Text: Elena Olkhovskaya
Glashütte is located in Saxony, just an hour from Dresden. He, in fact, like all small German towns, looks more like a quiet sleepy village with almost gingerbread houses stuck here and there, the windows of which are decorated with the same snow-white curtains and pots with bright colors. However, this particular town, immersed in the greenery of the forests surrounding it, became famous all over the world due to the fact that it houses four watch factories, including the unique family-owned manufactory Lange, which still produces magnificent A.Lange & Sohne watches.
Innovator from Saxony
It all started with Ferdinand Adolf Lange, who was born in 1815. Thanks to his outstanding talent, energy and entrepreneurial spirit, Lange, a man of simple origin, became one of the founders of the watch industry. It was Lange who mastered the production of precision watches in Germany, and even today his ideas inspire watchmakers to create unique works. When he was not even 30 years old, Ferdinand Adolph Lange embraced the ambitious idea of establishing his own independent watch manufacture in the Saxon Ore Mountains, and spared no effort in order to carry out his plan. Being a very modest man, Adolf Lange worked tirelessly to create the best watch in the world. For him, content was more important than form. Creating new watches, he strove to ensure that “despite its pretentious appearance, each model would meet the requirements of high reliability and fulfill its purpose perfectly”. It was for this purpose that in 1864 Adolf Lange began to use three-quarter platinum in his watch, due to which the life time of the clock mechanism significantly increased ...
Lange and sons
... A portrait of Adolf Lange, composed as a collage of numerous black and white photographs of watchmakers engaged in the manufacture of watches under the A.Lange & Sohne brand created by him, today adorns one of the walls of the company's headquarters in Saxon Glashütte. The watch factory belongs to Walter Lange, the last descendant of Adolf Ferdinand, who once gave the company the name "A. Lange and Sons." Alas, the only son of Walter Lange decided not to follow in his father's footsteps, and it seems that the Lange dynasty is interrupted on this .... However, the watch brand A.Lange & Sohne, which is part of the Richmont Group today, does not seem to be going to give up its positions. On the contrary, the ambitious novelties of Lange watchmakers, created in the spirit of the time and the best traditions of watchmaking, seem to soon overshadow the fame of the famous Swiss brands. And this is amazing, given that in 1939 only 24 people worked at the factory, and in 2009 the number of employees only slightly exceeded 500.
Creation of legends
Our factory guides were Christian Engelbrecht, A.Lange & Sohne PR and Media Relations Manager, and Matthew Dupont, A.Lange & Sohne Brand Manager Middle East, who arrived in Dubai with a group of journalists. In addition, Michael Pfeifer, senior master of the manufacture, who joined the tour, told us about all the intricacies of production, and then he allowed us to try ourselves as polishers and grinders of the smallest details of watch movements. To say that the production of high-precision, complex mechanical watches is an art means to say nothing. This is something akin to magic. Not only is every detail of the mechanism machined, polished and adjusted manually, but also on larger parts, many of which cannot be seen with the naked eye, are engraved with signature engravings, which are based on traditional Baroque ornaments for Saxony. If someone else remembers A. Leskov’s book “Left-handed”, then this just reminds the moment when the Left-handed person is catching a flea ...
It is worth noting another important fact. It takes about two hours to grind one part of the mechanism to the required level of smoothness, and there are more than 350 of them installed in only one mechanism. And in order for the whole mechanism to work as it should be, it is assembled, checked, disassembled again, eliminated the smallest inaccuracies found during the first measurements and reassembled. And so with all models and ranges. I don’t know, maybe this will seem to some people as “stone age” technologies and, probably, the “monsters” of the watch industry, who produce their watches in hundreds of thousands annually, are not involved in such refinements, but, in my opinion, this is what defines the words “ elitism "and" exclusivity ". At the A.Lange & Sohne factory, they work only with precious metals - gold and platinum for cases, and unique silver alloys, the so-called "German silver" - for dials and movements, as well as with precious stones. Many tools for watchmaking are made here in the factory. Here, even every crocodile strap is sewn by hand, so that later it can be decorated with a signature clasp made of gold or platinum ...
