1163Σ
A. Lange & Söhne
Ref. 304.049
Grosse Langematik Gangreserve
A very fine and rare platinum wristwatch with power reserve indication, zero-reset feature, guarantee and box, numbered 14 of a limited edition of 100 pieces
Full-Cataloguing
In 1938, Wempe took over the company ChronometerWerke GmbH, founded in 1905. This model celebrates the centenary of the founding of that company, and it was released in a limited edition of, fittingly, 100 examples. An exercise in supreme elegance and balance, the dial is given a regulator-style (while not being a regulator timepiece) with two subsidiary dials at 12 (power reserve) and at 6 (running seconds). With utmost German restrain, the name of the celebrated retailer does not appear on the dial, rather it is engraved to the back next to the limited edition numbering. The regard A Lange & Söhne had for this limited edition is apparent when considering that even the box is numbered, twice: once on the inside of the top lid, and a second time on the metal frame of the watch cradle.
A. Lange & Söhne
German | 1845Originally 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.