A.Lange & Sohne Military Watch Ref. FI 23883

With a watchmaking legacy that has its origins in the early 19th century, German brand A. Lange and Söhne has created a wide range of iconic watches such as the Lange 1 and is renowned around the world for its chronographs and impeccably polished and elegant aesthetics.

A. Lange and Söhne’s story begins with Ferdinand Adolph Lange, who, at the age of 15, apprenticed with master watchmaker Johann Christian Friedrich Gutkaes in Saxony. In the late 1830s, Gutkaes and his young apprentice developed the Five-Minute Clock for the Semper Opera House in Dresden, considered by historians as a masterpiece in Saxon clockmaking artistry.

Following his apprenticeship with Gutkaes, Lange traveled through France, England and Switzerland before returning to Germany to work at a watch manufactory in Glashütte. Lange’s watchmaking talents began to gain recognition by Europe’s wealthy nobility. Among them was Russian Czar Alexander II, who was so enamored by Lange’s pocket watches that he gifted Lange a diamond scarf pin.

In 1845, Lange founded his watch company, and in 1868, his sons Richard and Emil became the business’s co-owners upon his retirement. Both brothers were talented in their own right. Richard, an innovative designer, contributed to dozens of watchmaking patents. Meanwhile, Emil achieved world fame for his Century Tourbillon watch, which he presented at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris. 

Throughout the early 20th century, the Lange family’s watchmaking firm flourished. After World War II, the manufactory was shut down and nationalized. However, in 1990, Ferdinand’s great-grandson Walter Lange resurrected his family’s watchmaking legacy, reviving the A. Lange and Söhne brand with entrepreneur Günter Blümlein.

In 1994, A. Lange and Söhne debuted their first wristwatch collection, which included the Lange 1, Saxonia, Arkade and Tourbillon “Pour le Mérite” models. Subsequently, other successful models followed, such as Odysseus, Cabaret, Zeitwerk and the iconic 1815 — named for Ferdinand Adolph Lange’s birth year.

Blümlein died in 2001 and Walter Lange died in 2016, yet A. Lange and Söhne continues to rank among the world’s top luxury watchmakers with exquisite pieces that are highly coveted by today’s discerning collectors. 

Find vintage A. Lange and Söhne watches on 1stDibs.