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By Jaeger and Danny
Click on images to enlarge
Not in a Million Years:
I never thought that I would be writing a review of a Lange. Lange has always been in another stratosphere for me, a watch that I looked at in the catalogues but never really studied or even considered because, to be frank, the price was way out of my league. I always knew that I was not "worthy" of such a fine timepiece, being a simple country lawyer of modest means.
On the rare occasion that I had the opportunity to see one (exactly twice, in fact), I was impressed. First, at the San Francisco TimeZone dinner, Jeff Kingston graciously (and trustingly) passed his Lange 1 around the table. I was ready for the dial (which in this case was blue) because I had seen it in pictures. What I was not ready for was the exhibition back – a "simple" ¾ plate but with a finish that almost glowed. German precision was evident and I could tell that this watch was somehow different than others I had handled. It just seemed more substantial, better engineered, in short, just "more." The second occasion was at Walt O.’s workshop when he pulled out a Sax-0-Mat. Here again, it was the movement that struck me, the glorious gold rotor with the "Platin" edge. I examined it side-by-side with my exhibition back AP and there was simply no comparison. The AP looked cheap somehow, like a tarted up hustler next to a real lady. No doubt, this was the finest watch I had ever seen.
Conspirators in our Midst:
I have always been a hard person to buy a present for. I wonder if that is true for most watch collectors. First, I am a perfectionist so that any gift must be just right; the right brand, the right model, the right color. Second, the price must be right too. Finally, I never just appreciate the thought – I always get disappointed if it isn’t exactly what I wanted. What a pain in the a** I am, but I am always willing to forego gifts to avoid disappointment.
This year I was not expecting any birthday gift at all, which was almost fine with me, though deep down I still hoped for the Red Rider BB Gun of my dreams. However, unbeknownst to me, I later found out that my wife had been secretly lurking on TimeZone trying to figure out what watch I might be coveting. She emailed Richard Paige and Walt Odets, who she’d heard me talk about, and of course Walt suggested a Lange. She also emailed Phil Baker because he was posting on the Lange Forum. Phil went out of his way for a TZ brother and actually sent me an email claiming (get this) "I respect your opinions on TimeZone – which watch should I buy." Well, the way to my heart is through my ego so of course I emailed back a long pontification about the merits of Lange and how my favorite is the Langematik, etc. etc. We exchanged several emails and I felt glad to impart my esteemed wisdom on a novice like Phil (my face still gets red when I think about it). Phil relayed all my emails to my wife and, in addition to asking how she could stay married to such a pompous a**, told her where to buy the watch at the best discount.
To make a long story a little shorter, on my birthday (actually the day before because she got so excited about the watch she couldn’t wait ‘til my birthday) she threw me off with several misleading hints. "Don’t come home a minute before 7 p.m." she warned me in one email. "We need to have your birthday a day early so your present doesn’t spoil" said another. I had it all figured out: a surprise dinner party with cracked crab!!! Oh boy!!!
I walked in at 7 p.m. sharp (I can’t even remember what watch I was wearing back then) and saw the box waiting on the table. There was no shout of "Surprise!!!" and no crab cooking so I was a bit confused.
My Surprise:
My birthday story has been previously told so I won’t retell it here. However, suffice it to say that when I tore the paper off of my gift and saw the words "A. Lange & Sohne" on the box inside my first word was "No!" I mean, this was a Lange and I am just me and there was a clear disconnect. I thought, "this must be returned." But my wonderful wife, knowing my thought processes exclaimed "I bought it with my own money – you have to keep it."
Keep it? Could I keep it? I left it in the box for several days, not wanting to even remove the plastic covering. I felt like I held the winning lottery ticket but the lottery office was closed for the weekend – I kept opening the box and examining the watch, only to carefully close it and put it back into the closet.
Keeping It:
Although my wife did not give me the option to return it, she did offer to let me exchange it for a different color or a Lange 1. That debate resulted in insomnia for several nights. RG Lange 1 was the primary contender, though the WG Langematik was a close second. I will not replay my reasoning here but I decided to keep this particular watch for three reasons: 1) it’s an automatic; 2) I love the engraved rotor; and most importantly 3) my wife selected it.
I immediately began the process of personalizing the watch to make it mine. I swapped the original chocolate brown strap out for a cognac Girard-Perregaux strap. I added a deployant buckle (not Lange as Lange does not make one). And most importantly, I put my other watches on the market as they no longer held a place in my heart, having been unceremoniously replaced by a new love.
