Manufacturer: A. Lange & Söhne
Year: Circa 2008
Reference No: 401.026
Movement No: 43’568
Case No: 153’417
Model Name: 1815 Chronograph
Material: 18K white gold
Calibre: Manual, cal. L951.0, 34 jewels
Bracelet/Strap: Leather
Clasp/Buckle: 18K white gold A. Lange & Söhne buckle
Dimensions: 39.5mm Diameter
Signed: Case, dial, movement, and buckle signed.
Accessories: Accompanied by A. Lange & Söhne International Guarantee and service booklet dated July 28th, 2008, product literature, leather binder, fitted presentation box, and outer box.
Catalogue Essay
While A. Lange & Söhne’s rich history reaches back to the 19th century when Ferdinand Adolph Lange established the brand in 1845. The modern rebirth of the firm occurred in 1990, when Ferdinand’s great-grandson, Walter Lange, and horological gamechanger, Günter Blümlein, set out to re-establish the firm’s prestigious past and catalyze the return of high-quality watchmaking to Glashütte. By 1992, they had filed patents for their oversized date indication and in 1994 the brand released four watches that today are icons amongst haute horlogerie: the Lange 1, the Arkade, the Saxonia and the Tourbillon "Pour le Mérite". Since that time, A. Lange & Söhne’s has become a global force and a cherished collectors’ brand known for their technical complications and clean, modern aesthetic. In 1996, Walter Lange released the 1815 collection in honor of his great-grandfather’s birth in 1815, and while the watches ranged in design from time only to complicated timepieces, they all featured large cases with railway-track minute scales, and Arabic numerals – details reminiscent of their high-grade historic pocket watches.

The present 18 karat white gold 1815 Chronograph, from the first generation produced between 2004 and 2008, is a wonderful representation of the goals set forward by Walter Lange. The watch combines traditional watchmaking with 21st century engineering with the caliber 951, their renowned chronograph movement first used introduced in 1999 in their Datograph model. The flyback mechanism allows the hands to zero reset for immediate new measurements.

The dial has incredible dimensionality, with the pulsation scale, hour track, and inner dial all on slightly different levels. While the subdials feature a guilloche pattern, the smoothly opaline dial glistens like freshly powdered snow. Within the warmth of a white gold case, well-proportioned at 39.5mm diameter, it feels comfortable yet substantial like the watch of substance that it is. Furthermore, it is accompanied with its original paperwork and presentation box.
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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