05/10/2026
We’ve all heard of those famous luxury watch manufacturers (Rolex, Omega, EBEL, Breitling, blah, blah, blah), but what about those smaller companies that are steeped in family history & heritage. That produce timepieces of equal precision, but with a much greater appreciation of artistry. Like A. Lange & Söhne. Was established in 1868 in Glashütte, Saxony, by Adolf Lange & his brother Adolf Schneider as a means to invigorate their community’s economy by training 15 local citizens to become specialists in manufacturing items like screws, wheels, balance wheels, & hands. This made a lot of people financially stable.
1875: Adolf Lange died and his son, Emil Lange, took over the business.
1919: Emil Lange hands the business over to his sons; one of whom, Richard Lange, patented a new hairspring alloy that included beryllium making it a more temperature stable hairspring.
18/March/1946: The new East German government expropriated the company, declaring the 3 Langes to be N***s & war criminals. After that the company was combined into GUB (Glashütter Uhren-betrieben) along with 7 other German companies by the Communist government.
1990: Germany was reunited and Walter Lange returned to restore his family company, where he made the first line of Lange watches in a generation, including: Lange 1, Saxonia, Arkade, Pour le Mérite
