1815

The traits of this exceptional person are distilled in the 1815 watch family: Meticulousness and precision, foresight and a penchant for perfection, courage and modesty. In line with Ferdinand Adolph Lange’s character, the dial design is subtle yet rich in detail. The no doubt most prominent feature of the 1815 is the railway-track minute scale. The watch thus builds a bridge into the era of nascent rail travel, at a time when pocket watches became ever more important, and when Ferdinand Adolph Lange founded his company in Glashütte. The readily legible Arabic numerals as well as the blued-steel hands are also reminiscent of that epoch.

The sapphire-crystal caseback reveals the character of the 1815. It shows a meticulously finished, precisely running movement, often with traditionally implemented classic complications that only few watchmakers today are capable of adjusting. Since an interest in self-winding watches only emerged at the dawn of the 20th century, all models of the 1815 are manually wound. Then again, bold combinations can be found, for example in the 1815 RATTRAPANTE PERPETUAL CALENDAR, which features two classic complications. The mechanism for determining stopped or lap times is controlled by two column wheels. The 1815 CHRONOGRAPH, with subsidiary dials that are shifted slightly downward, showcases its classic origins as well. Fifth-of-a-second stop times, the precisely jumping minute counter, and the flyback function are hallmarks of innovative precision. Additionally, the models of the 1815 watch family feature elements that were typically found in Lange’s historic pocket watches: the sturdy three-quarter plate made of untreated German silver, screws that are blued at 300°C, screwed gold chatons, and the hand-engraved balance cock.

Ferdinand Adolph Lange was born in Dresden on 18 February 1815. His extraordinary personality revealed itself very early on. During his journeyman’s years in the ateliers of the world’s best watchmakers, he patiently and painstakingly recorded his insights. To this very day, his famous journey- and workbook is a living account of his studies.

In 1845, he showed genuine entrepreneurial courage when he established a watchmaking company in the Saxon town of Glashütte in the Ore Mountains. He had access neither to trained personnel nor to an intact infrastructure, but he created jobs in the then-distressed region and helped it flourish again.

From the very beginning, his ambition was to craft timepieces characterised by consistently high quality and dependability. For this purpose, he had to fundamentally reform watchmaking. Within a short period of time – encouraged by his quest for perfection –, he developed new precision measuring instruments, new production techniques, and innovative mechanisms. As a forward-looking individual, he encouraged his employees to specialise in certain work processes and become independent suppliers; this decision remains pivotal for the prosperity of the entire region.

But modesty is the character trait that best defines Ferdinand Adolph Lange. When offered a title of nobility for his merits as a watchmaker, entrepreneur, mayor, and politician, he politely declined it and commented: “A worthy man ennobles himself”.