Establishment:
As the silver mining industry in Glashütte dried up, residents sought support from the state government of Saxony with an urgent request for financial assistance… Ferdinand Adolph Lange (1815-1875) organized the first watchmaking businesses in Glashütte on December 7, 1845, with the help of a government loan, and founded a watch company. Hired 15 apprentices and hoped to create more jobs in the field of "modern watchmaking"
The company began work in a mansion with an attic roof in Glashütte, which today returns to company ownership. Together with his brother-in-law, master watchmaker Adolf Schneider and 15 apprentices, precision watch production began in Glashütte.
A short time later, in the workshop, “A. Lange, Dresden” was produced. Lange's initiative and the hard work of his staff have firmly established this new industry in the region.
Lange also made significant contributions to the art of watchmaking. He invented entirely new precision instruments, measuring instruments and production methods, and in 1846 replaced new hand spring flywheels with lathes to achieve a significant improvement in the quality of workpieces.
In 1864 he introduced the three-quarter plate (“Dreiviertelplatine”), which became typical for Glashütte watches and gave it tremendous durability. The transition from the Paris-Ligne measure to the metric system is also referred to as a Lange innovation in Germany.
In addition to his work in watchmaking, Lange became mayor of Glashütte and held that position for 18 years, from 1848 to 1866.
A.LANGE & THE BIRTH OF SÖHNE
When Ferdinand Adolph Lange died in 1875, his sons Richard and Emil took over the leadership of the company, which was rechristened A. Lange & Söhne. His third son, Adolf, later joined the company as an employee. Numerous technical improvements were made under their leadership, and the company continued to build its reputation in the region, making it the watch of choice for emperors and sultans alike.
- Some of the highlights of Lange & Söhne's first golden age include Emperor George II in 1898. Sultan II by Wilhelm. A pocket watch commissioned for Abdulhamid is the Centennial Tourbillon and No. The 42500, "The Grande Complication", was created in 1902 and is still the most complex watch ever produced by the company.
In 1931, Richard Lange introduced Nivarox, a new alloy of watch springs that is still popular today. During the Second World War Lange produced watches for the German army. The factory was able to continue until the last day of the war, when the factory was bombed on May 8, 1945.
EXpropriation: VEB MECHANICS A. LANGE & SÖHNE
On April 20, 1948, A. Lange & Söhne was nationalized by the new communist government of East Germany and renamed VEB Mechanics A. Lange & Söhne. With the merger of other nationalized watch conglomerates Urofa, UFAG, Otto Estler, and precision mechanics companies Lindig & Wolf, R. Mühle and Gössel & Co, the company was renamed Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe (GUB) soon after.
At this point, A. Lange & Söhne brand disappeared from watch dials for a while, although the company continued and production expanded.
REBOOT: LANGE UHREN GMBH
145 years after the original Lange company was founded in Glashütte, Ferdinand Adolph Lange's great-grandson, Walter Lange, reclaimed his family's legacy. On December 7, 1990, he established Lange Uhren GmbH as the successor and successor of the company.
The following year, under the leadership of Günter Blümlein, LMH (owner of IWC and other watchmakers) invested in the firm to relaunch the brand. His name is “A. Lange & Söhne” was registered worldwide and the design of a new watch line began.
Although the old headquarters building could not be bought, Lange purchased the old building of the Strasser & Rohde precision pendulum clock factory in July 1992. In 1993 the factory was rebuilt, modernized and expanded and production moved to this new building.
On October 24, 1994, A. Lange & Söhne introduced their first creations, the innovative Lange 1, Arcade, Saxonia and tourbillon “Pour le Mérite”. Thanks to its iconic dial design and quality factory movement, the Lange 1 enjoyed great worldwide success, being named the Watch of the Year in 1995 and 1997 and one of the most admired watches of the past decade.
In 1997 Lange introduced the Langematik, powered by the newly developed automatic caliber SAX-O-MAT and equipped with a seconds cutting device that automatically resets the seconds hand when pulling the crown. This outstanding watch earned a maximum of 6 stars in a test by the German watch magazine Chronos. In 1999 Lange introduced the Datograph, a very special chronograph that combines the flyback function with a large date and a column wheel.
In 2000 the company bought back its original headquarters and reopened in earnest in 2001. Since 2001, the company has been part of the luxury brands Richemont Holding, which owns major watch manufacturers such as IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Vacheron Constantin, Cartier, Piaget and Baume & Mercier…