In the Swiss-dominated world of haute horlogerie, German watch manufactory A. Lange & Söhne rests at the pinnacle of watchmaking, crafting exclusive timepieces with unparalleled technical ingenuity.
Sometimes one is wont to believe that the glory of a watch brand is reposed in its celebrity brand ambassadors. Not for A. Lange & Söhne. The company has never ever signed on a brand ambassador, famous or otherwise, during the course of its more-than a-century-old watchmaking history. The truth is, it has never really needed one because of its brand ethos: the watch is, and will always be, the hero in its narrative, something that the brand’s CEO Wilhelm Schmid reiterates gently.
A brand etched in time
Ferdinand Adolph Lange, who was fascinated with precision techniques and fastidious tools, founded the brand in 1845 from an atelier in Glashütte, Germany. He created pocket watches, which, for the next century, were among the most coveted timepieces in the world. Despite surviving two World Wars, the company was out of business for some 40 years after the second war. In 1990, the late Walter Lange, the great-grandson of Ferdinand, revived the brand and rolled out its first collection within just four years.
So, how does a brand that’s steeped in tradition, make itself relevant in the 21st century? By “innovating,” says Schmid. “By taking the established rules of fine watchmaking and craftsmanship to create ingenious new solutions.” Among the numerous inventions credited to the brand, he lists out the first tourbillon with a stop-seconds feature, the first mechanical watch with exactly jumping numerals and uniform power delivery, and the first double Rattrapante (a type of chronograph that has two seconds’ hands), to name a few.
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