If you’re a watchmaker referred to as XY & Z, and considered one of your collections is known as Y1, it had higher be an vital watch. So it’s with the unmistakeable Lange 1, which started life in 1994 with the rebirth of A. Lange & Söhne. Probably the world’s most well-known but unique spherical watch with an asymmetrical dial, the Lange 1 is the face of the model – the primary watch you consider once you hear the title A. Lange & Söhne. The significance of that 12 months, 1994, is not going to be misplaced on you, and we thought to revisit considered one of our favorite fashions of our time with some unique images; these had been generously shot for us, at our course, by a photographer commissioned by A. Lange & Söhne for this function. Actually, this story is just a few textual content to run alongside these great photographs.
Having mentioned that, there’s some heavy historical past right here, all linked with how A. Lange & Söhne was revived after the autumn of the Berlin wall. You’ll be able to nearly really feel the echoes of that period within the iconic design of the Lange 1. Well known as a recent horological icon, the Lange 1’s aforementioned asymmetrical dial makes it immediately recognisable, even for those who take a look at only a cropped picture of the watch or for those who take away the model title. As we speak, it’s emblematic of Glashütte-style watchmaking however its success was removed from assured.
Within the early Nineteen Nineties, Glashütte was removed from its present stature as a hub of German watchmaking, and the Lange 1 confronted scepticism because it aimed to rival Switzerland’s dominance in haute horology. Günter Blümlein and Walter Lange had been undaunted as they labored tirelessly to convey A. Lange & Söhne again to life. As Blümlein remarked in a 1994 interview with considered one of our favorite watch writers Gisbert Brunner, “The 1994 A. Lange & Söhne wristwatches and all upcoming fashions are something however epigones of watchmaking legends.” This ethos guided the model’s revival, creating timepieces rooted within the craftsmanship of conventional watchmaking however completely within the spirit of the brand new period of mechanical watchmaking excellence. Not for nothing, the Lange 1 was instrumental in birthing and defining this new period.
The crew behind the Lange 1 are a veritable who’s who of watchmaking at the moment, together with the likes of Helmut Geyer, Annegret Fleischer, Kurt Klaus, and Blümlein himself in fact. They spent years refining the dial’s proportions, whereas additionally growing the motion behind that first watch, reference 101.001 with its initially hidden calibre L901.0. Exhibition casebacks weren’t the norm 30 years in the past and A. Lange & Söhne debuted the Lange 1 with a strong gold caseback. This modified a 12 months later with the introduction of a sapphire caseback, however – seen or not – the calibre was meticulously completed.
To honour the thirtieth anniversary, A. Lange & Söhne has launched two particular references of the Lange 1 and Little Lange 1 (a watch that debuted some years after the Lange 1). The primary pairs a platinum case with a jet-black onyx dial, marking the debut of this gemstone within the assortment. The second, in pink gold, encompasses a placing blue 925 silver dial. Each fashions are powered by the L121.1 calibre, showcasing signature Lange options akin to a three-quarter plate, untreated German silver, blued screws, gold chatons, and a hand-engraved stability cock. The detail-oriented collector will discover that the identical calibre works equally effectively in each the 38.5mm Lange 1 and the 36.8mm Little Lange 1. Restricted to 300 items for the Lange 1 and 150 for the Little Lange 1, these timepieces epitomize timeless magnificence and technical mastery. As a fast apart, our photographs right here showcase solely the 2 variations of the Lange 1.
“The Lange 1 is a timepiece that unites every part that distinguishes a refined mechanical watch: originality, timeless magnificence and horological precision, right down to the final element,” explains Wilhelm Schmid, A. Lange & Söhne CEO. “When it was launched thirty years in the past, it broke the prevailing design guidelines and outlined its very personal type. This progressive power is embodied by our ambition to by no means stand nonetheless.”
This text first appeared on WOW’s Festive Difficulty #76
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