The German watch brand A. Lange & Söhne was revived in 1994 but only opened their first boutique ten years ago in 2007. The boutique is in Dresden, a short drive from the brand’s headquarters in Glashütte. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of this boutique, Lange has launched a limited edition time-only watch in the 1815 collection. The A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Dresden Boutique 10th Anniversary Edition watch is identical to the standard 1815 but has a hinged, engraved cover for a caseback.
A. Lange & Söhne Dresden boutique
The A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Dresden Boutique Edition is limited to ten watches each in pink gold and white gold. The A. Lange & Söhne 1815 time-only is a classically sized dress watch with a 38.5mm case and a traditional dial layout with a sub-seconds dial at 6:00. The case is built with a traditional three-part construction and has a polished bezel, brushed case-band, and polished back. The alternating finishes give the watch the right balance between some visual pop and understated elegance when on the wrist.
The dial is solid silver and the heat-blued hands contrast richly against it. As mentioned above, unique to the Dresden Boutique edition is the “dust cover” caseback – also called a cuvette. Likely inspired by vintage pocket watches, the cuvette is hinged at the 12:00 end of the dial and is engraved with a relief of the Dresden Frauenkirche, a well-known landmark. The Frauenkirche wasn’t selected out of mere convenience, it was chosen because the Lange boutique in Dresden is actually adjacent to this landmark and Ferdinand Lange actually worked in Dresden before moving the brand’s facilities to Glashütte.
Let us talk briefly about the case size, which in 38.5mm, is also somewhat irregular. As somebody who’d take a 36mm case any day of the week and finds 40mm to become about my personal upper selection, a 38.5millimeter case is perfect.You understand how electronics companies are also updating their devices and software and with each upgrade you believe, “It is so great, why didn’t they do this in the first location?” That is kind of how I really feel about a 38.5millimeter case. There are plenty of 36mm and 40mm cases, but you do not see many in this size. Another among the Lange 1’s exceptional charms.A few millimeters difference might seem like splitting hairs, but I assure you that it makes a big difference. 36mm can be small to anything and some larger than 40mm, imposing. 38.5mm occupies which in-between space that may look good on almost any wrist, even the smaller ones (raises hand).Of course, even mechanical watch newbies understand that design and aesthetics are only a little portion of what makes a watch something particular — such as individuals, it’s what is on the inside that counts. As opposed to get super specialized here together with the intricacies of the Lange 1’s motion — that has already been done beyond exceptionally by our buddies at HODINKEE — let us just say that aside from A. Lange & Söhne’s singular designs, their movements are considered perfection. Add to this some complex detailing — although admittedly not quite as complicated as the Datograph’s situation back — and you’ve got a severe one-two horological punch.
The watch is powered by the caliber L051.1, a hand-wound, time-only movement with a Nivarox balance spring, German silver main plate and bridges, swan-neck regulator, and 55 hours of power reserve. As can be expected of Lange, the movement is finished to a superlative standard. The three-quarter plate is Geneva striped, the balance cock engraved, and there are of course plenty of signature gold chatons held in place by blued screws. All the decoration is done by hand.
Like the chronograph sibling, I have a soft spot for the 1815 time-only. The addition of the hinged cuvette is not revolutionary, but is a nice way to commemorate a milestone for the brand and its boutique. With such a small run, I’m sure the watches will find a wrist (or safe) fairly quickly. The A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Dresden Boutique 10th Anniversary Edition watch ships on an alligator strap with a pin buckle and has a price of €29,900 including VAT. alange-soehne.com