The 1916 Company & Langepedia: The Story of the Lange 1
2015 Update
Picasso’s Guernica. Widely regarded as one of the most powerful anti-war pantings in history, the piece combines many elements, generally viewed as symbolic, in rather precise, representative forms. A horse is a horse, a bull is a bull, said the artist. Now, however, it has become a symbol against the devastation and suffering of war. It has a legacy, a narrative. It has become an icon. Now, why am I talking about this painting under an image of a Lange 1?
Because, in the Lange 1, I see something similar. When the Soviets bombarded the Müglitz Valley and everything in it, including A. Lange & Söhne’s manufacture, it seemed like the end of an era. The name A. Lange & Söhne was gone from the dials, perhaps for all eternity. The city, which once crafted nothing but pieces of art, was transformed into a soulless factory. Then, in 1989, something amazing happened— the Berlin Wall fell, and Germany was united once again. The name A. Lange & Söhne was reborn, as the country rose from its ashes.
Such a story (read more, here) needs a symbol. Indeed, symbolism is what makes something an icon. Lange 1 embodies this story. It is distinctive in design, masterful in execution and craft. But above all, it tells the story of A. Lange & Söhne and German watchmaking in 38.5 mm. Because of that, it deserves to be called an icon.
Yet, the looks and the craft are just as important, so let’s take a dive into this gem.
Lange 1 was introduced in a yellow gold case measuring 38.5 mm in diameter and 9.8 mm in thickness, with the press conference on the evening of the 24th of October 1994 in Dresden Castle. It was one of the first four horsemen of A. Lange & Söhne’s phoenix-like rise, and certainly the most charming and distinguished.
Everything about this watch tells a coherent story. Remember, we talked about the similarities between the brand and the country, and the Lange 1 lives this in every inch. Look at the case structure. It feels built with its three-step construction and alternate finish on the side. It feels industrial. The lugs are filed and notched at the base, kind of looking like a separate part of the watch. Such detail was conceived by none other than Blümlein himself, to give the watch a more constructed feeling, distinguishing the design from the seamlessly flowing Swiss watches.
Moving on to the dial, the narrative gets even more intense. A truly timeless design greets us. It seems random at first glance, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, it is completely balanced. Lange 1 is a dial-first design, and it truly shows. The design follows the rule of thirds. The center of the date window stay on the same line with the sub-seconds and power reserve indicator at center. A step left, we have the center of the hour and minutes sub-dial. If you connect the dots, Lange 1 forms an equilateral triangle, hence the inherently comforting appearance of its seeming asymmetry.
The big-date indication was inspired by the famous 5-minute clock in Dresden Semper Opera House, made by Ferdinand Adolph Lange’s tutor, Friedrich Gutkaes in 1841. The mastery in taking a century old design and bringing it into modernity is just brilliant. As Blümlein says, this watch respects the past, but not bound to it, and enriches it.
Turning the Lange 1 over, the caliber L901.0 greets us. Originally based on Jaeger-LeCoultre’s 822 for the gear ratio, the base movement is entirely customized to fit the specifications of the dial side. The little islands on the movement stem for the customization – the cut-out in the middle is for the keyless works and the one towards the left is for the sub-seconds.
A glance towards the movement is enough to see that this is an A. Lange & Söhne caliber and has nothing to do with JLC now. Every signature detail that one expects from the brand is there, again, done masterfully. The free-hand engraved balance cock, flat polished escape-wheel cap, the swan’s neck regulator, the gold-chatons, blued screws and of course the three-quarter plate – all hailing from the 19th century of A. Lange & Söhne. In addition, we see a beautiful and wide striping over the plate and a great perlage on the base plate. This is the brand’s essence in just 30mm diameter.
The caliber L901.0 offers 72 hours of power reserve and beats at a traditional 3Hz.
How do you update an icon? I believe the best example comes from Patek Philippe’s 1518 line. Over time, the line evolved subtly, without breaking any of the proportions but with small tweaks here and there to let you know that it is something different, a descendant, nonetheless.
In 2012, A. Lange & Söhne updated the Datograph by removing the Roman Numerals, which threw-off a big chunk of the piece’s identity. The new edition was beautiful, brilliantly modernized both in size and movement, but with too much of a change perhaps. The reception at the time was not as warm either, which brings us to Lange 1.
In 2015, for the 20th anniversary of this icon, A. Lange & Söhne gave the Lange 1 a subtle dial and a drastic movement update. The subtle update altered the typography on the dial side—the letters became more defined, thinner and rather modern compared to earlier variants. The date-window got sharper, so did the hands. The proportions and aesthetics stayed the same, because you don’t touch these things, but it was obvious that some things changed. A masterful update if you ask me!
On the back, the caliber L901.0 was replaced by the new L121.1. Offering the same power reserve and beat rate, but now with an instantaneous date change, an in-house balance spring and an in-house balance wheel. 100% A. Lange & Söhne, so to speak. Albeit it lacks the fun aspect of the early L901.0 with its small islands, the purity of the caliber is just a joy to watch, and with the bigger balance wheel, it is more alive!
The Collectability
Since its inception, the Lange 1 was offered in numerous metals and dial configurations. The earliest models came with solid casebacks (101.001, 101.002, 101.005, 101.007, 101.011) up until 1996 and since then, with the glass cover.
There are three references that were produced until about 2015:
101.021 (yellow gold case / champagne dial)
101.025 (platinum case / argenté dial)
101.032 (pink gold case / silver dial)
All the rest were produced for several years and discontinued. Among them, of course, some are more desirable than the others – be it for the looks or the rarity. Below, please find some important references:
101.035 (lower middle) – the Lange 1 Darth with platinum case and black dial. Made between 1999 and 2006. Read more, here.
101.030 – with white gold case and grey dial. Made between 2003 and 2007.
101.027 (top right) – with white gold case and blue dial. Made between 1997 and 2002.
101.028 – with yellow gold case and blue dial. Made in 1998 and 1999. Read more, here.
101.022 (top left) – with yellow gold case and printed indexes / blued hands. Made between 1995 and 2005.
101.027x – with white gold case and printed indexes / blued hands. Made between 2002 and 2008. Read more, here
101.026 – with stainless steel case and with either printed indexes or black dial (3 pieces). Made in 1998 and 1999, possibly around 30-40 pieces.
110.029 / 110.030 (bottom right/bottom left) – with white gold case and mother of pearl dial (plain and guilloche). Read more, here.
112.021 – with yellow gold case and yellow gold guilloche dial and yellow gold escape system. Made in 1998 as 100 pieces. Read more, here.
Apart from the references above, the early Lange 1 pieces differ from each other in terms of typography as first indicated by the Singapore-based design office Andy & Larry. The “Made in Germany” inscription in the early pieces is sans-serif whereas in later periods, it becomes more defined.
We know from the world of Rolex how much a single letter can affect the value of a piece, but for Lange, the future is going to show us how much of a difference this is going to make. In my opinion, it is already hot!
We know from the Rolex world that how much of a single letter can affect the value of a piece but for Lange, the future is going to show us how much of a difference this is going to make. In my opinion, it is already hot!
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