Did You Know? A. Lange & Söhne Facts That Will Surprise You

A. Lange & Söhne is the German Patek Philippe rival. It earned that reputation through consistent excellence over, what’s by the standards of the watch industry, a relatively short period of time. That excellence exists in its mechanical innovations as well as its fine finishing, both in equal measure. A brand only revived in 1990 now counts as the unofficial fourth leg of watchmaking’s holy trinity.

A. Lange & Söhne undoubtedly is the modern standard in German luxury watches.

As Germany’s finest volume watchmaker, A. Lange & Söhne continues to seamlessly blend quality and identity into creations that are not only impossible to overlook, but also hard to find fault with. If we name one brand that challenged the conception that fine watches are meant to be Swiss, it has to be A. Lange & Söhne. Its remarkable attention to detail, and a mad obsession with finishing, is its central pivot.

A. Lange & Söhne having entered the scene is what helped raise the quality in Switzerland. That’s how strong the impact was. During the Quartz Crisis, finishing wasn’t a prime agenda for the Swiss manufacturers. They were more about ingenuity in terms of design and product, but decoration wasn’t on people’s radar at the time. Then came A. Lange & Söhne with undisputedly the finest finished serial production watches in existence.

Among those who would nod a yes to the above is a gentleman often spotted with a pipe. Yes, Philippe Dufour. Finishing is what he’s all about and he has more than once made the argument that A. Lange & Söhne embarrassed the best of what he has considered his homeland, because they significantly raised the bar on decoration.

Hence, A. Lange & Söhne proves that quality is not in the purview of Switzerland alone.

Today, we’re going to look at a few facts that you didn’t know about this revived pinnacle of “Made in Germany.”

A. Lange & Söhne’s German Silver Calibers Aren’t Made Of Silver

It’s very much a known fact that the calibers on any A. Lange & Söhne wristwatch are crafted from German Silver and not the typical brass. In the composition of what we call German Silver, there’s no trace of actual silver. Also called nickel silver, German Silver is a copper-based alloy with common compositions being around 60% copper, 20% nickel, and 20% zinc, though the exact percentages can vary by application.

This alloy is hard, tough, and reasonably corrosion resistant. As it comes from Germany and mimics the look of real silver, hence the name German Silver.

A. Lange & Söhne’s Annual Production Capacity Is Around 5000

The German horological marvel A. Lange & Söhne’s strongly focuses on quality over quantity. Its 650 or so employees annually produce around 5000 watches in total. When many high-end Swiss manufacturers achieve numbers in excess of 50,000 watches per year, A. Lange & Söhne finds itself limited by the extreme levels of quality and finishing it achieves on the yield of 5000. That’s less than 10% of Patek Philippe’s 70,000 watches per year. Quality takes time. So, maintaining this level of finishing would be impossible at larger volumes. For A. Lange & Söhne however, this constraint isn’t limiting but rather a conscious choice that defines the brand’s strict adherence to high quality and decoration standards.

A. Lange & Söhne Introduced The World’s First Mechanical Triple Split-Seconds Chronograph

A. Lange & Söhne created the world’s first mechanical triple split‑seconds (triple rattrapante) chronograph, known as the Triple Split in 2018. It exists as the first and only split-seconds chronograph in the world that can measure additive and comparative times for as long as twelve hours.

The Triple Split can “split” hours and minutes, in addition to seconds allowing comparative timing of two events for up to 12 hours, with separate rattrapante hands for seconds, 30‑minute counter, and 12‑hour counter.​

A. Lange & Söhne Had An In-House Chronograph Before Patek Philippe

Chronographs, perpetual calendars and even more complicated minute repeaters have been Patek Philippe’s legacy and specialty. But their first proper in-house basic chronograph movement for a wristwatch was the caliber CH 29-535 PS in the Ref. 5172G from 2009. That’s so recent for a brand with such an expansive legacy.

So, when A. Lange & Söhne introduced their caliber L951.1 in the Datograph of 1999, they actually beat Patek Philippe by a full decade.

Ferdinand Adolph Lange Was The Mayor Of Glashütte

An accomplished watchmaker, Ferdinand Adolph Lange, founder of Glashütte watchmaking in general and A. Lange & Cie in particular held the office of mayor of Glashütte for about 18 years in the mid‑19th century. His tenure (dated from around 1848/1849 to 1867) overlaps with the crucial early decades of building Glashütte into a watchmaking town.​

A. Lange & Söhne’s Motto Is “Never Stand Still”

“Never Stand Still” is a core philosophy and motto of the German luxury watchmaker A. Lange & Söhne, originating from Walter Lange’s belief that, “There's something one should expect not only of a watch but also of oneself: to never stand still.”

Ferdinand Adolph Lange Developed The Three-Quarter Plate

The “three-quarter plate,” a hallmark of Saxon watchmaking tradition, was first developed by A. Lange & Söhne founder Ferdinand Lange in 1846. Although harder to adjust or assemble as compared to smaller bridges and partial plates, a three-quarter plate yields an overall more rigid movement. Being larger in size, the three-quarter plate can accommodate all of the arbors of the wheel train, thus keeping all of the gears in stable contact.

A. Lange & Söhne Was Reborn With Practical Support From IWC And JLC

A. Lange & Söhne was reborn in 1990 with crucial help from IWC and Jaeger-LeCoultre, through the partnership of Walter Lange and Günter Blümlein, who was the managing director of both Swiss brands at the time.

Blümlein, an industry visionary who had repositioned IWC and Jaeger-LeCoultre during the quartz crisis, provided strategic expertise, funding access, and technical training support from those brands. Moreover, Les Manufactures Horlogères (LMH), which owned IWC and JLC, facilitated resources for the new Lange Uhren GmbH.

Saxon Supremacy

In its existence and endeavors, A. Lange & Söhne has successfully industrialized artisanship while retaining the purity of its soul. There’s an exacting standard of human influence in every single A. Lange & Söhne creation. This spirit will absolutely exhibit infinite charm in India when A. Lange & Söhne will mark its presence at the upcoming India Watch Weekend 2026 event in January.

If there’s one thing that is unanimously agreed, it’s that A. Lange & Söhne is the watchmaker we all love but can’t correctly pronounce.