A Step At A Time

A Lange & Söhne's 2022 novelties prove that advancement can sometimes come through in the little things.

- Wei-Yu Wang

'NEVER STAND STILL' is a saying famously attributed to Walter Lange, and even for what is considered a quiet year for A Lange & Söhne, that philosophy remains evident. 'Quiet' is a relative term, but the German manufacture is the one that brought us modern icons such as Lange 1, Datograph and Zeitwerk. The novelties of 2022 are not quite so landscape-changing and their full appeal lies in the details.

Of course, details are exactly what fans of the brand look for. For example, the main draw of the new Grand Lange 1 (€45,900) is that it is 0.6mm slimmer than the previous model barely perceptible some would say but to a watchmaker it represents a lot of work. It is quite a straightforward motivation, according to Tino Bobe, the head of manufacturing for A Lange & Söhne. Lange 1 may have been a brand icon since 1994, but the desire to improve is ever-present. "It is normal that you learn every day by doing your job," Bobe explains. "If someone tells you that we can make this watch still more elegant... we try it, and maybe it's worth it."