2006 TimeZone Tour
Day 5 - Visit to A. Lange & Söhne
May 2007
Day 5 of the 2006 TimeZone Watch Tour actually began on Day 4. Confused? Let me explain...
After departing from the Château des Monts Horology Museum in Le Locle, our group headed to Basel, where we were scheduled to take the "City Night Line" overnight train to Dresden, the nearest large city to Glashütte. After a leisurly couple of hours in Basel where many of us took the opportunity to have a nice dinner, we arrived at the Basel train station. At approximately 8:45pm, we boarded our train for the 11-1/2 hour journey to Dresden. Many of us knew very little about this train journey, other than what we had read in the marketing brochures.
These brochures contained statements like "Comfortable beds and cozy down-filled duvets", "almost too delightful to sleep in", "you are bound to enjoy your spacious and comfortable compartment with shower, WC, lounge area and panorama windows"", etc. Needless to say, the reality was just a little different.
The double compartments, meant to sleep two people, were indeed large enough to sleep two, as long as one of the two held his or her breath. Sitting upright was possible if you defined "upright" as "prone". Many of us spent our first hour of the train ride comparing room sizes (they were pretty much all the same, for what that was worth). In the end, though, we all agreed to make the best of the very cramped conditions, and had a good laugh about it. I actually slept well, since the air conditioning on the train worked wonderfully. Hare are a couple of photos of the compartments. Needless to say, no wide angle lens in existence could adequately capture the whole compartment in all its glory.
Most of us awoke early the following morning, and did the best we could to wash up and ready ourselves for the relatively short ride from the Dresden station to Glashütte.
Upon exiting the station, we expected to see a motor coach waiting to take us to Glashütte, where we would visit Lange in the morning, and Glashütte Original in the afternoon. We were also scheduled to have dinner at the Glashütte Original Manufacture. Instead of the motor coach, however, we found a fleet of Audis that Glashütte Original had graciously arranged for. A nice surprise indeed.
After a half hour drive through the German countryside, we arrived in the town of Glashütte. Though small in size, Glashütte has a long and rich watchmaking history. In addition to the two manufactures we were scheduled to visit, other companies which call Glashütte home include nomos and Mühle Glashütte.
Soon, we arrived at the A. Lange & Söhne manufacture.
Our group was graciously welcomed by Herr Knothe, along with a number of his colleagues. Joanna Gribben, head of the Lange Academy, would lead us on the tour of the manufacture.
Here Jackson Wei models his Lange watchmaker's coat. Note that the pink lettering on the coat is a company tradition.
Alas, the company has a policy which prohibits photography inside the watchmaking and production areas of the manufacture, so I am unable to show you much of what we saw on the very interesting tour. Ms. Gribben is extremely knowledgeable not only on the subject of A. Lange & Söhne, but on watchmaking in general. It was very evident in her enthusiasm and passion that she truly enjoys her job. In the photo below, she explains that our visit was taking place right around the time that the town of the town's 500th birthday celebration.
During the tour, the pride tat the company takes in every aspect of watch production was very clear. Though I do not have photographs, below I have included some of the more interesting information shared with us on the tour.
Though the history of the Lange family in Glashütte is well known, the company did not produce any watches from approximately 1950 to 1989 due to the political situation in Germany at that time. When Germany reunited in 1989, Walter Lange returned to Glashütte to begin wristwatch production under the Lange name once again. It was interesting to learn that many of the first watchmakers at the current A. Lange & Söhne company were actually from G.U.B. (Glashütter Uhrenbetrieben), the state run watchmaking company which was to become Glashütte Original after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Between 1990 and 1994, the company spent its time developing their first watches, resulting in the release of the Lange 1, the tourbillon "Pour le M?rite", the Arkade and the Saxonia in 1994.
Presently, the company employs approximately 400 people, roughly half of whom are watchmakers. The average age for a watchmakers here is 34. Those watchmakers assigned to produce the complicated watches are organized into functional groups based on the complications that they build.
In addition to producing almost everything that goes into their watches, the company also produces many of its own tools and part holders, since these are so highly specialized for their work. The company does not make their own screws, but they are blued and finished here. They are, however, one of the few companies that produce their own hairsprings (for the Datograph, Double-Split and TimeZone models). Other Lange models use hairsprings produced by Nivarox which are then adapted for used in Lange watches.
The company takes a great deal of care to ensure that every watch produced at the manufacture performs to a very high standard. Watches are tested here for a period of six weeks before they are shipped off to dealers around the world. For after-sales service, some watches are obviously returned to the manufacture in Glashütte, but the company also has authorized service centers in the Hong Kong, New York, and Switzerland.
After an enjoyable and interesting tour, we retuned to a large conference room for a light lunch and preview of the absolutely outstanding Lange collection. The company makes some truly wonderful pieces.
The spectacular Tourbograph "Pour Le Merite".
The Datograph.
The Datograph Perpetual.
The beautiful new Richard Lange.
The Lange 1 Tourbillon.
Amazing clock in the room.
A huge model of the Datograph movement.
Herr Lange at the head of the table with Joanna Gribben, along with others at our lunch.
...and all too quickly, our visit was over, and it was time to head up the street for our visit with Glashütte Original, which would mark the conclusion of this year's tour.
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