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HOMAGE TO WALTER LANGE

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“All we had was the vision of once again crafting the world's best watches in Glashütte.“

-Walter Lange

When time came home

The fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification offered Walter Lange a historic opportunity: On 7 December 1990, in his home town of Glashütte, which he had been forced to leave in 1948 after his family was expropriated, he founded Lange Uhren GmbH and brought back to life the inheritance left to him by his ancestors.

Instead of retiring like other people in their mid sixties, Walter Lange once again turned his vision of creating the world’s best watches into reality.


On 24 October 1994, the first A. Lange & Söhne collection of the new era exceeded all expectations and resurrected the watchmaking legend. The news that the illustrious name of A. Lange & Söhne had been reborn caused a paradigm shift: The art of watchmaking had found a second home, outside of Switzerland. Finally, time had come home.

A courageous new start

Walter Lange’s pioneering efforts paved the way for re-establishing Glashütte as the German capital of watchmaking.

Honouring a committed life

To commemorate the company founder Walter Lange, who passed away in January 2017, A. Lange & Söhne has extended the 1815 watch family with one unusual timepiece:


1815 “Homage to Walter Lange”

REFERENCE 297.078


The 1815 “Homage to Walter Lange” features a jumping sweep-seconds hand with a start-and-stop function that dates back to a 150-year-old invention conceived by his great-grandfather Ferdinand Adolph Lange.


A UNIQUE TIMEPIECE


The 40.5-millimetre case of the 1815 “Homage to Walter Lange” is made of stainless steel. This single piece features a black enamel dial inspired by the design of historic pocket watches with the traditional railway-track minute scale and polished hands.


The newly developed movement carries the special calibre number L1924. This refers to Walter Lange’s year of birth. In addition, the first three numbers of the reference number, 297, allude to his date of birth, 29 July.


AS UNIQUE AS THE MAN WHOSE NAME IT CARRIES

With this, the new timepiece corresponds to what Walter Lange might have imagined as the perfect timepiece: Externally, it is reduced to the essentials, but, on the inside, it presents something special – a simple but technically exciting complication.


On 13 May 2018, the unique 1815 “Homage to Walter Lange” in stainless steel was auctioned off by Phillips in Geneva for CHF 852,500 / USD 852,414 / EUR 713,627 (hammer price, plus buyer’s premium). This is the highest result that a Lange watch has ever achieved at an auction. “Our company founder Walter Lange, to whom we dedicated this timepiece, would have been very happy about this result – and so are we,” said Lange CEO Wilhelm Schmid. All proceeds will go to Children Action. The Swiss-based aid foundation supports disadvantaged children all over the world.

1815 “Homage to Walter Lange” - Auctioned in Geneva May, 13th 2018

Charged with history

In addition to the unique steel version of the 1815 “Homage to Walter Lange”, limited editions are available in yellow, white and pink gold. The unusual limitation numbers recall milestones of Lange’s watchmaking history.

“There's something one should expect not only of a watch but also of oneself: to never stand still.“

-Walter Lange

Never stand still - homage to Walter Lange

An extraordinary life

Throughout his life, Walter Lange never stood still. Even though his early years were personally and professionally marred by World War II, he followed the family tradition and became a watchmaker. Committed to perfection, Walter Lange passed on his passion for craftsmanship, which has been present at his company in recent years. Therefore, even today, each timepiece is still built with the same dedication and desire to improve its precision as in the past. It is mainly due to Walter Lange’s courage and vision that A. Lange & Söhne exists today.

Explore further

A. Lange & Söhne is reborn
A. Lange & Söhne is reborn
In 1989, Germany celebrated the fall of the Berlin Wall. Walter Lange immediately considers the establishment of a Lange manufacture in Glashütte and makes his dream come true.
Unforgettable masterpieces
Unforgettable masterpieces
Since 1990, Lange has been creating mechanical works of art that have found permanent places in notable collections and in our memories.
Günter Blümlein - the legend remains unforgotten
Günter Blümlein - the legend remains unforgotten
One of Günter Blümlein’s greatest achievements was the revival of the A. Lange & Söhne brand, essentially from scratch.

How can we be of service?

Whether you are in search of a specific model, have questions out of interest or need a service request for your timepiece – we are delighted to help you. We are at your service by phone, email or in one of our boutiques.

The A. Lange & Söhne salon in Zurich

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