Three dates mark the history of A. Lange & Söhne in the history of Germany. On the last day of the war in 1945, the historical factory buildings of Lange, which was established in Glashütte in 1845, were partly destroyed in a bombing raid. Three years later, with the company in East Germany’s Soviet zone, the company was expropriated and its name was forgotten. In 1990, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Walter Lange, the great-grandson of the founder Ferdinand Adolph Lange, finally had chance to realise the dream that the war had nearly destroyed: to continue producing high-quality timepieces like the pocket watches produced by his great-grandfather, at the same time adding his own innovations as part of an incessant quest for precision, aesthetics and legibility. And revive A. Lange & Söhne.
Another date: 24th October 1994. Walter Lange and his associate, the watch crazy entrepreneur Günter Blümlein, present the first four wristwatches developed by the company since its revival. It is the start of the second life of the Lange family business, which will see the brand established as one of the key prestigious names in high-end watchmaking. To this day, the brand has developed 63 in-house movements. In 2001 the return to a reconstructed historic factory marked another milestone in the company’s history.
Among the new watches presented on 24th October 1994 was the aptly-named Lange 1, for which A. Lange & Söhne celebrates the 25th anniversary this year with a huge operation: 10 limited editions of a model from the Lange 1 collection will be produced this year and unveiled on 24th of each month from January to October 2019. After the Lange 1 “25th Anniversary” seen at the SIHH in January, A. Lange & Söhne has just unveiled the second piece in this anniversary series, the Grande Lange 1 Moon Phase “25th Anniversary”.
The Grand Lange is 2.5mm larger than the Lange 1 and shows off an enlarged moon phase display that is on the main dial along with the hours and minutes (rather than on the small seconds sub-dial like on the Lange 1). On the Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase “25th anniversary”, A. Lange & Söhne presents for the first time this astronomical moon phase (it only needs adjusting every 122.6 years) with a moon disc in hand-engraved solid white gold. Six stars and a constellation of small dots form the celestial backdrop for the moon phase.
The 41mm case is in white gold and the solid-silver dial shows off the blue colour. The numerals, hour markers, hands, large date… all the indications are in blue, with the exception of two tiny red triangles that indicate that the 72-hour power reserve is almost up. The alligator strap naturally conforms to the same rule. The L095.3 calibre also has a hand engraved blue “25” on the balance-cock that can be viewed through the sapphire crystal case back. In the same font as that used for the big date (which was inspired by the clock in Dresden’s opera house), it reminds us that the Lange 1 was the first wristwatch produced in series to feature a big date display, 25 years ago. The 25 is surrounded by a floral motif that is also hand engraved and filled with blue. On the circumference of the case back, the engraved number confirms that the Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase “25th Anniversary” is a limited edition of just 25 pieces.
