Hodinkee
Just Because: Nine Incredible Watches I Saw Inside The Archives At A. Lange & Söhne HQ
The small German town of Glashütte is paradise for watch nerds. Some people don’t quite believe how densely packed the watchmaking is in this little town in Saxony, with the biggest German horological names literally next door to each other. But undoubtedly the most iconic name in Glashütte watchmaking (and German high horology in general) is A. Lange & Söhne, and the manufacturer rarely opens its doors to outsiders to take a closer look at what the brand is up to. Earlier this year, during the rainy month of July, a few of us on the Hodinkee editorial team hopped over to Glashütte to see what was happening within the secretive walls of the Lange, and to say that the visit was unforgettable is surely the understatement of the century. There’s still lots to come from our visit, but one of the best moments of the few days I spent there was, well, looking at watches—very special watches though, pulled from the Lange archives. The Designs Behind The Revival Kicking it off are three of modern A. Lange & Söhne's inaugural silhouettes in yellow gold, representing the then-new designs unveiled by Günter Blümlein on October 24th, 1994. That day, of course, marked a pivotal moment that not only revived the A. Lange & Söhne name after a long period of dormancy, but also set a new standard for what high-end watchmaking meant in the mid-nineties, especially among its Swiss contemporaries. The Lange 1 could just be the most iconic model from the brand. It’s the onl...
