How A. Lange & Söhne elevates timekeeping to an art form

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A 45-minute drive from Dresden leads to Glashütte where A. Lange & Söhne operates across four manufactory buildings, including its largest, which opened in 2015. This facility houses its engravers and watchmakers and oversees the production of movement parts. 

All A. Lange & Söhne watches share a common trait: every aspect is conceived in-house at its manufacture in Glashütte, with each part receiving meticulous hand treatment by its artisans. This dedication aligns with Walter Lange’s vision of creating the world’s finest watches. The company even boasts the ability to make its own balance springs, a complex process that only a handful in the world have been able to master. 

In the 30 years since its re-establishment, A. Lange & Söhne has produced a whopping 72 calibers. Crafting every movement in-house is a tall order, requiring significant investment in resources, from a specialised team of technicians to customised machinery. To meet demand and uphold its high standards, the company established a watchmaking school in 1997, offering a three-year training course designed to cultivate the skills needed for its manufacture.

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Moreover, each A. Lange & Söhne movement is elaborately finished and decorated. A hallmark of its fine watchmaking is the beautifully engraved balance cock. Although a template is provided, the engraving is done free hand, allowing each engraver to express their creativity within certain parameters. What this means is that no two balance cocks are exactly alike.

The engraving department is also responsible for tremblage, a specialised technique of making tiny indentations and cuts with each strike of the burin to give the surface a shimmering appearance.

In the hand-finishing department, we learn that there are around 5,000 tools customised for finissage, from perlage and circular graining to solarisation and chamfering. Every surface, even those that are hidden, receives meticulous attention. Depending on the complexity of the task, an artisan may be solely responsible for the precise finishing of a specific component, such as polishing a fusée-chain transmission, to ensure a flawless result.

These are applied to German silver, including the three-quarter plate embellished with the Glashütte ribbing. The hard material requires special expertise to work with, but its benefits include durability and resistance against corrosion. Intentionally left untreated, it develops a patina over time, another unique aspect of an A. Lange & Söhne movement.

See also: Reviving iconic watch designs from the past

EXTRA TIME 

A. Lange & Söhne adeptly balances aesthetic beauty with technical superiority. Each watch ticks with inventive solutions, from the Lange 1’s asymmetrical dial to the complex Datograph’s flyback chronograph with an outsize date. 

Under the watchful eye of Anthony de Haas, head of product development since 2004, A. Lange & Söhne has built an impressive portfolio admired by collectors worldwide. The latest addition is the Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold ‘Lumen,’ a sophisticated chronograph featuring a precise jumping minute counter, a perpetual calendar, and a tourbillon.

For one, it honours Ferdinand’s commitment to timekeeping precision by famously requiring each movement to be assembled twice.

The first assembly fine-tunes all mechanical parts to the highest degree of perfection. The movement is then taken apart for cleaning, polishing, and decoration. It is assembled a second time, with blued screws set in gold chatons. At this stage, the watchmaker also lubricates over 50 oil sinks and bearing points using eight different types of grease and oils.

The entire process may sound terribly tedious, but it leaves no room for error, ensuring the watch is perfect by the time it leaves the workshop.

At A. Lange & Söhne, each watchmaker is assigned a specific task to hone their specialised skill. Emblematic models Lange 1 (we’re told this is where junior watchmakers cut their teeth), Zeitwerk, and Richard Lange each have dedicated assembly workshops. 

At the Zeitwerk workshop, for example, we observe how the constant-force escapement generates sufficient energy every 60 seconds to power the jumping numerals. Essentially, the torque from the mainspring barrel is briefly released for re-tensioning, providing a burst of power to advance the time discs.

The experts in complications are ensconced in another room, focused on developing and refining the science of tourbillons, rattrapante chronographs, and minute repeaters. It is here that the likes of Richard Lange Jumping Seconds and the Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar are birthed. 

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The often-touted narrative of fusing tradition with modernity is most authentically realised at A. Lange & Söhne. To truly grasp its steadfast commitment to this delicate balance, one must witness the craftsmanship firsthand.

For the connoisseur, the attention to both aesthetic and technical details ensures that the watch arriving on their wrist represents unparalleled artistry—one that will endure for generations and is rarely matched today.

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