A. lange & Söhne logo. Image from Wikipedia
A. lange & Söhne is a German watchmaker based in Glashutte, Saxony. Founded in 1845, it is the oldest watch manufacturer in the world still operating today.
A. lange & Söhne is one of the oldest watchmaking companies and after the rise and fall of the company, now it is back in the watchmaking industry. They are now adapting the production of watch components using computer-based machines but still using traditional hand way of timepiece decoration and components installation.
Ferdinard Adolph Lange. Image from Wikipedia
A. lange & Söhne established in 1868 in Glashutte, Germany by Adolph Lange and his brother in law Adolph Schneider.
Adolphe Lange, born in Dresden in 1815, was a well-known young man in Glashutte, renowned for his kind and loyal spirit. It started in 1845 when Lange decided to build a watch factory with financial assistance from the Royal Saxon Government. He made a watch factory next to the town of Glashutte, where he invited many residents to work in his factory.
Image from Langepedia
He taught several residents who later became specialists in producing small watch components (wheels, balance wheels, clock hands, and others). Soon, the Lange company became widely known by the public for the beauty and complications of the pocket watches it produces. Some of them are the complications of the perpetual clock movement, the chronograph, and the clock with the moonphase indicator.
For 18 years, Lange has influenced the fate of the residents of Glashutte, where he eventually also became the mayor of Glashutte. Without realizing it, many residents with financial problems end up having jobs that ultimately make their lives more stable. So from there, Lange has a good reputation with local material suppliers and the people.
At 60 in 1875, Lange passed away due to heart failure. After Lange passed away, His sons took over the company and changed the company name to A. lange & Söhne.
Image from Langepedia
Image from Langepedia
The Progessive Era
The early 1900 was a painful year for A lange and Söhne. An economic decline in the country due to WWI impacted the company. Even so, the company continued to strive, and their production of Marine chronometers helped them survive the market.
Early pocket watches use steel or iron as their base components material. One of the problems of the mechanism in watches is that the longer you use it, sometimes the watch will become slower or faster. Even worse, it stopped when iron or steel experienced expansion. It is typical for steel and iron to expand due to temperature after some time.
Image from Langepedia & Langeaficionado
Alloy is a material that is non-abrasive, non-magnetic, and is much robust for day-to-day usage. The beryllium hairspring alloy is a breakthrough where the material has low thermal expansion. The beryllium alloy material decreases the risk of this problem.
In 1930, Richard Lange, the grandson of Adolph Lange, took over the company and patented the beryllium hairspring alloy, which makes a significant development as of today, all watches are much robust with the temperature of its components stable. (A human body produces heat and alloy makes a great companion.)
The Post-War Era
During WWII, A. lange & Söhne produced oversized pilot watches, which he supplied to the german air force.
A.Lange & Sohne pilot watch WWII. Image from Chrono24
The above picture is an authentic A. lange & Söhne Pilot watch. Based on the website Chrono24, the watch currently in their possession belongs to an Italian family who said the original owner of this watch is a German air force pilot. His plane was shot down in Genova but survived an emergency landing. The German pilot gave this watch in exchange for help and treatment of his injuries.
The family agreed to help the German pilot and kept the watch under a brick. The watch was long forgotten until it suddenly reappeared in an untouched condition. You can check out the full specification with the A lange & Söhne watch price on the website.
Image from Chrono 24
Complete references, prices, and specifications about A.Lange & Sohne Pilot watch.(Jul/04/22)
(I am not an affiliate, and I do not get any profit for posting this link. I'm just Admiring it because If they sold this watch, this page would no longer be active. ;) …)
Image from Langepedia
In May 1945, A. lange & Söhne's main production building was destroyed by a bomb but rebuilt back. But in 1946, the east german government seized A. lange & Söhne company which made all the 3 Lange owners declare that the company is now running the business under nazi. By then, A. lange & Söhne company became one of the 7 organizations, Glashutte Uhren-beitrieben (GUB), owned by the German communist.
Image from Langepedia
Therefore, it turned all the Lange owners into war criminals. Adolphe Lange's great-grandson, Walter Lange, who mainly operated the company in those years, strongly denied the charges and was told to mine uranium with other workers. So Walter Lange fled to America instead. Unfortunately, in 1946, Lange's name disappeared from the watch industry.
The Nineties
1990, When Germany reunited, Walter Lange Returned to Glashutte with the hopes of reviving his company. With the help of Gunther Blumen (IWC chief executive) and support from Les manufactures Horology (LMS), the parent company of Jaeger Lecoultre and IWC, Walter Lange produced and released his first-line primary product; Lange 1, Arkade, Saxonia and Pour le merite.
Image from Monochrome
24 October 1994, (From the left) Gunter Blumlein, Walter Lange and Hartmut Knothe at the Dresden Royal Palace. The watches in the billboard (from the left): Lange 1, Arkade, Saxonia and Pour le Merite Tourbillon.
Image from Langepedia
Gunter Blumlein, Walter Lange and Hartmut Knothe at the Dresden Royal Palace to launch 4 of A.Lange & Sohne first-line product.
Revival
In the year 2000, Richemont purchased the LMH stock. Which made him the owner of A. lange & Söhne, IWC, and Jaeger LeCoultre.
Image from Zimbio
(From the left) Walter Lange, Angela Merkel, Stanislaw Tillich, and Wilhelm Schmid.
In 2015, A. lange & Söhne expanded their factory next to their production building in Glashutte. The opening ceremony was so extravagant. The chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, attended the ribbon-cutting event.
A.Lange & Sohne is now a luxury watch company that produces high-quality watches, competing with other luxury brands such as Patex Phillip and Vacheron Constantine. Their products are always famous for their details and amazing craftsmanship.
The Bottom Line
One of my personal favorites is the pour le merite. The pour le merite watch consists of 600 gears (including the chain) for the mechanism. Imagine 600 components fitting inside that exquisite 40mm watch. I am sure the watchmakers behind the production must be a very patient person, and the gears must be very microscopic.
A.Lange & Sohne history taught me one thing, never give up. Compared to the A. lange & Söhne environment and situation, the 21st century is much better. By the way, Thank you for reading this long article. I really appreciate it; you made it till the end. I hope I'll get to see you again in my other articles. Tschuss <3