History of the A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Introduced in 1994, the Lange 1 is the most recognizable watch ever created by A. Lange & Söhne, the symbol of the Saxon brand. The asymmetric dial and the patented outsize date won acclaim by watch enthusiasts, experts, collectors making the Lange 1 an instant classic. After two decades it remains virtually unchanged since its introduction. Very few watches could gain an iconic status in such a short time frame. But what is the path that brought to the idealization & development of the Lange 1?The origins of the Saxon manufacturer date back to 1845, when Ferdinand A. Lange, an extraordinarily talented Dresden watchmaker, established his own company and started creating superior pocket-watches highly coveted among collectors all over the world. Unfortunately, after the Second World War, the enterprise was expropriated during the Soviet occupation in 1948 and the name of A. Lange & Söhne was almost forgotten.Luckily, Ferdinand A. Lange’s great-grandson Walter Lange had the courage to relaunch the brand and in 1990, after the reunification of Germany, founded Lange Uhren GmbH on 7 December 1990 in Glashütte, and registered the A. Lange & Söhne brand worldwide, the first step to bring the Lange watchmaking tradition back to life.Together with his business partner and friend, Günter Blümlein, at the time the managing director of IWC and Jaeger-LeCoultre, he was ready to take up the interrupted task of his forebears making good use of a precious asset: his great-grandfather's journey book which included lot of technical drawings and insights.Lange and Blümlein shared the goal to put Germany back on the map of the luxury timepiece segment with a bold opus characterized by a distinctive design but in line with the A. Lange & Sohne tradition. In order to make a successful return, it was essential to present to the world something truly unique and special, a timepiece that could surprise and receive unanimous support from watch experts. The big question was: what would a modern watch from A. Lange & Söhne look like, if the brand had not ceased to exist after the Second World War?For the creation of the signature watch of A. Lange and Sohne, they thought to give it a strong and unique identity by adopting an outsize date indication which was inspired to the Five-Minute Clock of the Semper Opera House in Dresden, a revolutionary clock with digital indication dating back to 1841. Positioned just above the stage, the Five-Minute Clock was built on request of the King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony in order to allow everyone at the opera house to read clearly the time without disturbing the musical performance by activating minute repetitions. The ground-breaking design was the work of the Dresden clock maker Johann Christian Friedrich Gutkaes, genius apprentice-master and mentor to Ferdinand A. Lange. Together they created one of the world’s first digital clocks.Since there was very little space available above the proscenium arch and a round dial would not have provided the required legibility in the large and dark auditorium, the two watchmakers decided to create a structure without precedent, involving two counter-rotating drums showing the hours and the minutes, the latter in intervals of five. The clock was very successful, and gave Ferdinand A. Lange the courage to take the even bolder step of setting up his own manufacture.So the outsize date had to be a distinctive feature of the new watch. Positioned at the top on the right among the off-centre displays of the Lange 1 dial, it was also the first patent granted to Lange Uhren GmbH in the new era. The patent application was filed in 1992, and two years later, the mechanism was introduced to the Lange 1. In terms of design the key element of the Lange 1 was the dial, certainly with the patented large date aperture but also with an asymmetrically positioned hour and minute sub-dial with Roman numerals, a power reserve indicator at 3 o'clock, a small seconds sub-dial and the famous arc signature indicating where the Lange watches are made: Glashütte i/SA, where “i/SA” is the abbreviation for "in Saxony".All the indications were not overlapping and positioned to reflect the harmonious proportions of the golden section, which from ancient times was considered a model of artistic balance. The centres of the subsidiary seconds dial, the main dial and the outsize-date display were positioned at the corners of an isosceles triangle. Other details like the sword-shaped hands, the applied hour indexes, the sculpted lugs, and the choice of precious materials for cases and dials contributed to the strong identity of this watch. The diameter of the case was 38.5 mm with a thickness of 10 mm.But the distinctive design was only a part of the recipe. Although the first series hid the movement behind a solid caseback fixed with screws, the L901.0 Calibre was indeed special with the traditional Glashütte three-quarter plate made of German silver, screw-mounted gold chatons, the twin mainspring barrel for a power reserve of more than three days and a stop second mechanism activated when the crown is pulled out.After four years of hard work, A. Lange & Sohne was ready for the presentation to the world of the Lange 1 and three other new timepieces (the rectangular Arkade, the Saxonia and the sensational Tourbillon “Pour le Mérite”). Before officially presenting the new timepieces to the press, on 19 and 20 October 1994 A. Lange & Sohne held a preview event in Glashütte with twelve high-profile jewelers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Invited dealers ordered all the available 123 watches taking as many pieces as Lange could allot to them. Since 123 simply couldn't be divided by twelve, the last pieces were assigned by drawing “straws”. The official press conference took place on 24 October at Dresden Castle at the presence of journalists and local celebrities, including Saxony’s Prime Minister. The Lange 1 was unanimously acclaimed. In a very short time watch enthusiasts from all the world were captured by the new symbol of the Saxon watchmaker.