Manufacturer: A. Lange & Söhne Year: 2000 Reference No: 111.032 Movement No: 8971 Case No: 118'962 Model Name: Lange 1 Material: Platinum Calibre: Manual, L901.0 Bracelet/Strap: Crocodile Clasp/Buckle: Platinum, signed A. Lange and Söhne Dimensions: 39mm. Diameter Signed:Case, dial and movement signed Accessories:A. Lange & Söhne presentation box and outer packaging.
Catalogue Essay
A. Lange & Söhne first introduced the Lange 1 model in 1994 and due to the ever growing popularity it is still in production today. To many collectors, the Lange 1 is the most recognizable watch manufactured by the brand and is to Lange what the Calatrava is to Patek Philippe. Fitted with the oversized date, power reserve and eccentric time display and subsidiary seconds, the reference has been revised over the years and is today manufactured in a slightly larger case than the present example. However, the Lange 1 has retained its identity and remains largely unchanged from the first examples seen some twenty years ago. The present watch, consigned by a very prominent collector is still in excellent overall condition.
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.