The History:
Born in 1815, Ferdinand Adolph Lange began his career in 1830 as an apprentice to his father-in-law, Johann Gutkaes, the royal clockmaker of Dresden,. After acquiring his technical skills, he established his own business, A. Lange & Cie. In 1868 his son Richard joined the business, which was renamed A. Lange & Sohne. In 1875, the same year that Adolph died, his youngest son Emil joined the business and proved to be a watchmaker extraordinaire. The first automatic watch from A. Lange & Söhne was crafted in 1891 and it too used a platinum eccentric mass rotor. Over the next 30 years, only 38 of the self-winding timepieces were made by this manufacture. Not only these Lange automatics rare, they are considered by many to be among the finest pocketwatches ever made.
Scans from "A.Lange & Sohne The Watchmakers of Dresden" by Reinhard Meis.
The "self-winders". An automatic pedometer-winding pocketwatch with up and down indicator and 30 hours power reserve from 1891. Some have date indicator. Around 40 of these models were made.
In 1945, Russian bombers destroyed part of the Lange factory. Following WWII, in 1948, the East German government nationalized the company and Walter Lange fled to West Germany. In 1951, what remained of the Lange company was consolidated with several other firms and Lange ceased to exist.
In 1990, Walter Lange returned to Glashutte to found Lange Uhren GmbH, and he registered the trademark A. Lange & Sohne. Lange obtained financial backing from the German giant VDO-Mannesmann, which together with IWC and Jaeger LeCoultre form the LMH subsidiary (Les Manufactures Horlogères). The joint Managing Director is Günter Blümlein, formerly of IWC. In 1994, the first A. Lange & Sohne watches from the reborn company were presented.
Picture of Helmut Geyer is provided from Peter Chong
Chief Designer Helmut Geyer developed the idea that was to become the Langematik in 1992. In 1997, after five years of development, the Langematik was issued.
The Case:
All cases are finished and polished by hand, and are hallmarked and serial numbered both inside and out. The flat sapphire crystal case back is secured by six screws to the three-part case, and reveals the entire three-quarter plate within. The 18k gold crown is embossed, not engraved, with the manufacturer’s signature. Both the crown and the date advancing push-piece are double sealed against moisture with O-rings, resulting in an overall water resistance rating of 30 meters.
The Dial:
The dial is solid silver and the hour and minute hands are crafted in 18k yellow gold inlaid with tritium. The layout of the dial is very symmetrical with the outsize date in balance with the large sub-second hand. The outsize date apertures are framed with gold edging. A large second hand in blued steel revolves inside a slightly recessed over-sized subdial at 6:00. I am constantly checking at both the time and the date and both are instantly apparent here.
Some have complained about the date wheels being at different depths. To be candid, even after owning the watch for several weeks, I was unaware of this fact until someone mentioned it on TZ. Maybe I am not as observant as some but it is not noticeable to me at all. I do find that during dates 1-9, the single digit throws off the symmetry of the dial. I would prefer a zero rather than a blank space.
The Movement:
The 45-jewel Cal. L921 Sax-0-Mat movement meets the high finishing standard set by the Lange 1 including a hand-engraved balance cock, blued screws, gold engraving and micrometer adjustment of the index. The precise Glashutte ribbing of the nickel-silver three-quarter plate has an almost "ethereal" quality to it – a very apt description borrowed from Walt O. It is so finely polished that the surface appears to glow, like a laser etching. The jewels set in gold chatons but, unlike the Lange 1, the chatons are not held in place with screws.
The movement boasts Lange’s unique and patented method of beat adjustment, a whiplash precision index-adjuster. The beat arm, which controls the angular position of the balance assembly relative to the lever, is a friction fit on the index and is clamped by the screw seen on the balance cock near the stud. When this clamping screw is released the beat can be adjusted with the micrometer screw without affecting prior adjustments. The escape wheel is polished on both sides and is held between rubies on shoulderless pivots to minimize friction.
The Langematik also offers a unique time-setting feature. When setting the watch to time, pulling the crown to the ‘out’ position not only stops the movement but also zeroes the seconds hand. This zero-reset mechanism relies on a heart-shaped cam mechanism, similar to that of a chronograph, which causes the oversize second hand to fall back to zero when reset between 0-30 seconds and to spring forward when reset between 30-60 seconds. The second hand is restarted the instant the crown in pushed in. This zero-reset feature is represented by the "0" (zero) in "Sax-0-Mat".
