It’s been 18 years since A. Lange & Söhne put German watchmaking on the map with its now-iconic Lange 1 model. The collector community took notice of its boldly off-center dial design and large date, as well as traditional Saxon elements in the movement, like the three-quarters plate, screwed gold chatons and screw balance, and the watch quickly became the foundation of Lange’s collection. This year, the Lange 1 gets a big brother, the Grand Lange 1, which boasts not only a larger case (40.9-mm diameter, as opposed to the original’s 38.5 mm) and elegantly scaled-up dial design, but also a brand-new manufacture movement, Lange’s hand-wound Caliber L095.1.
Because the movement is larger than the Lange 1′s Caliber L901.0, the dial architecture of the Lange 1 can be transposed onto the larger, solid silver dial of the Grand Lange 1 without any overlapping of elements. The hours and minutes remain on the large subdial at 9 o’clock, the running seconds on the subdial at 5 o’clock, the power reserve hand at 3 o’clock, and the “outsize” date window (which has also been enlarged by the same factor as the dial itself) at 1 o’clock.
From a technical standpoint, the bigger diameter of the new caliber (34.1 mm) also allowed Lange to arrange more parts on one level; the result is that Caliber L095.1 is only 4.7 mm thick. Another advantage of the larger dimensions is that the watch can achieve a 72-hour power reserve by using only one space-saving mainspring barrel. Of course, the case — which is available in yellow gold, rose gold, or platinum — is also correspondingly thin despite its large diameter: 8.8 mm thick.
The Grand Lange 1 is available in rose gold (top three images), platinium (above) and yellow gold (below).
The caseback features a sapphire viewing window through which you can admire the details of the movement, which include the brand’s signature Glashütte waves on the three-quarters plate made of untreated German silver; the exposed balance with hand-engraved balance cock that beats at 21,000 vph; and the ruby jewels secured by seven screwed gold chatons. The yellow-gold and rose-gold models are $39,300 and the platinum model is $53,200.
Lange’s new Caliber L095.1
Technical characteristics:
Movement: Lange manufacture Caliber L095.1, manual-wind; diameter = 34.1 mm; thickness = 4.7 mm; precision-adjusted in five positions, decorated and assembled by hand; plates and bridges made of untreated German silver; hand-engraved balance cock; 397 parts; 47 jewels; seven screwed gold chatons; lever escapement; shock-resistant screw balance; in-house balance spring; frequency = 21,600 vph; 72-hour power reserve
Functions: Hours, minutes, subsidiary seconds with stop-seconds function; power reserve indicator; outsize date with push-piece for quick correction
Case: Yellow gold, rose gold or platinum; diameter = 40.9 mm; thickness = 8.8 mm; sapphire crystal front and back; attached to hand-stitched crocodile leather strap in medium-brown, red-brown or black, with prong buckle in yellow gold, rose gold or platinum
Dial and Hands: Solid silver dial in champagne, argente or rhodie; hands in yellow gold, rose gold or rhodiumed gold
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