired for the first time, Oasis dropped Definitely Maybe, and O.J. Simpson went on the lam in the back of a white Ford Bronco. The design may feel timeless, but the A. Lange & S?hne Lange 1 was born of a very specific moment indeed: 1994, when Bill Clinton was President, the Winter Olympics took place in Lillehammer, and everyone was flocking to movie theaters to see The Lion King.
Founded in 1845 and based in the small eastern German town of Glashütte in Saxony, A. Lange & S?hne had been nationalized and shuttered by the Soviet state following World War II. With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the door was open for Walter Lange, the great-grandson of founder Ferdinand Adolph Lange, to reopen one of Germany’s greatest high-end watch manufactures in 1990. Just four years later, the company would launch the Lange 1—as part of a heavy-hitting quartet alongside the Saxonia, the Arkade, and the Tourbillon Pour le Mérite—which, three decades on, remains a pillar in the company’s lineup.
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Few expected such a daring and exquisitely crafted watch to come out of the former communist bloc so soon (if ever), but it wasn’t long before serious collectors around the world started placing orders, creating a buzz about the German house that put Switzerland’s high horologists on notice. Produced entirely in-house, it featured Lange’s now-renowned hand-engraved balance cock, a sturdy three-quarter plate made from solid German silver decorated with mirror-polished anglage and what Lange calls Glashütte striping, a variation of Geneva striping; while the original model featured a solid caseback, so beautiful was the movement that Lange began using sapphire-crystal casebacks just one year after its debut.
Though the dial of the Lange 1 appears scattered at first glance, it carefully follows the rule of thirds (based on the golden ratio), which graphic designers, painters, and photographers will tell you is a sure-fire formula for achieving visual harmony. If you were to draw a triangle with its three points located at the centers of the time-telling dial, the seconds sub-dial, and the big-date window, the result would be perfectly equilateral. The vertical hypotenuse also goes straight through the arbor of the power reserve gauge. Though there is no apparent symmetry here, this is a perfectly ordered dial that’s both highly legible and delightful to behold.
To learn more about the Lange 1, see our detailed history here, and to collect neo-vintage examples please see the recent edition of our Shopping Time column.
Thankfully, 30 years later, the Lange 1 remains largely unchanged, from its off-center time-telling dial and large sub-seconds spinning at four o’clock to the stark black-and-white big-date complication inside a split frame. The exception is the 21-century caliber L121.1 movement, as well as some just-released aesthetic updates—seen here for the first time—including a version in platinum with a black-onyx dial and one in 18-karat pink gold with a blue dial, both offered in either 38.5 mm or 36.8 mm, the latter known simply as the Little Lange 1.
Neither of these variations which has been seen in the collection before. That the brand would release new Lange 1 models for the 30th anniversary was never going to be a surprise, but just how they’ve gone about it should certainly raise a few eyebrows. It’s worth pausing to appreciate that A Lange & Sohne generally avoids the simple solution of creating ‘throwback’ watches or reissue style watches that rely on the designs of their past. Instead, they prefer to find new and interesting ways to breathe life into their designs that always manage to push the design forward, rather than backward (as with the Datograph Handwerkskunst released just last month).
The platinum Lange 1 with black Onyx dial is unique in its completely flat and smooth texture, with no recesses carved out for the subdials and no engraving. Rather, just white and subtle gray printing is left to define these spaces creating a brilliant contrast in the process. This is a stark execution of the dial, and the more time you spend observing it, the more unique the experience becomes, particularly when subjected to different lighting conditions and viewing angles. This particular execution of the Lange 1 is rather unexpected thanks to the small details. At a glance this could be mistaken for a reference 101.035 with its white metal and black dial, but upon closer inspection this is something else entirely, and pushes the boundaries of the Lange 1 design language in the process.
As for the pink gold Lange 1 paired with a blue dial, well, this is about as classic as it gets. These colors coming together here feels a fitting celebration of what the Lange 1 is, and just how versatile it can be. Lange only uses a single blue dial color, this reserved for special occasions such as this. We’ve seen a blue dial appear in white metal Lange 1s in the past with references like the 101.027 and the 191.028, each highly sought after, but this is the first we’re seeing it mated to a pink gold case. It works exactly as well as you might expect—gorgeously.
In total, these new Lange 1 watches tell two different stories about the watch and its history, and both do so while pushing the collection forward. Together, they honor A Lange & Sohne’s most famous dial while showing its inexhaustible versatility. We particularly appreciate the inclusion of Little Lange 1 sizing, which works exceptionally well on the wrist.
This release is limited to 300 pieces of each metal for the Lange 1, and 150 of each metal for the Little Lange 1. Pricing to be announced.
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