A.Lange & Söhne are the archetypical Saxon brand, epitomising the elegant watchmaking of the Glashütte region. One of their most loved collections is the Lange 1, which is now celebrating its 30th anniversary. In honour of this occasion Lange have released the Lange 1 30th Anniversary Limited Edition series featuring four watches, split across two little and large pairs.
By little and large pairs I mean that the two colourways available are each presented in a standard Lange 1 edition and a smaller Little Lange 1 version. Structurally there’s very little to differentiate between the standard Lange 1 and the Little Lange 1 other than the sizes, the standard being 38.5mm in diameter and the Little being 36.8mm, which is not even a particularly drastic difference. Beyond that they all house the same movement and have the same overall case shape and knurled crown.
The first of the pairs is the 950 platinum case edition. Platinum is one of the most prestigious precious metals in the world and on top of that is regarded as one of the hardest to work with. A. Lange & Söhne are no strangers to the material and it has long been a staple of the Lange 1 range. Here the metal provides a particular brilliance to the polished bezel that contrasts nicely with the onyx dial. This is the first time that the Lange 1 has been dressed with an onyx stone dial, the gem providing a slightly shinier finish than alternative black displays.
Second of the two little and large sets is presented in a pink gold case with a blue dial produced in 925 silver. Pink gold is a very traditional dress watch material as it provides a warm tone that’s very inviting compared to yellow gold which can appear abrasively ostentatious. The combination with the blue works really well too, giving it rich, luxurious feel. In fact, it feels very French, reminding me of the golden fleur-de-lis against a field of royal blue on France’s coat of arms.
Regardless of the colours, materials or size of the watches, they all have the classic Lange 1 display. An oversize date is positioned at 2 o’clock above a power reserve indicator that is itself about the small seconds subdial. Occupying the largest portion of the dial, offset towards 9 o’clock, is the primary time display with hours and minutes. The hands are in Lange’s typical alpha shape, which you can learn more about with our handy-dandy (pun intended) guide to all styles of watch hands.
All four watches in the Lange 1 30th Anniversary limited edition house the same movement despite the differences in size. It’s the L121.1 manual winding calibre with 72-hour power reserve. This movement was first introduced in 2015 and almost a decade later it’s still an impressive piece of machinery. Hand-assembled and precisely adjusted in five positions for great precision as well as being finished immaculately with Lange’s signature untreated German silver plate with Glashütte stripes.
In terms of availability the two Lange 1 models are limited to 300 pieces each while the Little Lange 1s are more exclusive with only 150 of each available. As for price, the figures haven’t been announced at time of writing but I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re not announced at all. A. Lange & Söhne are still a proponent of ‘price on request’ especially for their platinum watches and limited editions.
Price and Specs:
38.5mm diameter x 9.8mm thickness (Lange 1)
950 platinum or 750 pink gold
More details at A. Lange & Söhne.
