Helmut Geyer: Most people have trouble imagining that such well-known products as mechanical watches still have to be designed and engineered from scratch. This means defining up to 10,000 individual measurements for several hundred separate components and tweaking them to interact with each other. It can take five years to reach series production. All our timepieces have movements engineered exclusively for Lange – that is probably the essential difference compared to most other manufactures. In carmaking, responsibility for engineering rests with a larger team. Experts from a wide range of specialities have to work together – engine technology, pneumatics, electronics, hydraulics, etc. The construction of a movement, on the other hand, is the task of one or two specialists in precision mechanical engineering.

	Burkhard Geyer: Naturally about watches and current engineering challenges. Sometimes this will trigger small protests from other family members. (They both laugh). Other frequent topics of conversation are mountaineering and music. Apart from that, I think we talk about the same everyday things as other families.

	Helmut Geyer: I tend to be happy rather than proud to have achieved something. I have two sons, both carving out their own paths. One of them has followed in my footsteps. Apart from that, I have planted a small garden, which allows me to relax from my sedentary work. Now and then, there’s even something to harvest.