One who knows
Fabian Krone, chief executive officer of A.Lange & Sohne, is so passionate about his work that he seems not ready to talk about anything else. So we first talked with him about the clock, and then a little about everything else.
Fabian, tell me how you feel in the role of the leader of the legendary watch manufacture A.Lange & Sohne?
To be honest, heading such a company is not so difficult. When a strong personality stands behind brand creation, the only thing left to do is to maintain respect for this person and for what he was created. In order to continue the glorious history of Lange House, we need to constantly develop, as well as invent more and more types of watches. Of course, there are many difficult moments in modern watch movements that Lange has not yet embarked on, but, of course, we want to be represented in this segment. On the other hand, we always strive to find new ways in watchmaking. For example, we have now developed the Lange Zeitwerk model, and all representatives of the international media have already confirmed that this is a completely new “face” of the modern watch industry. It was the same in 1994, when we released the Lange 1 model. Then it also became a vivid example of unique innovations in the watch industry. Therefore, we will try to constantly find unique watch concepts that will differ from the rest both in technical elements and in our design. A.Lange & Sohne is a watch manufacturer that is different from everything you've seen so far.
Without compromising on either quality or exclusivity?
All A.Lange & Sohne watches are exclusive pieces of fine watchmaking. We produce only 5000 watches a year, and we are not going to expand production. We are just trying to produce more complex watch movements. Sometimes, on the outside, new watches may look similar to previous models, but they will certainly be more complex on the inside. If we continue the theme of exclusivity, then, in my opinion, brand exclusivity is achieved not only through production, but also through approaches to brand marketing and distribution of finished products. Today, our watches are sold with 214 retailers in the world. We are still very poorly represented in China, we will need to develop our presence in this market. A.Lange & Sohne watches sell well in Moscow, but they still don’t know about us all over the CIS. But for now, we decided to leave everything as it is. In the USA, despite the fact that we already have 22 retailers there and on the general economic situation, we hope to develop a sales network further. In other words, while maintaining the exclusivity of A.Lange & Sohne watches, we still intend to develop the brand's presence and brand recognition in different markets. The range of our customers is global. They travel a lot, and therefore do not always get the things they need at the same points of sale. Therefore, today our watches can be bought only in the most exclusive retail department stores or jewelry stores in the world, on our own branded stands decorated in the same style - with gray showcases made from expensive wood and famous Mason porcelain.
Tell me, Fabian, which model of A.Lange & Sohne watch do you personally prefer and why?
Hard to say. Creating each new watch model is a long process. It can be compared with the birth of a child who is born. After all, with the advent of new watches, you understand that you need to bear responsibility for them, take care of them as the youngest child in the family. When the baby grows up and begins to walk and talk on its own, you turn your attention to the next newborn. The same story with the clock. I can’t say that I like this or that A.Lange & Sohne watch model. Currently, I pay more attention to our new creation - Richard Lange “Pour le Merite”, released in honor of the eldest son of Adolf Lange Riharad, in which the factory patented in 1930 a special alloy of steel and nickel for the manufacture of balance springs and received many other inventions. By the way, the “title” of this “Pour le Merite” watch means "For Merit" in translation, and the watch itself, equipped with a fusee mechanism with a chain transmission, has one purpose - the most accurate time measurement. I also follow the implementation of the Lange 21 model, which will be launched at the beginning of this summer. This is what I focus on today. And, believe me, I am ready to give preference to all A.Lange & Sohne models, it is impossible to choose one of them. They are all good in their own way.
I am rephrasing the question, what kind of A.Lange & Sohne watch do you wear?
I love our new Dataghraph Perpetual watch, made of white gold. Very beautiful watches Lange 1. Looking at them, I always recall the year 1994, when Switzerland was the monopolist for the production of high-end watches. And suddenly, the watch factory from Germany, and from the eastern part of the country, entered the world markets and loudly declared itself as the leader in the watch industry.
How did the watch industry react to such a demarche?
