Editor’s note: Like you, we are also excited for the Watches & Wonders 2022 novelties. Before we get to dive deep into them, here’s our preview & Gut Reaction Review (Grr…) of the new Grand Lange 1. For our detailed hands-on reviews, please head to our dedicated reviews section here. This is NOT a sponsored post.
The New Grand Lange 1 In A Nutshell
There is a reason why A. Lange & Söhne has managed to carve out a legacy for itself; if I was to summarise their work, it would be the quest for perfection and pursuit for refinement. The brand has turned this into an art in itself, and the plethora of details that form the new Grand Lange 1 are a testament to this.
There was technically nothing wrong with the previous generation — prior to this week — Grand Lange 1. Ask any collector and he would have been extremely pleased to acquire one. But the brand wanted to continue to fine-tune their watches, and here we were: the new A. Lange & Söhne Grand Lange 1 with a redesigned slimmer 18-carat white or pink gold case and a grey dial (which is a first for these watches).
Basic Specs Of The New Grand Lange 1
The new A. Lange & Söhne ref. 137.038 (white gold) or ref. 137.033 (pink gold) feature a 41mm diameter and only 8.2mm thick case. But what’s relevant here is that if you take for instance the Grand Lange 1 115.032 A in rose gold that follows the 2003 case design, this version 1.0 measured 41.9mm in diameter and 10.2mm thick with just north of 50mm lug-to-lug spacing. The subtle refinements in the case of the new timepiece ensure that the watch not only is smaller both in diameter and thickness, but the lug-to-lug will now be comfortably under the 50mm mark. This opens up a whole new demographic for the brand, especially those of with slim wrists. It also means that the watch will fit even more elegantly and more conventionally rather than a flat slab.
The polished case frames the typical A. Lange & Söhne asymmetry of the dial. In October 1994, A. Lange & Söhne came back from the dead and introduced the LANGE 1. Immediately iconic for its asymmetric dial layout and oversized date display, this watch has become emblematic of the brand over the last 25 years. The new Grand Lange 1 ref. 137.038 takes the same DNA, and impresses here with the grey dial that forms a beautiful bond with the white gold case. Traditional yet powerful.
Like everyone, our favorite feature on the dial is the outsized date that is presented as a gold-framed double aperture. Then there is the characteristic power-reserve indicator with the “UP/DOWN” inscription. But it is the harmonies conflict of the recessed subsidiary dials — with bevelled chamfers and concentric lines and flat appliqués — with grained main dial that tells tales of the brand’s expertise in dial making.
Inside the new A. Lange & Söhne 2022 model ticks the twice assembled calibre L095.1 which is a 34.1 x 4.7mm manual-winding manufacture movement decorated and assembled by hand and precision-adjusted in five positions. It beats at the frequency of 3Hz, contains 42 jewels — with 7 of them seated in mirror-polished gold chatons secured with blued screws — and 397 components, and boasts of an impressive 72-hour power reserve. It is obviously excellently decorated including the plates and bridges made of untreated German silver and balance cock engraved by hand.
The new Grand Lange 1 is announced as part of the Watches & Wonders 2022 March 30 to April 5 (both online and at the Salon).
Quotable
“True grandeur down to the smallest detail”.
Press release
To find out more about the new Grand Lange 1 and their other watches, please head to their website here. All images unless otherwise stated are courtesy are © A. Lange & Söhne 2022. Make sure to check out our reviews of other Watches & Wonders 2022 novelties here.