Watch aficionados already know that A. Lange & Sohne, a prestigious watch manufacturer from former East Germany, is one of the most interesting luxury brands in Germany. German business magazine, Wirtschaftswoche, (freely translates into ‘Science Week’) published a list of German luxury brands and ranked them according to a system with criteria such as ‘brand appeal’ to be the Number-One luxury brand, for the third time in a row.
Every two years (since 2005), the Wirtschaftswoche magazine publishes a list with brands and A. Lange & Sohne has consistently been on top of this list since 2007. Leaving not only other watch brands such as Chronoswiss (Munich) and Glashuette Original (Glashuette) behind, but also car manufacturers such as Maybach, Porsche, Wiesmann, electronic firms like Loewe and luxury boutiques like Wempe.
Germany always has been a serious player in the world of mechanical watches, but it is amazing how fast they marketed themselves (again) after the re-union of East and West Germany. A. Lange & Sohne is probably the best example how such a small brand in a luxury niche market was able to rank themselves in such a short period of time with world renown brands like Porsche.
A. Lange & Sohne is probably the most high-end watch manufacturer in Germany, and introduced their Richard Lange Tourbillon ‘Pour le Merite’ timepiece last year. Only 100 pieces will be made of this model with price tag just below $200,000 each. This ‘Pour le Merite’ features not only a tourbillon, but also a fusée-and-chain transmission, which is – for the watch experts – even a nicer mechanical treat than a tourbillon. However, A. Lange & Sohne is of course most famous for their Lange 1 and Lange 1815 models.
Watchmaker Ferdinand A. Lange originally found this brand in 1845, creating the finest pocket watches in Germany. After the fall of the iron curtain, A. Lange & Sohne rapidly got back to the top of the watch making industry and manufacturers only a few thousand timepieces per year, all in gold or platinum. All timepieces are produced with the same high-grade finish and quality, no exceptions made. A. Lange & Sohne exclusively uses their in-house developed and manufactured movements, assembled and finished by hand. During the last 20 years, A. Lange & Sohne has developed about 40 different mechanical calibers.
More information can be found at: www.lange-soehne.com.
A. Lange & Sohne Gallery
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