A. Lange & Söhne Anniversary Langematik

What you’re looking at is one of the most historically significant limited editions produced by A. Lange & Söhne since the manufacture’s return to Glashütte.

Created to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the modern A. Lange & Söhne, the Anniversary Langematik combines the restrained elegance of the Saxonia family with one of Lange’s most technically distinctive automatic movements. Limited to just 500 examples in platinum, the reference 302.025 has become one of the more desirable early post-reunification Lange watches — and one of the purest expressions of the manufacture’s aesthetic at the turn of the millennium.

This piece is fashioned from 950 platinum and measures a wonderfully restrained 37mm across by a slim 8.6mm thick. Its pristine white enamel dial is among the watch's defining features, with crisp black Roman numerals, a red 'XII,' a subsidiary seconds register at 6 o’clock, and delicate blued-steel hands. The result is remarkably clean and formal, with the enamel dial giving the otherwise modern watch an almost pocket-watch-like character. Enamel dials are not common for A. Lange & Sohne, and the conception of this watch is attributed to the one and only Gunter Blumlein, brainchild of so much of what makes Lange compelling today.

Turn the watch over and the reason for its importance becomes immediately apparent: beneath the sapphire display back is Lange’s automatic Caliber L921.7 SAX-O-MAT, a beautifully finished movement featuring a 21K gold micro-rotor, 36 jewels, and Lange’s patented ZERO-RESET mechanism. Pulling the crown causes the seconds hand to jump instantly to zero, allowing the watch to be synchronized precisely to a reference time. The movement is finished in the manner for which Lange quickly became renowned following its 1990 revival, with an engraved balance cock, swan-neck regulator, and characteristic German silver construction.

The name SAX-O-MAT is itself a little piece of Lange history: “SAX” refers to Saxony, while “MAT” denotes the automatic winding system, with the “O” calling attention to the watch’s zero-reset mechanism.

Our example is particularly well preserved and comes with its paperwork.

With its modest 37mm proportions, exceptional enamel dial, platinum case, beautifully executed micro-rotor movement, and strictly limited production of just 500 pieces, the Anniversary Langematik represents a fascinating moment in modern Lange history. It is simultaneously an early 21st-century technical achievement and a remarkably traditional German dress watch — and one of the rare Lange limited editions that feels genuinely special without resorting to overt complication.

There are complicated watches, and then there are watches that mark a moment in a manufacture’s history. This is the latter.

For Germany, Reunification represented a renaissance of sorts for a country that had been rent asunder by the Cold War. And for A. Lange & Söhne, whom fate had situated on the Eastern side of the Iron Curtain, it was indeed a rebirth.

Lange was founded in Glashütte in 1845, and its first century was truly a golden age. The brand imbued its products with a care and an attention to detail that brought worldwide renown. Its pocket watches, in particular, gained high marks in competition and saw use on the railroads of Europe.

But the coming of World War II and the subsequent Soviet occupation saw that golden age come to an end. The Soviet authorities expropriated the company in 1948 — the factory was shuttered, and the once-shining name of A. Lange & Söhne nearly faded into obscurity. That is, until 1990, when Walter Lange — great-grandson of the founder, Ferdinand A. Lange — resurrected his family’s old company and brought it to prominence once more.

Armed with Ferdinand Lange’s journal, Walter Lange sketched a watch that would adapt his great-grandfather’s designs to modern tastes, while still keeping an eye firmly on tradition. In the journal, Walter discovered sketches of a clock that Ferdinand designed with his mentor Johann Gutkaes. Commissioned by the Elector of Saxony for the Semperoper House in Dresden, the “Five Minute Clock” was nothing short of revolutionary.

With legibility as their primary concern, Johann Gutkaes and Ferdinand Lange designed a clock that, with its rectangular construction and two counter-rotating drums — one to show the hours, the other the minutes — was essentially the world’s first digital clock. Over one hundred years later, it was that clock that would inspire the modern manufacture’s first watch post-Reunification.

In 1992, Walter Lange filed a patent for a big date window, similar in style to the clock in the opera house. Two years later, it would appear on the Lange 1. Without question the firm’s flagship model, it features a big date function as its hallmark. Though found in watches like the Zeitwerk or the Langematik Sax-O-Mat, it’s in the Lange 1 that the big date is used to the greatest effect. Alongside other details such as asymmetrical sub-dials depicting the hours and sub-seconds, and the A. Lange & Söhne signature with its famous ampersand, it shows a clarity of vision that is wholly Lange.

Subsequent models — no less innovative — have only further cemented the brand’s footing as one of the most refined and fascinating watchmakers in business today. From the ludicrously complicated Zeitwerk to the elegant Saxonia to the recent Odysseus dive watch, Lange & Söhne is committed to pushing the horological envelope and reestablishing Germany as foremost amongst the world’s centers of watchmaking innovation.

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Condition

Since our pieces are vintage or pre-owned, please expect wear & patina from usage and age. Please read each item description and examine all product images.

Warranty

We back each Analog:Shift vintage timepiece with a two-year mechanical warranty from the date of purchase.

International Buyers

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All of our watches include complementary insured shipping within the 50 states.

Most of our products are on hand and will ship directly from our headquarters in New York City. In some cases, watches will be shipped directly from one of our authorized partners.

We generally ship our products via FedEx, fully insured, within 5 business days of purchase. An adult signature is required for receipt of all packages for insurance purposes. Expedited shipping is available at an additional cost. We are also happy to hand deliver your purchase in Manhattan or you may pick it up at our showroom.

Returns must be sent overnight or by priority international delivery, fully insured and paid for by the customer. A restocking fee may apply. Watches must be returned in the same condition as initially shipped.

We welcome international buyers, please contact us prior to purchase for additional details on shipping and payment options.