Self-winding is achieved with the beautifully engraved micro-rotor which is off-centered on the three-quarter plate. The heavy 21k gold body of the rotor is engraved in relief with the manufacturer’s name and "Sax-0-Mat". Five blued screws attach a peripheral platinum rim to the gold body, providing an additional 11% weight to the edge of the oscillating mass and increasing its effectiveness. Friction is reduced between the rotor and spring barrel by way of four ball bearings and an adjustable jeweled counter-bearing. The gearing ratio has been carefully computed to ensure the generation of power reserve to a maximum of 46 hours.
I now understand what people mean when they describe hand-winding as "creamy." Turning the crown is smooth and effortless, yet there is just enough resistance to confirm that you are winding the mainspring. Some people prefer the plain ¾ plate of the Lange 1. I admit that I wish blue screws held the chatons as with the Lange 1, but I much prefer the look of the gold/platin rotor.
Technical Specifications:
Exterior:
Yellow-gold, white gold or platinum
sapphire-crystal glass
sapphire-crystal caseback
37.5mm x 9.3mm
hand-stitched crocodile strap with solid buckle
bracelet in yellow-gold, white-gold or platinum
Dial:
Solid silver
Hands:
Gold or gold rhodiumed
Movement:
CalibreL921.4 SAX-0-MAT
automatically wound
bi-directional rotor in 21-carat gold and platinum
automatic zero-reset mechanism
patented outsize date
diameter: 30,40mm
height: 5,55mm
Lift-angle of the balance: 56°
Oscillation: 21600
- Number of jewels: 45
Conclusion:
Someone suggested that the way to cure the watch addiction (a.k.a. Mycroft’s psychosis) is to buy a Lange. I now see why. There is no other watch of this type that I covet anymore. I go for days, even weeks, without checking the sale sites. I have achieved satisfaction. While some might quibble over style and dial design, one would be hard-pressed to deny that the Langematik is the finest (uncomplicated) automatic watch ever made.
Additional Comments by Danny
Jaeger already covered most of the technical detail and Lange’s history, so there is no need to repeat it here. I have owned the Langematik in WG (Ref. 301.027) without the oversized date (Calibre L921.2 Sax-0-Mat) for 2 months. It replaces my IWC Mark 12 and Ingenieur and becomes my weekend watch.
Selection Process of Langematik
I really like the pure aggressive look of the WG Langematik. It is the sportiest watch offering from Lange and it looks like a luxury version of its brother, the IWC Mark12. (I know that it is entirely developed by Glashutte watchmaker, Helmut Geyer, and it doesn't share the blood line with Mark12, but I just treat it as a luxury version of Mark 12.) I chose this watch because I really like the aviator look of the watch. It is very easy to read and doesn’t look like a "mega-buck" watch. I can wear this watch to walk my dogs in Central Park at 10:30pm without fear that someone might interested in my "off-beat" watch. However, if I have enough money or my brain suddenly drops-dead, my first choice would be the platinum model without the oversized date, but it is so damned expensive that even a WIS like myself could go through the selection process in rational way. Anyway the platinum version without the date is the most elegant and beautiful piece in the line in my opinion.
I really dislike the oversized date model since the watch is too thick (9.3mm) and I think 8mm height is well proportion enough. It is not as bulky as the Lange One and Cabaret, and it is as comfortable as my Lange 1815. Besides, I already have the Lange One and Cabaret, and I really don’t want to own any other oversized date watch. The second reason why I selected this watch was because I don’t like the idea of date windows hanging on the top of the dial in symmetrical fashion. It distracts the look of a pure aviator watch and I really hate to see when the date is only showing single digit during the first nine days. (I don’t wear my Cabaret when it is showing single digit.) The off-set position of the oversized date in the Lange One appears less unbalanced compared with Langematik, Saxonia, and Cabaret, when the date turns to single digit number. Some people think that the Arabic number "Twelve" placed at the top of the dial looks like cheap, after-thought, but I really don't think so because it is well proportioned and counterbalances the aggressive markers on the dials. I believe it is the original design of Langematik. (Hey . . . just like the movement number L921.2 should be "earlier" than L921.4)
Movement
The Calibre L921.2 "Sax-0-Mat" (It stands for Saxon-Zero Reset-Automatic) has 36 jewels in total. The reason is because all of the Lange’s oversized date plate has a construction with 9 jewels and therefore, forty-five minus nine is equal to thirty-six. (Don’t trust me?? Use your calculator!!! J ) Besides that, everything is just the same as the Calibre L921.4 with oversized date plate. No…the rotor is NOT made of copper and silver. They are platinum and gold, just like the oversized date brothers!! (I know for sure that the Calibre number mean it was developed in 1992. However, does the last two digits numbers,1.4, mean it was the first movement developed in 1992 and it was the fourth edition of Sax-0-Mat??)
