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consider this: on may 8, 1945, in the finalhours of World War II, russian fighter-bombers dropped their payloads on thebrand’s hometown of Glashütte, Germany, inan attempt to hit a retreating German panzerdivision. the bombs destroyed most of thehamlet, including one of the watchmaking fa-cilities of this family business. the companyspecialized in highly technical marinechronometers and high-end pocket watcheswith signature German silver three-quarterplates, proprietary Glashütte lever escape-ments (for optimal time regulation), andhigh complications such as minute repeatersand perpetual calendars.

then, in 1946, even though the Lange fam-ily had never been affiliated with the naziparty and had only made watches during thewar, its factory and possessions were sched-uled to be seized under denazification order124. the decree was revoked one month later,but the worst was yet to come. on april 20,1948, the new regional authority seized thefactory and all its assets, meaning the busi-ness that had been founded and operated bythe Lange family since 1845 was now in thehands of the east German government.

at the time, Walter Lange, the last mem-ber of the Lange family to be involved in thebusiness, was working in the company repairshop, but once new management assumedcontrol, he refused to answer to them. For hisdefiance, he was sentenced to toil in the ura-nium mines. Instead, he fled east Germanyand settled in pforzheim, another center ofGerman watchmaking. he assumed he’dnever see his ancestral company, orGlashütte, again.

surprisingly, after all this drama and con-flict, Lange is thankful to the east Germangovernment for not destroying the a. Lange& söhne name. Following the communistB Y K E I T H W. S T R A N D B E R G

For any company that has been around For hundreds oF years—as several in the watch industry have—a mere 20 yearsin business might not seem remarkable. For a. Lange & söhne, however, it’s a hard-won milestone that is definitely worth celebrating. In fact,in light of some of the challenges this famous German brand has faced, it could justifiably celebrate every day of the year.

“IF THE NEXT 20 YEARS OFLANGE ARE AS GOOD AS THEPAST 20 YEARS, WE WILL BEIN FANTASTIC SHAPE.”

—WA LT E R L A N G E

A. LANGE & SÖHNE’S HARD-WON TRIUMPH OVER HISTORY

A. Lange & Söhne'smanual-windingRichard Lange Tour-billon Pour le Méritewith fusée-and-chaintransmission

takeover, the company was initially called thepeople’s own Factory (Veb) a. Lange &söhne, then later, mechanik Lange & söhneVeb, and then in 1951, it was merged with sev-eral other area institutions to form Glashütteruhrenbetriebe (Gub). the organization con-

tinued to make high-quality mechanicalwatches until the quartz revolution hiteast Germany in the early 1980s. “bythen, the family name was no longerused, and, fortunately, it had never beenmisused, for which I shall remain eter-nally grateful to the Gub,” says Lange,who turned 87 in July. Incredibly, he

seems incapable of holding a grudge.more incredible still has been the re-

birth of a. Lange & söhne. When the berlinWall fell in november 1989, Lange saw somehope of reviving his family’s watchmakinglegacy. he secured financial backing with thehelp of watch industry veteran Güntherblümlein, then returned to Glashütte, found acore group of watchmakers (who still hadboxes of vintage Lange movements andparts) and set about re-establishing the com-pany. on december 7, 1990, 145 years to theday after his great-grandfather Ferdinandadolph Lange founded the original a. Lange& söhne, Walter Lange registered the resur-rected brand, Lange uhren Gmbh. not longafter, Lange bought back his family’s build-ings, including the original a. Lange & söhneheadquarters, where the company is onceagain based.

“I think I was courageous at the time, be-cause we were starting from nothing, and itwas a real risk,” says Lange. “In any case, Istarted something new, and Glashütte againbecame a center of fine watchmaking. themayor of Glashütte once told me that if wehadn’t succeeded, he could have turned off

the lights in the town.”“I didn’t know at all how it would turn

out,” he continues. “In 1994, when thefirst watches were ready, we showedthem to 12 retailers, and they startedto applaud. at that moment, we knewit could work. If the next 20 years ofLange are as good as the past 20 years,

we will be in fantastic shape.”Last december, a. Lange & söhne

threw a grand party to celebrate the 20thanniversary of its rebirth. It was held at theroyal palace in dresden and offered guests achance to look back on the incredible historyof the company and toast its bright future.

the event also introduced Lange’s new ceoWilhelm schmid, 47, who comes to the watchcompany from bmW automobiles.

anthony de haas is the director of prod-uct development for a. Lange & söhne, andhe is impressed with what the company hasbeen able to do. “the company has devel-oped in an amazing way. It’s like a dream,” hesays. “We have developed more than 30movements, and we have built up the brand.there is still a lot to do and lots of greatwatches to develop. our goal is to be one ofthe big brands, like patek philippe, Vacheronconstantin and others, and that will requireeven more work. to hunt is hard, but whenyou are at the top, you become the hunted,which is even harder.”

Lange, schmid, de haas and the rest of theteam in Glashütte and around the world arecommitted to keeping the tradition of Langealive and well. “the intent has always beento be one of the best watch companies in the

world,” de haas says. “It may sound arrogant,but it’s been our target from the beginning.Lange stands for something. people buyLange watches because they are Langewatches, and we have to take care of thisidentity and protect it.”

Lange remains one of the few watch com-panies with the capability to make its ownparts, including its signature three-quarterplates and bridges (still made of German sil-ver) and its own balance springs—a hugeachievement in watchmaking.

having survived russian bombs, home-land division, and a communist takeover aswell as the trials and tribulations of a mod-ern-day resurrection, this company is surelycapable of weathering the more commonstorms. thus, it seems, a. Lange & söhne isback to stay.800.408.8147, alange-soehne.com

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“THE COMPANY HASDEVELOPED IN AN AMAZING

WAY. IT’S LIKE A DREAM.”—ANTHONY DE HAAS

Wilhelm Schmid

The A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Dual Time andits automatic Caliber L086.2