One of the biggest names in German watchmaking, A Lange & Söhne is also one of the oldest, founded back in 1845. Throughout its illustrious and frequently dramatic history, it has always strived to challenge the horological status quo, crafting dynamic and daringly complex timepieces that are sought-after around the world.
The name behind some of the most memorable and mechanically masterful men’s watches today, A Lange & Söhne offers indisputable proof that complicated is most definitely cool.
At a glance
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| Industry: Watches | Founded: 1845 |
| Headquarters: Germany | Founder: Ferdinand Adolph Lange |
| Watch Collections: dress watches and sports watches | Parent organization: The Richemont Group |
| Annual Revenue: $300 million USD | Website: alange-soehne.com |
A.Lange & Söhne watch price
How much does an A.Lange & Söhne cost?
The starting price for an A Lange & Söhne watch is $19,700 for a watch from the A Lange & Söhne Saxonia collection. For the iconic A Lange & Söhne Lange 1, you’re looking at least $40,300, while the Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase or Lange 1 Time Zone are much more expensive at $52,600 or $57,800 respectively. A Lange & Söhne watch prices are known for being quite high, even in the world of luxury timepieces.
What is the most expensive A.Lange & Söhne?
The most expensive A Lange & Söhne watch was sold in 2018 for $852,000 at a charity auction. The A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Homage to Walter Lange watch is made of stainless steel and has a black enamel dial. The proceeds went to the Genevan charity, Children Action.
See our list of the most expensive watches in the world to see how this one compares.
What is the cheapest A.Lange & Söhne?
The cheapest A Lange & Söhne watch is an A Lange & Söhne Saxonia, the least expensive of which retails for $19,700. Or you could pick up a model from the 1815 family, the cheapest of which retails for $27,300. The cheapest A Lange & Söhne Lange 1 watch is $40,300. Wondering about the A Lange & Söhne Odysseus price? Currently around $50,000.
About the brand
History of A.Lange & Söhne
Dresden-born Ferdinand Adolph Lange became an apprentice watchmaker at just 15. After he started producing A Lange & Söhne watches in the small town of Glashütte, his timepieces quickly became renowned internationally for their impressive quality. In 1846, he created the three-quarter plate, still used in the company’s watch movements to this day.
In 1848, Adolph Lange became Mayor of Glashutte, a position he held for nearly twenty years, turning the quiet town into a booming horological hub. After his death in the mid-1870s, his sons took over the company and, in 1900, debuted the No.42500 Grand Complication, one of the most technically complex timepieces ever made by the brand.
The rest of the century was incredibly challenging for A Lange & Söhne with two World Wars and international political unrest. In the final months of WWII, their workshops were bombed and destroyed and, in 1948, the Lange family was expropriated while the Soviets nationalized what was left of their property.
It wasn’t until 1989 that the company’s fortunes changed, following the collapse of the Iron Curtain and the end of the Cold War. Walter Lange, Adolf Lange’s great-grandson, returned to Germany. 145 years after Adolph Lange first founded the company, and with the help of Swiss watchmakers Jaeger LeCoultre and IWC, he re-registered the A.Lange & Söhne trademark.
Walter Lange brought on board German watchmaking scholar Reinhard Meis to help design new timepieces for the company. In 1994, A.Lange & Söhne released their first wristwatch collection in nearly 50 years.
Interesting facts about A.Lange & Söhne
- During WWII, the company made oversized wristwatches for the German Air Force.
- Adolph Lange’s first innovation was the Five-Minute Clock for the Semperoper in Dresden.
- A.Lange & Söhne released their most complicated wristwatch in 2013. The Grand Complication is so complex that only one can be made a year and only six will be built in total.
- Each A.Lange & Söhne watch is assembled twice to ensure the highest standards.
- The company uses a patented gold alloy that is harder than platinum, known as honey gold. Exactly how it’s made remains a secret.
- In 2018, the brand released the triple-split chronograph, the first rattrapante chronograph, allowing for comparative measurements of two concurrent events over several hours.
- Wondering how to pronounce A Lange & Söhne? It’s said ‘ah LAHN guh and ZO nuh’.
A.Lange & Söhne product range
A Lange & Söhne’s watch families can be divided into two: A Lange & Söhne watches that appeared in 1994, marking the brand’s grand comeback, and those that appeared after the year 2000.
