Manufacturer: A. Lange & Söhne Year: 2014 Reference No: 233.025 Movement No: 95'787 Case No: 210'485, further engraved 299/500 Model Name: 1815 Material: Platinum Calibre: Manual, cal. L.051.1, 23 jewels Bracelet/Strap: Leather Clasp/Buckle: Platinum A. Lange & Söhne pin buckle Dimensions: 40mm Diameter Signed: Case, dial, movement and buckle signed Accessories: Accompanied by A. Lange & Söhne Guarantee stamped Watches of Switzerland Sydney and dated May 1, 2014, presentation box, leather envelope with product literature, and outer packaging.
Catalogue Essay
The 1815 limited edition wristwatch was released in 2015 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the firm's founder, Ferdinand Adolph Lange, who was born in Dresden on February 18, 1815. The 1815 line was introduced in 1999 as a tribute to the original brand's creator, commemorating his demanding standards and precision quality movements. They have three-quarter plates, blued screws, hand-engraved balance cocks, and gold chatons on their timepiece. Lange worked hard to ensure that motions were consistently reproduced in order to achieve uniformity and better timekeeping, as well as to develop mechanical standards. A. Lange & Söhne received patent number 9349 in 1879 for a pocket watch movement that indicated how much time was left before a watch was totally unwound, which is now known as a power reserve by collectors.
The 1815 collection is noted for high-precision timepieces in a wide range of models, including the Grande Complication masterpiece, perpetual calendars, and time-only wristwatches, such as the current lot. With one common design element seen on each model: the railway-track minute scale, each model pays homage to the horological traditions Ferdinand Adolph Lange intended to achieve. The reference 236.049 is a timeless clock that epitomizes the legendary brand's original famous wristwatches.
This A. Lange 1815 Anniversary wristwatch, number 299 of 500, is in hardly worn condition and comes with the box and documentation. The caliber L051.1 with hand etched balance cock is framed by the platinum casing, which is tastefully offset by the silver dial with a powerful masculine appeal.
Originally founded in 1845 by Ferdinand Adolph Lange in Glashütte, Dresden, Germany, the firm established an entire watchmaking culture and industry in Glashütte. The brand quickly became Germany's finest watchmaker, first creating dependable, easy-to-repair watches before going on to produce some of the world's finest complicated pocket watches, including Grande Sonnerie watches, tourbillon watches and Grande Complications.
On the final day of World War II, their factories were destroyed by Russian bombers, and in 1948 the brand was confiscated by the Soviet Union. Following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990, Ferdinand's great grandson Walter Lange re-established the brand with the objective to once again produce top-quality luxury watches. Now part of the Richemont Group, its original vintage and modern creations are highly coveted by collectors. Key models from the modern era include the Lange 1, Pour Le Mérite Tourbillon and the Zeitwerk.