A. Lange & Söhne - The Geneva Watch Auction: XX Geneva Saturday, November 9, 2024 | Phillips
  • Manufacturer: A. Lange & Söhne
    Year: Circa 2005
    Reference No: 112.047
    Movement No: 45'360
    Case No: 156'302 and 1/10
    Model Name: Lange 1
    Material: 18K white gold
    Calibre: Manual, cal. L901.0, 53 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Leather
    Clasp/Buckle: 18K white gold A. Lange & Söhne pin buckle
    Dimensions: 38.5mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement and buckle signed
    Accessories: Accompanied by A. Lange & Söhne warranty booklet bearing details of a June 2024 service and service box.

  • Catalogue Essay

    The Lange 1 was part of the 4-model collection (together with the Tourbillon Pour Le Mérite, the Saxonia and the Arkade) used to re-launch the brand in 1994. Out of the four, the Lange 1 was without a doubt the most surprising due to its asymmetric dial, a configuration that today is indissolubly linked with A. Lange & Söhne in the minds of watch enthusiasts worldwide.

    The present iteration of the model - ref. 112.047 - is one of the most elusive and unusual out there, thanks to its superb guilloché dial. Lange is not at all a stranger to engine-turned dials. In fact, their standard guillochage of the Lange 1 dial (a wavy pattern for each dial - 2 subsidiary dials and the full one - interrupted by flat tracks and windows upon which the graphics are printed) is nearly as iconic as the dial architecture. Variations of the theme are known, such as the 100-piece limited edition made for Sincere which substitutes the waves of the full dial with a straight-line pattern.

    The present piece indeed represents such a variant, albeit 10 times more rare than the Sincere Edition. It was made in 10 numbered pieces only, this being number 1/10, for the Munster retailer Oeding Erdel in 2005. It is worth to note that the same pattern will be employed for one of the most important Lange 1 examples overall - the pink gold Lange 1 “Honoris Causa” piece unique, also made in 2005.

    Lange collectors need not be told that it might be a very long time before they get another chance of owning one of the most remarkable and rare Lange 1 variations in existence.

  • Artist Biography

    A. Lange & Söhne

    German • 1845

    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.

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Ref. 112.047
A superb, hardly ever seen and enormously collectible white gold wristwatch with large date, power reserve indication and unusual guilloché dial, number 1 of a 10 pieces limited edition

Circa 2005
38.5mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement and buckle signed

Estimate
CHF25,000 - 50,000 
€26,600-53,200
$29,100-58,100

Sold for CHF114,300

Contact Specialist

Alexandre Ghotbi
Deputy Chairman, Watches, Head of Watches, Europe, and Middle East

+41 79 637 17 24
aghotbi@phillips.com

 

Tiffany To
Head of Sale, Geneva

+41 79 460 55 88

tto@phillips.com

 

 

The Geneva Watch Auction: XX

Geneva Auction 9 - 10 November 2024