Watch & Jewelry
March 27, 2015
A. Lange & Söhne | Saxonia Annual Calendar
Saxonia Annual Calendar
Featuring the Brand's First Annual Calendar Movement
Text by OPENERS
This new model is equipped with a newly developed annual calendar mechanism, a first for Lange, which requires adjustment only once a year on March 1st. It integrates an outsize date, moon phase display, month display, and day display into the renowned "SAX-0-MAT" automatic movement. The Saxonia collection's signature aesthetic, which balances multiple functions with a clean, refined face, is truly remarkable. In addition to the white gold case model shown, a pink gold version is also available.
Automatic, white gold case, 38.5mm case diameter, ¥3,717,000 (estimated retail price), scheduled for release in April.
BRAND HISTORY
In the early 19th century, during the peak of the Kingdom of Saxony's prosperity, Ferdinand Adolph Lange trained under court watchmaker Friedrich Gutkaes in Dresden, aspiring to become a watchmaker himself. The brand's history began with the watchmaking workshop this great visionary established in the suburbs of Dresden.
Adolf Lange not only devised the three-quarter plate, still renowned today as a traditional technique, but also successively developed the tools necessary for manufacturing components. By widely disseminating the methods for producing each part to his apprentices, he laid the foundation for the brand in a single generation.
Continuing as a family-run business, they crafted pocket watches and wristwatches utilizing the manufacturing techniques of court watchmakers, growing into a top brand in the European watchmaking world by the early 20th century. However, A. Lange & Söhne's operations were temporarily interrupted by World War II. After the war, its assets were confiscated as part of a state-owned enterprise in the former East Germany, and the illustrious name of A. Lange & Söhne lay dormant in history.
But in 1990, with the reunification of East and West Germany, Walter Lange, the founder's great-grandson, magnificently revived the former watchmaking traditions in his ancestral homeland. He then poured the accumulated expertise and decorative techniques from the Kingdom of Saxony era generously into the field of wristwatches, successively unveiling supreme masterpieces such as the "Lange 1" and "Datograph."
They continue to demonstrate an unbridled spirit of innovation, perhaps best described as Saxon tenacity, exemplified by the development of the outsize date display using two discs and the zero-reset mechanism for precise second-hand alignment, for which they hold patents. Thus, today, they have re-established their status as one of the highest echelons in the watchmaking world, continuing to reign in the 21st century as a coveted symbol for watch enthusiasts.
Founded: 1845
Founded in: Dresden, Saxony, Germany
Main Collections: Lange 1, Datograph, Double Split, Richard Lange, Saxonia, Cabaret, Arkade
Inquiries: A. Lange & Söhne 03-3288-6639
Official Website: http://www.lange-soehne.com/