The A Lange & Söhne Lange 1, Saxonia, and 1815, all came out in 1994 and are dress watches, dignified and elegant in design and featuring A Lange & Söhne’s typical ingenious mechanics.
From the post-2000 years, there’s the Zeitwerk collection, mechanical watches with striking and ground-breaking digital displays; the Richard Lange models, a tribute to the brand’s history of precision Horlogerie; and, finally, the Oydesseus, the brand’s only sports watch, representing a total divergence from classic A Lange & Söhne style.
Signature materials and craftsmanship
A.Lange & Söhne makes it its mission to consistently expand the frontiers of watchmaking, adapting and optimizing the various stages of manufacture and design in pursuit of perfection. This is evident in timepieces such as the ZEITWERK, with its mechanical jumping numeral display, as well as the A Lange & Söhne Lange 1 with its defining outsized date and asymmetry.
There are a few distinguishing features that make an A. Lange & Söhne distinct from other luxury watches.
Firstly, A Lange & Söhne watches eschew Swiss watch decorative conventions like the Geneva Wave, instead using ornamental features like screw chatons made of gold and engraved balance cocks. The balance cocks all feature Lange-style floral patterns, and each engraver imparts their own individual style, making every watch unique.
The brand’s movements are also made from German Silver rather than brass. Thermally blued screws are another recognizable feature of A.Lange & Söhne watches while the two-fold assembly of each timepiece is another brand quirk. After the watch has initially been put together and its operation perfected, it’s taken apart, painstakingly cleaned, decorated, and polished, before being assembled again.
A.Lange & Söhne is committed to improving its sustainability record. They practice responsible waste management and recycle general and raw materials. As members of the Responsible Jewellery Council, they can guarantee that all their precious metals and jewels are responsibly sourced.
Where is A.Lange & Söhne made?
A.Lange & Söhne watches are now made in the company’s new manufacturing site in Glashütte, Germany, which opened in 2015. The site is 5,388 square meters, carbon-neutral, and highly energy-efficient. This is where the watches are assembled and finished. Logistical operations and production of raw parts also take place here.
Brand values
| Vegan options: | No |
| Carbon-neutral: | Yes |
| Gives back: | Yes |
A.Lange & Söhne watches
Lange 1
The award-winning Lange 1 was part of the collection released by A.Lange & Söhne in 1994 to mark the company’s great return to the watchmaking world. It masterfully balances Saxon watchmaking tradition (in the form of the three-quarter plate, screwed gold chatons, and screw balance) with eye-catching avant-garde design, such as the asymmetrical dial arrangement and outsized date display (three times larger than that of similar-sized watches and inspired by the Five Minute Clock at Semper Opera House).
Within the Lange 1 watch family, you’ll also find the Little Lange—the same but more compact, ideal for smaller wrists—the Grand Lange with its 41 mm case, as well as the Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar, the most complex member of the Lange 1 collection.
| Price: | $40,300 – $57,800 and price upon request |
| First release year: | 1994 |
| Current case size: | 36.8 mm – 41.9 mm |
| Movement: | Manual or automatic |
| Water resistance: | 30 m |
| Crystal: | Sapphire |
Zeitwerk
Think you’d never be caught dead wearing a digital timepiece? Think again. This magnificent reimagining of the classic luxury watch is the first mechanical wristwatch to display the hours and minutes with jumping numerals like a digital display rather than the conventional analog. It’s a highly progressive timepiece with a super chunky case (the Zeitwerk Date’s case is a massive 44.2 mm across).
A pioneering timepiece for watch wearers who want something totally unique, to say the Zeitwerk is unusual is an understatement.
| Price: | Price on request |
| First release year: | 2009 |
| Current case size: | 41.9 mm – 44.2 mm |
| Movement: | Manual |
| Water resistance: | 30 m |
| Crystal: | Sapphire |
Saxonia
The technically brilliant and aesthetically spectacular A Lange & Söhne Saxonia watch family features multiple timepieces that showcase what puts A.Lange & Söhne in a horological class of its own. For example, there’s the Lange 31 which has a power reserve of 31 days, made possible by two mainsprings, each 1850 mm long, and ten times longer than that of standard mechanical watches. Or there’s the A Lange & Söhne Saxonia Thin, the brand’s flattest watch at only 5.9 mm high.
