Manufacturer: A. Lange & Söhne Year: Circa 2010 Reference No: 116.025 Movement No: 57'411 Case No: 168'701 Model Name: Lange 1 Zeitzone Material: Platinum Calibre: Manual, cal. L031.1, 54 jewels Bracelet/Strap: Leather Clasp/Buckle: Platinum A. Lange & Sohne pin buckle Dimensions: 42mm Diameter Signed: Case, dial, movement and buckle signed Accessories: Accompanied by A. Lange & Söhne undated guarantee issued by U.S.A. retailer Westime, instruction booklet, leather document holder, fitted leather presentation box and outer packaging
Catalogue Essay
The Lange 1 can be considered as a “statement of intent” from A. Lange & Söhne. It was one of the four pieces originally released in 1994, when A. Lange & Söhne was re-launched, and it features all the traits which are now eponymous with A. Lange & Söhne: above all, the large double-window date indication and the asymmetrical dial disposition.
The present iteration of the Lange 1 increases the offer of the model with one of the most useful complications available: a second time zone. The most common way of indicating a second time zone is a second central hand, such as seen on the Rolex GMT or the vintage Patek Philippe reference 2597, or the modern Patek Philippe Pilot reference 5524. A. Lange & Söhne, however approached the second time zone in a completely different way, dedicating an entire subsidiary dial - the one at 4 o’ clock - to the local time, and also adding a city ring to the outer rim of the dial. The small arrow in the local time dial points at the city the local time is currently set on. This solution allows for an outstanding aesthetic impact of the piece, which acquires somewhat of a “world time” vibe, and it is enormously practical. When analyzing the Zeitzone, it is actually apparent how Lange placed practicality above all else, and how the aesthetics of the piece are a consequence of this choice: form truly follows function, rather than the other way around, both under a visual point of view and also under an operational one. Visually, beyond the already mentioned city ring, the watch features day/night indications for both local and home time, avoiding the very common issue of confusing night and day times at the home location. Operationally, the piece features a quick-setting pusher at 10 o’clock, and a second pusher at 8 o’clock. This second button allows for quick-setting of the date, extremely useful in case the date at the destination does not match the one at the departing location.
Originally founded in 1845 by Ferdinand Adolph Lange in Glashütte, Dresden, Germany, the firm established an entire watchmaking culture and industry in Glashütte. The brand quickly became Germany's finest watchmaker, first creating dependable, easy-to-repair watches before going on to produce some of the world's finest complicated pocket watches, including Grande Sonnerie watches, tourbillon watches and Grande Complications.
On the final day of World War II, their factories were destroyed by Russian bombers, and in 1948 the brand was confiscated by the Soviet Union. Following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990, Ferdinand's great grandson Walter Lange re-established the brand with the objective to once again produce top-quality luxury watches. Now part of the Richemont Group, its original vintage and modern creations are highly coveted by collectors. Key models from the modern era include the Lange 1, Pour Le Mérite Tourbillon and the Zeitwerk.