It was a shock. Moreover, in 1994 there was no such thing as a “luxury segment”. Before the Swiss, talking about the company A.Lange & Sohne, which produces something there, caused a smile. But when we presented our models - Tourbiion “Pour le Merite” and Lange 1, everyone realized that something unique and beautiful appeared on the markets, created by the hands of German watchmakers. Of course, that year was the most important for the entire line of watches produced in the Lange 1 lineup. And in 1999, our Datagraph made a splash. Then very few Swiss watch manufacturers produced their own chronographs. And again, a small factory from the German town of Glashütte showed the famous and oldest manufactories that have been operating on the market for hundreds and hundreds of years, what a chronograph mechanism can be, as well as many different watch models, each of which is endowed with its own character.
As people living in Glashütte, they managed to maintain their skills through the years of war, the change of political regimes, and pass it on to their children. As far as I understand, the entire population of the town is engaged in the watch industry, right? It seems to me that the desire to create something beautiful is in every person. It all depends on the possibilities for revealing talents and abilities. In Germany, it is also the self-discipline of people. Glashütte inhabitants have been manufacturing watches since 1845, from the moment when the families of the first watchmakers first settled here, who later became famous dynasties. Even in the post-war period from 1949 to 1990, when the German watch industry was engaged in mass production of watches without identifying brands, a huge number of watchmakers worked here. It even seems to me that there were a lot more of them than now. Of course, in those years no one was engaged in the production of super complex mechanical watches, but nevertheless, the skills of the residents of Glashütte were constantly improved and honed. At A.Lange & Sohne, 24 people began to work, and many of them are still here.
Of course, at first we needed to educate and train our masters in order to awaken the dozing skills in them. But today we are witnessing the opposite situation, when specialists from Switzerland come to us in Glashütte to learn more and try to learn some of the secrets of German watchmaking. This, incidentally, is one of the reasons why A.Lange & Sohne today has its own watch school, which can rightfully be proud of. In this school, we trained our watchmakers in early 1994, in it we can also train others. I don’t know how exactly the residents of Glashütte managed not to waste their skill over the years, but it has not gone anywhere, and thank God. New generations of Glashütte residents are also masterfully doing their job.
What awaits us in the future? Can you reveal the secrets of the new works of watchmakers A.Lange & Sohne?
First of all, I believe that we will please both ourselves and our customers with a new Lange Zeitwerk watch. This model will begin a new era of fine watchmaking. Today it is the very youngest child in our family. And he will remain the most beloved, until the birth of the next firstborn.
You said that A.Lange & Sohne are pretty well represented in Moscow, where else in the CIS do you plan to start selling your watches? Today, our watches can also be bought in Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and other CIS countries. Now is not the best situation for opening new markets, but we like the quality of those retailers with whom we are already working. Let's wait for the recession to end. I hope that the prices and purchasing power of people will return to normal. And then we decide what we will do next.
It is well known that all men love their cars, phones, watches. These are such “toys” for big boys. Which car would you like to compare watches from A.Lange & Sohne?
I think that our watch is a mixture characteristic of several popular automobile brands. On the one hand, thanks to traditions and heritage, as well as the nature and dynamism, somewhere even innovation - this may be, perhaps, Porche. On the other hand, thanks to the elegance and commitment to handmade work, it could be a Bentley, though not today, but the good old Bentley of the early 20th century. Our watches are distinguished by different characters and fates. It is difficult to compare them with any one automobile brand. I would say that the segment that A. Lange & Sohne occupies in the watch world today does not exist in the automotive industry.
Fabian, what are you interested in and like to do in your free time, if of course you still have it?
Besides good watches, my other passion is luxury cars. Here I am not much different from 99.9% of other men. I also really love good wines and cuisine. Here are my three main hobbies. Today I have the opportunity to work in the watch industry, once I worked in an automobile company. I don’t know if I can become a famous sommelier, but I can correctly select wines for this or that dish, because I love and know how to cook. But my main passion is my two daughters, and I hope to instill in them a love for everything that they do in life. This, in my opinion, is the most important.
Thank you, Fabian, and for the conversation, and for an interesting tour of the factory. I wish you and your team new creative successes.
