One Grand Design

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One Grand Design - A. Lange & Söhne
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Focus on the Grande Lange 1

If there is one timepiece that helped establish the A. Lange & Söhne brand, it has to be the Lange 1. When launched in 1994, along with three other era-defining watches, it was something that had never been done before. Its off centered layout was what collectors were accustomed to find in a complicated piece, with several subsidiary functions, and most typically, perpetual calendars. And even those used a more classic sense of symmetry. Instead, A. Lange & Söhne decided that everything in the Lange 1 would be different and nothing would stand on the diameter lines of its specific circle. Yet it was obvious that the piece was built with a keen sense of balance. It all became clear once A. Lange & Söhne revealed its storied triangle, the one along whose lines all indications of the Lange 1 are arranged. 

One Grand Design

Second One

And then in 2002, A. Lange & Söhne decided to release a wider Lange 1, more in tune with the size standards of those bygone years. But yielding didn’t mean going overboard, and the Grand Lange 1 stayed under the 42 mm mark. A few years later, in 2012, this sub-collection received its own, dedicated, larger and thinner caliber with a 72-hour power reserve, and with it a remarkable dial redesign. And now, ten more years later, the brand felt the need to revisit what is probably its flagship, its most recognizable creation, a pillar of its Saxon watchmaker identity. As for any redesign, this is a game of spot the difference. The most visible appears on the spec sheet: they have shaved off 0.6mm of the case thickness. That’s literally a few hair’s breadths less. And it doesn’t come from the L095.1 movement as this fundamental feature, representing another of A. Lange & Söhne signatures, remains unaltered.

One Grand Design

Third One

It’s the hands and dial that are affected, ever slightly so. And what they allow the piece to gain is not thinness. It’s elegance. The dial is now wider, which allows the bezel to be slimmer. Made of solid, sandblasted silver, it harbors thinner recesses, all of which are snailed. As a necessity, the hands are thinner and stacked closer to one another, and to the dial as the indices have gone the same way. The result is a more flush watch face, with a dark gray finish that’s available for both the rose gold and the white gold Grand Lange 1. The size, you’ll say, remains unchanged, at 41mm. That’s 0.1mm more than the 2012 version. But in Lange’s universe, that’s a world of difference.

A. Lange & Söhne Grande Lange 1

Case: 18K rose gold or 18K white gold, sapphire crystal and caseback, water-resistant to 30m
Dimensions: 41mm in diameter, 8.2mm thick
Movement: mechanical, hand-wound, Caliber L095.1, 3 Hz, 72h power reserve, 397 components. Off-centered hours and minutes, small seconds, power-reserve indicator, large date
Dial: gray, sand-blasted and snailed 925 silver, 18K rose gold or 18K white gold applied indices and hands
Bracelet: brown alligator leather with rose gold or white gold pin buckle

 
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