Here are comments from Peter Chong regarding the designer and the identification of the movements.
All the 5 basic movements to date are designed in-house by Geyer and another designer. The dynamic duo, both from the Glashutte area, have recently been joined by another designer.
The caliber number can be decoded as follows: the first 2 digits denote the year when development began. The next digit denotes the order if more than one caliber began work that year. Thus, the Langematik with L921 would mean work began in 1992, and this was the first caliber developed then. Another example: L901 in the Lange 1, began development work in 1990, and was the first. L902, found in the tourbillon also began its development cycle in 1990, and was the second to be developed. The digit after the decimal point denotes the production version. For e.g. L921.2 denotes dateless Langematik, while L921.4 complete with doubledate.
The most distinguishing aspect of the Sax-0-Mat, from other Lange watches, is the automatic-winding feature. I personally still prefer the massive Glashutte Polishing display with the cute-little chatons sitting on the ¾ plates on the back of Lange’s manual winding watches, but the Sax-0-Mat is so cool that it really blows other hi-end automatic movements away in terms of creativity, quality and craftsmanship. With the German silver ¾ plate, fine-looking swan neck regulator sitting on the top of hand-engraved balanced cock, and ¾ recessed rotor within the plate, It still maintains the traditions of Glashutte watchmaking style, but the designer "improved" and "modernized" from the traditions and created one of the masterpieces of modern horology. However, it is a pity that they didn't include gold-chaton with the blue screws in the Sax-0-Mat and the power reserve is merely 46 hours only.
The Strap and Buckle
Since Jaeger replaced the original strap and buckle, I think I should add some comments regarding the Lange strap and buckle. The Lange leather strap is very different from the French counterpart. They are made by Cornelius Kaufmann GmbH in Germany. Unlike the pretty, shiny and fancy French strap, Lange strap is very durable, honest, and rigid. These straps might not be the most beautiful straps in the market, but they are designed for long-lasting functional "tools". They are very hard, and strong. I also believe that they are the best crocodile straps against humidity and water. Sometimes, I wash my Lange watches with the straps on when they are covered with sands (It is windy here...) and there is no way that I will do the same with my JLC straps. After around one year of heavy usage, my Lange 1815's strap still looks like brand new.
For the potential buyers, one important advice I should pass is that you can choose any patterns and color you prefer from authorized dealers. I think it is very important as it will determine the look of the watch. It is wise for you to look at the different straps and inform your seller to replace the strap that meets your taste. Many people did not realize the fact and they changed the strap to other ones to fit their preference as soon as they got their new watches.
Nothing really can compare with the big-juice buckle of the Lange watches. These buckles are heavier than gold teeth and the shape of the buckle was intended to design to reduce the stress of the strap. It is really amazing to see there is visually no permanent mark leave behind the strap after removing the watch. For the die-hard fan of deployant buckle, the rumor says Lange is going to introduce a deployant buckle. By judging the "cost-no-subject" approach from the Lange buckle, the deployant buckle will be somewhat pricey.
Sometimes, it is amazed me that the Lange people really have done their homework and tried to make something that is out of the conceptual (Swiss) box and improve it in their own way. The strap and buckle integrate with the watch perfectly. Attention to every single detail; that's everything.
Conclusion
Finally, the million buck question, "Would you buy the watch again?" My answer, "Of course NOT!!" C’mon guys!! Who is going to buy the same exact watch again, huh? You must be kidding us when you say you're gonna buy the same watches [in reviews] again and again because you love it so much, but it really doesn’t make any sense to me at all. Why would anyone need two same identical watches anyway? You must be Superman or someone that requires to wear the same outfit everyday…. Well, to be serious, I wouldn't buy the same watch again, but it is a keeper for a lifetime for sure!!!!! My final words??
Matik rocks!!
Additional Links to Lange Resources:
Langematik with date models in pdf
Langematik without date models in pdf
Langematik's article from British Horological Institute
Purely Personal Musings on a Lange Saxonia
The Lange 1815 Up and Down- The Caliber L942.1
Lange Datograph's Press Kit Info.
Lange Moonphase's Press Kit Info.
LANGE CHOICES: THE ONE IS THE ONE … !
An Interview with Günter Blümlein
Buying Myself a Birthday Present (A Lange Story)
Nikon Coolpix 900 digital camera was used in the review.
If you would like to learn more about watch photography, please click here.