And, of course, there’s the record-breaking Triple Split, the world’s first mechanical split-seconds chronograph.
| Price: | $19,700 – $34,900 and price on request |
| First release year: | 1994 |
| Current case size: | 35 mm – 43.2 mm |
| Movement: | Manual and automatic |
| Water resistance: | 30 m |
| Crystal: | Sapphire |
1815
A tribute to founder Adolph Lange, named after the year he was born, the A Lange & Söhne 1815 is defined by its impressive legibility and high-contrast design. Within the family, notable models include the 1815 A Lange Söhne Tourbillon with its zero-reset function, allowing you to stop, set, and restart the watch with one-second accuracy. There’s also the gorgeous-to-behold A Lange & Söhne 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar Handwerkskunst, featuring a relief engraving of Luna, goddess of the moon, on the back.
And, of course, there’s the Grande Complication, released in 2013, and the brand’s most complicated timepiece.
| Price: | $27,300 – $48,000 and price upon request |
| First release year: | 1994 |
| Current case size: | 38.5 mm – 50 mm |
| Movement: | Manual |
| Water resistance: | 30 m |
| Crystal: | Sapphire |
Richard Lange
An homage to Richard Lange, the name behind many important discoveries and patents, this watch family stands out by its superbly legible design and reliable and robust construction. Made from luxury materials, it can also be worn with formal wear. Make sure to check out the A Lange & Söhne Perpetual Calendar ‘Terraluna’ with its striking orbital moon-phase display on the back.
| Price: | Price on request |
| First release year: | 2006 |
| Current case size: | 39 mm – 45.5 mm |
| Movement: | Manual |
| Water resistance: | 30 m |
| Crystal: | Sapphire |
Odysseus
A.Lange & Söhne’s most recent launch, the Odysseus watch is luxurious to look at but rugged enough to be worn for leisure and sports. With its outsized date and day-of-week display, it’s distinct and memorable. Available in stainless steel, titanium, and white gold, it’s prestigious while being practical with a definite sporty vibe.
| Price: | Price upon request |
| First release year: | 2019 |
| Current case size: | 40.5 mm |
| Movement: | Automatic |
| Water resistance: | 120 m |
| Crystal: | Sapphire |
Where to buy A. Lange & Söhne
You can buy an A. Lange & Söhne watch via the company’s website or over the phone. Their Client Relations Center team can assist you in choosing your watch. You can also visit one of the company’s Boutiques for an in-person experience. Or you could buy your pre-owned A.Lange & Söhne watch via a trusted online marketplace such as FARFETCH or Bob’s Watches.
For more on buying a luxury watch, check out our watch guide.
A.Lange & Söhne shipping
A.Lange & Söhne offers free shipping on all orders and can deliver to most places in the world if you place your order via the Client Relations Center in that particular country. Standard delivery takes between 5 and 7 days while Express takes 1 to 2 business days. You can also request a pickup from selected A.Lange & Söhne boutiques where associates can show you how to set and maintain your luxury timepiece.
A.Lange & Söhne return policy
You can return your watch within 14 days for a refund, even if you received it as a gift. But you can’t return your watch if you’ve had it personalized in some way unless it’s defective. You can also exchange your timepiece if necessary. Simply contact your nearest Client Relations Center. All returns are subject to a quality check.
A.Lange & Söhne customer service number
For help with purchasing an A.Lange & Söhne or for any other queries, contact a customer assistant on +1 8004088147.
A.Lange & Söhne social media profiles
Frequently asked questions about A. Lange & Söhne watches
What is the difference between Lange 1 and Grand Lange 1?
The difference between a Lange 1 and a Grand Lange 1 is size. The Lange 1 case diameter is 38.5 mm with a thickness of 9.8 mm while the Grand Lange’s case is 41 mm wide and 8.2 mm thick. Both feature an outsize date and an off-center display.
Is Lange 1 a dress watch?
Yes, the Lange 1 is considered a dress watch. With a water resistance of only 30 meters, it’s not a sports watch. Instead, its elegant design, striking asymmetrical dials, and large date window make it the perfect accessory for formal wear.
Who wears A Lange & Söhne?
A.Lange & Söhne watches are worn by those who appreciate horological quality and craftsmanship and who see luxury timepieces as masterpieces of engineering rather than simply status symbols. For more about the brand, see our A Lange & Söhne guide.
Is A Lange as good as Patek?
A.Lange & Söhne are just as good as Patek when it comes to quality and the skill of their craftsmen. Both are among the best watchmaking companies in their respective countries, and both have made major contributions to the history of watchmaking.
