By: James Lamdin

Any watch enthusiast or collector fortunate enough to be invited on a manufacture visit knows just how exhilarating a peek behind the curtain of their favorite watch brand can be. From the facilities and technology to the personalities at the bench, the experience of interacting with our treasured mechanical novelties at the places of their birth is something not to be forgotten. Wearing my journalist hat, I have had the privilege of visiting numerous manufactures in several countries. They ranged from powerhouse brands with hundreds of employees working on dozens of ébauche movements to small handcraft workshops just getting off the ground, and each presented a unique and entirely enjoyable look into the industry. But my recent visit to A. Lange & Söhne’s new state-of-the-art manufactory in Saxony was something truly extraordinary.

Germany and “cutting edge” go together like schnitzel and spätzle—but then again, you could say the same for Germany and “traditional.” As a brand, A. Lange & Söhne might just perfectly bridge the dichotomy between the traditional and the cutting edge. This balance is immediately evident in Lange’s new facility on Altenberger Straße, the narrow road winding through the village of Glashütte—known across the globe as the center of German watchmaking. The building itself is of ingenious contemporary design, featuring its own geothermal plant to provide CO₂-neutral heating for the 58,000-square-foot structure. Exquisite architecture is evident inside and out, with the highlight surely being the grand staircase connecting the multilevel facility at the center of the building, acting almost as a hand-engraved balance cock in one of Lange’s many magnificent calibers.

Providing new space for state-of-the-art workshops and machinery, as well as the 750 employees who make A. Lange & Söhne the formidable company that it is, this new manufactory was opened with eyes clearly set on the future, and will literally provide foundation for much of what comes out of Glashütte going forward.

Of course, the new facility is very much connected to the roots of the old one—both by a 45-foot-long enclosed footbridge, and by the brand’s authentic watchmaking tradition.

Enjoy a rare look behind the curtains of one of watchmaking’s most prestigious manufactories.

 

An hour wheel waiting to become part of a finished watch.

Hand engraving is a staple of Lange watchmaking. Virtually every surface of a Lange movement is adorned by a skilled artisan.

Trimming microscopic burrs and imperfections from a base plate. Lange’s finishing is among the finest in all contemporary watchmaking.

Fitting a fusée-and-chain constant-force mechanism into an A. Lange & Söhne movement.

Fine regulation of a tourbillon escapement. A. Lange & Söhne is among the select watch companies capable of manufacturing its own hairsprings.

Assembly of the A. Lange & Söhne Zeitwerk mechanical digital display. This display is influenced by a famous clock in Dresden’s Semper Opera House.

A watchmaker assembling a mechanical caliber.

Two movements being assembled. At Lange, watches are “double assembled,” meaning that they are put together, disassembled, and then reassembled. This time-consuming process, seldom practiced even by other top watch brands, is a signature part of making an A. Lange & Söhne timepiece.