A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1

Overall Condition: Excellent condition overall. Case shows only faint signs of wear consistent with age and gentle use. Dial and handset are in excellent condition. Factory strap and deployant are in great condition.

What you’re looking at is an example of the most important wristwatches of the last 30 years.

The Lange 1 is without question the manufacturer’s flagship model, and the big date function is its hallmark. Though found in watches like the Zeitwerk or the Langematik Sax-O-Mat, it’s in the Lange 1 that it’s shown 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. And while the Lange 1 has seen many versions, from a tourbillon to the Timezone, it’s the original that has become the symbol of the maison — and perhaps even the symbol of modern watchmaking itself.

This particular example from circa the early 2000s, features a 38.5mm 18K yellow gold case with a sapphire crystal, a matching 18K polished bezel, a satin silver dial with subsidiary hours and minutes at 9 o'clock; a seconds register at 4 o'clock; a power reserve indicator at 3 o'clock; a yellow gold framed date window at o'clock; applied yellow gold indices with and a matching handset, and a signed black alligator leather strap with a matching yellow gold 'Lange' signed deployant buckle.

Powering this masterpiece is the Lange & Söhne Caliber L901.1, a manual-winding movement that’s stunning to behold — and which can thankfully easily be viewed via the exhibition case back.

There are complicated watches, and then there are works of art. This is the latter.