A Lange & Söhne
Precision, Winter 2022
Just as adverts for managed funds and savings accounts are obliged to warn us that “the value of investments can go down as well as up”, so we would all be well advised to remember that the same applies to collectible watches.
With that bit of small print out of the way, we’re going to suggest that – while others remain fixated on Switzerland – now might be the time to look to Germany for your next investment timepiece. Specifically we’re talking about A Lange & Söhne, which many consider to be Saxony’s answer to Patek Philippe.
Stop a few people in the street and ask them to name three luxury watch brands, and ALS – or Lange as we’ll call it – probably won’t figure. And in case you don’t know much about it either, the story goes something like this:
Founded in Glashütte by Ferdinand Adolph Lange in 1845; after a slow start garnered international patronage among the great and the good of the 19th century; suffered badly during and after World War I, both as a result of the conflict and of the founding of a mass-production watch factory in the town in 1918; survived, but hammered again during the 1920s by galloping inflation and an influx of machine-made Swiss watches.
Next, made it through World War II only to be nationalised in 1948 under communism and absorbed into a giant, state-owned watch business; revived as a luxury watch brand in 1990 by Walter Lange, the founder’s great-grandson; bought by Richemont in 2000.
Understated styling of the 1815 Rattrapante, top. Its Movement L101.2, above, was made specifically for this watch
From the very beginning of that revival 32 years ago, Lange adopted a no-compromise attitude that quickly repositioned it in the premier league of traditional dial names – and it has never looked back.
Every model in the range, from the simpler Saxonia and 1815 families to high complications such as the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater and the Tourbograph Perpetual, are meticulously, beautifully and exquisitely finished to a degree that’s difficult to fault, let alone rival, and certain ‘classic’ pre-owned models are steadily climbing the auction charts.
If there’s a downside, however, it’s the fact that the most covetable Langes can be hard to find – but if you happen to have a six-figure lump of cash burning a hole in your pocket, you fancy an heirloom watch and you can get your order in quick, we suggest making a play for the new 1815 Rattrapante.
This latest version of Lange’s superb split-seconds chronograph combines a platinum case with an understated dial and the maker’s usual, astonishing quality of finish and decoration to the movement, which features bridges and plates made from untreated silver.
And at a sensible 41.2mm in diameter, it’s entirely wearable too – making it ideal for timing those trackday laps and observed sections of classic rallies in truly unmatched style.
Just 200 pieces will be made in platinum, and the price is ‘on application’ – but we suspect somewhere in the region of £150,000.