A. Lange & Söhne’s story begins in 1845, when Ferdinand Adolph Lange founded his watchmaking workshop in the Saxon town of Glashütte, setting the foundations for what would become one of Germany’s most respected names in precision timekeeping.
For over a century, the Manufacture produced pocket watches renowned for their technical mastery and understated beauty, before disappearing from the landscape following World War II, when Glashütte’s watch industry was nationalised.
The brand’s remarkable revival came in 1990, when Walter Lange, great-grandson of the founder, brought it back to life after German reunification. Four years later, the relaunch was marked by the debut of four timepieces, including the now-iconic Lange 1 – a watch that would redefine German watchmaking for the modern era.
Today, under the leadership of CEO Wilhelm Schmid, A. Lange & Söhne combines the principles of its founder with contemporary innovation, creating all of its movements in-house and hand-finishing every component to the highest standard. With 36 different calibres developed since its rebirth, the brand continues to evolve while remaining deeply anchored in its heritage.
In this interview, Schmid reflects on the milestones that have shaped the manufacture since its relaunch, the fine balance between tradition and innovation, and the challenges of steering a brand whose appeal lies as much in its quiet exclusivity as in its technical brilliance.
Since the relaunch of the brand in 1994, what have been the defining moments that shaped A. Lange & Söhne’s modern identity?
There are hundreds of moments, but if I try to identify those you’ll read about in books, it’s rare to present the most complicated wristwatch ever built in Germany – and that’s what we did in 2013. That complication will always mark a milestone because it answered the question of what we can do if we want to. Very soon we will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of what we still call the new manufactory, opened in 2015, another key moment in our history. And in 2019, on October 24, we launched the ODYSSEUS. We don’t often introduce new watch families, and certainly not ones that explore completely new territory for us. If I had to choose three milestones, those would be them.
How do you balance tradition and innovation when introducing new models or reinterpreting iconic references?
We are very traditional in our values – focus on quality, craftsmanship, how we treat each other and view the world – but that doesn’t stop us from innovating in mechanical fine watchmaking. I don’t believe innovation and tradition are opposing forces; innovation is part of your DNA. At any point in history, what a brand was doing was innovative, and it is only with time that it becomes a tradition. We never stand still, as our founder Mr. Lange said. I believe that represents our vision now. Staying true to who we are means hand-polishing, decorating, creating watches by hand, but also being innovative.
The Lange 1 remains one of the most iconic watches in the industry. Why does it still resonate so strongly with collectors?
First of all, let me really emphasise that we don’t call our own watches icons; that’s for others to say. From the start, the Lange 1 stood out because it was different. It had traditional elements but a completely innovative dial design, combined with legibility that’s very hard to beat. That rare combination of uniqueness, purpose and usefulness has stood the test of time. It still looks as modern today as it did in 1994. Longevity comes from being beautiful at first glance and remaining beautiful decades later. I think that’s probably the criteria for being iconic. Knowing that someone can look at it today, and it still feels new and refreshing for them as it did 30 years ago.
How important is in-house development and hand-finishing to the brand’s position among the finest haute horlogerie manufacturers?
This is what sets us apart from almost all the other brands. We start with a clear idea, then work out what’s needed and how long it will take to bring to life. Some complicated watches take six to eight years to create. Each watch family has its own design language, so ideas must fit within that scope. Once we feel a design aligns with our brand identity, construction begins. Everything is in-house, so we are masters of our destiny. It’s a very complicated process. We currently have 36 different movements, each created from scratch for its watch.
How do you ensure that these very rare watchmaking skills are sustained for the future?
Firstly, we’ve operated our own watchmaking school since 1997. Currently, 92 apprentices are training with us, most in watchmaking, others in toolmaking, machining, logistics and accounting. Around 280 watchmakers have graduated so far. Secondly, we spend a lot of time looking into the revival of forgotten crafts, such as enamelling, which we brought back in-house after years of research and trial and error. Enamelling is one of those because it hasn’t been used in watches for 100 years, because there were cheap alternatives. Unfortunately, this is one of the areas where nothing was documented, and the old trick that the master gives it to the apprentice and it’s passed on through the generations meant that nothing was written down. So, we had to start from scratch, which we did. We took our time to find the right people; there was a lot of trial and error. Today, we print our enamel dials ourselves. The third element is the continuous training that we do within our manufacturer in combination with all the efforts to keep our people. Because it doesn’t help if you train five and lose five, it’s as important to make sure that the people you train are happy and stay with you for a long time.
Would you say there’s good motivation among employees?
