A. Lange & Söhne

A. Lange & Söhne is one of the finest watchmakers in the world. It is based in Glashütte, a small town in Saxony, Germany. The brand makes luxury mechanical watches by hand. Each one is built to last for generations.

A story of two beginnings

Ferdinand Adolph Lange founded the company in 1845. He set up his workshop in Glashütte and trained local people to make watches. His work helped turn the town into the home of German fine watchmaking. In 1868, his son joined the firm, and the name became A. Lange & Söhne, which means “A. Lange and Sons”.

The business did well for about a hundred years. Then war and politics brought it to a stop. After the Second World War, the company was taken over by the state. By 1951, the Lange name had vanished from watch dials.

The story did not end there. After Germany reunited, Walter Lange brought the brand back to life. He was the founder’s great-grandson. With partner Günter Blümlein, he relaunched the company on 7 December 1990. That was 145 years to the day after the first founding. The brand has been part of the Richemont luxury group since 2000.

How the watches are made

Lange makes every movement in its own workshops in Glashütte. A movement is the engine that drives a watch. Lange has designed dozens of its own since 1990.

Each watch has several hundred tiny parts. Skilled watchmakers finish, decorate and assemble every part by hand. Many movement parts are made from German silver. This metal gives the movement a warm, soft glow. Each balance cock, a small bridge over the beating heart of the watch, is engraved by hand. No two are quite the same.

The cases are mostly 18ct gold or platinum. Lange makes only a few thousand watches each year. That small number keeps each piece rare and special.

A. Lange & Söhne collections

Lange has six watch families: Lange 1, Saxonia, 1815, Richard Lange, Zeitwerk and Odysseus.

The Lange 1 is the brand’s best-known watch. It has an off-centre dial and a big date in two windows. It was the first watch made in series with a large date like this. It has won more than 40 awards since 1995.

The Zeitwerk shows the time in bold numbers that jump forward each minute. It won a top prize at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève in 2009.

Prices start at around £24,000. The rarest pieces cost far more. The Grand Complication, made in a run of just six, sold for $2.6 million each.

Where to buy
Lange sells its watches through its own boutiques. You can visit flagship stores in London, New York, Dubai, Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Frankfurt. The London flagship opened on Old Bond Street in December 2025. There is also a Lange boutique inside Harrods. In total, the brand has about 40 points of sale around the world.

To find your nearest store, visit alange-soehne.com.

A. Lange & Söhne blends German precision with patient handcraft. It survived war and decades of silence. Today it stands beside the great Swiss houses. For many collectors, a Lange watch is the high point of fine watchmaking.