A. Lange & Söhne Grand Lange 1


Grand Lange 1 in rose goldIt’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.

A. Lange & Sohne Grand Lange 1 in rose gold

A. Lange & Sohne Grand Lange 1 in rose gold, side

A. Lange & Sohne Grand Lange 1 in rose gold, dial detail

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.

A. Lange & Sohne Grand Lange 1 in platinum
The Grand Lange 1 is available in rose gold (top three images), platinium (above) and yellow gold (below).

A. Lange & Sohne Grand Lange 1 in yellow goldThe 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 Caliber L095.1
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

Receive all the news, features and reviews from WatchTime for free! Sign up to our free weekly newsletter and get all the news delivered to your inbox.

Leave a Reply