Even though we belong to Richemont, our values are closer to those of a family company. If you ever visit our manufacturing facility, you can see for yourself that these people are very proud of what they do, and that’s part of what keeps them with us. So, we gladly don’t have to take care of too many people leaving us. And if they do, it’s often a well-deserved retirement. Of course, in that case, we do lose people who are very valuable to us as a company.
This year has already seen the introduction of exciting new references, including updates to the Zeitwerk family. What can collectors look forward to in upcoming releases?
Yes, we just launched the Zeitwerk Date. Capacity is our biggest challenge because it’s a complicated watch to work on. We have a dedicated department for Zeitwerk, both new and for revision. We had to reduce the number of Zeitwerk white gold watches to make room for new pink gold models. Whenever something new comes, something else has to give and it’s a very fine line to balance.
How do you balance meeting demand for existing watches while creating new innovations?
It’s challenging and of course there are mistakes. Capacity is limited, and not every watchmaker can work on every watch. Top watchmakers are rare, so balancing workloads sometimes means customers wait longer than they’d like for a watch. But hopefully, those who understand our process know that quality takes time.
How important is the Middle East to A. Lange & Söhne’s global growth strategy?
It’s traditionally a very strong market for us. I remember opening our first boutique in Dubai Mall, and it has been very successful. We are well connected to our customers in Dubai and there are few cities like it in the world that combine a strong local watch community with such a large influx of tourists. That’s why Dubai is so important for us. It’s always a pleasure to come to Dubai and work with our team there. And again, if we talk about longevity, most of the people who are working successfully in Dubai are with us for a long time. Which is unusual for Dubai, but it fits our brand DNA very well. We always see the long and sustainable relationships with our people, and that usually means that he or she stay a little longer with us.
What’s the biggest challenge you face today?
First, 90% of our people live and work in Glashütte, but all our customers live outside. Glashütte is the heartbeat of our company, but the challenge is connecting our work here with the rest of the world. We don’t feel the breath of competition here in Glashütte because we are by far the biggest and most successful company, and it’s our job to make sure that nobody becomes complacent, because complacency is the loser of tomorrow.
Second, our watches are discreet; their value is recognised only by those in the know, and we must balance exclusivity with reaching more people. The third challenge is an industry-wide challenge because, nobody needs a watch to tell time anymore. We have to make our craft relevant to younger generations who live in a digital world. The good news is that young people still appreciate quality and longevity; the challenge is that they digest information differently, so we have to reach them in different ways that also fit our brand DNA.
What’s something that has surprised you most about the brand?
From the beginning, it has been the pride of everyone working for us. On my first day, I arrived from South Africa, and it was a bit of a cultural shock, I admit. I toured the manufactory and met the team, and then they hosted an event at Dresden castle, where I saw the passion of everyone, from Mr. Lange to our earliest retailers. You can’t manufacture that feeling; it comes from the heart, and I see it every day within our Manufacture, down to all our staff in our boutiques worldwide. Whenever I meet collectors after a manufacturing tour, and I see the light in their eyes talking about what they saw, you can’t construct that feeling. This comes from the bottom of the heart of our people, and I think this is still the most surprising and inspiring element in our company.
Looking ahead, what is your long-term vision for A. Lange & Söhne?
We are still so young, and there are so many things we can still do. We always have to balance the ideas with what we have in resources. There is a long future ahead of us, and we will continue to surprise our clients with watchmaking done at A. Lange & Söhne in a way that they haven’t seen before.
How would you like people to remember the brand?
If you have a very sharp profile, which we have, you can’t please everybody. So, there will always be people who don’t like our watches, but regardless of whether you like them or not, there are three things I would fight for. The first is the amount of skilled craftsmanship that goes into our watches. It’s all trained people who have an apprenticeship training or a master. They work so hard on all these tiny little things. In watchmaking, polishing, engraving, decoration, enamelling, finishing – all these people are masters of their art, and the number of hours that go into each and every one is something that I would like everyone, whether they like our watches or not, to appreciate.
The design of our watches is legible and sophisticated, very clean and clear, but if you turn it around, you will see the opulence of the movement with all the different decorations and so on. That’s very German to be shy and not show off too much until you get closer.
The third thing is our interesting history. We were a family company for 100 years, then didn’t exist for 40 years, then we came back with four watches in 1994, and the rest is history! I think that’s quite unique.
Can you share anything about what’s coming up this year?
There’s a lot in the pipeline. I won’t spoil the surprises, but we have several more launches planned this year, so stay tuned.
