A. Lange & Söhne

I started thinking about this in 2018, after putting an aftermarket steel bracelet on the Grand Lange 1 Moonphase Lumen. That was my first experiment with aftermarket bracelets and Langes, and I was very happy with that result.

Last year, fellow forum member nice2guy posted this thread showing a steel Shinola bracelet (their standard 5-link 20mm bracelet) on his platinum Datograph, and by chance I saw that watch in person several months later.  I was impressed. I thought that particular bracelet looked fantastic on his platinum Datograph.

I recently decided to get one of these Shinola bracelets and try it on a Lange 1. I was very, very happy with the outcome.

Many people were interested in the steel Shinola bracelet that nice2guy posted, so I thought I'd provide some additional details.

First are some photos comparing that steel Shinola bracelet with its equivalent 20mm platinum Lange bracelet, which was made by Wellendorf about 20 years ago. This platinum Lange bracelet (which is not for sale) is unused and still has its blue tape on the clasp, though I had some of the links removed to fit my small wrist.

First we can see the weight difference between the two bracelets. To ensure a true comparison of the full bracelets, I included the links that were removed from the platinum bracelet (in the little white bag on the scale). The platinum bracelet is much heavier, of course.

Here are the two clasps. The steel Shinola clasp is at the top. Quality is excellent. To close the Shinola clasp, you must secure one side of the bracelet first before the other side will close. It's a snap-fit. I prefer to have the 12 o'clock side close first and the 6 o'clock side close last (which I accidentally screwed up at first, so I had to reverse the clasp after attaching it to the Lange 1 to solve that problem). Opening the Shinola clasp requires depressing both side buttons. Again, very secure. The precious metal Lange clasp, at the bottom of the pic, is made from 18K white gold, not platinum. Some platinum Lange bracelets have platinum clasps, while others (like this one) have white gold clasps. To close the Lange clasp, you can secure either side first, in no particular order. It's a friction-fit, so you can pull on either side to open it. The Lange clasp also feels secure despite being a friction fit. 

Here's the wide open steel Shinola clasp. Nice and thick, as you can see.

Here's the "public face" of each clasp, with the Shinola clasp on the left attached to a Lange 1.

Here we can see another "public face" photo of each bracelet. The steel Shinola bracelet is on the left, attached to the watch. Note the slightly curved endlinks, which are a very nice touch and which take regular straight springbars. As you can see from this photo, the curved endlink of the Shinola bracelet comes close to the inside of the Lange 1 caseback but it doesn't touch it. This was a relief:  The Shinola bracelet required no "shaving"/buffing or other special adjustment to avoid damaging the Lange 1 caseback. It fit fine right out of the box. 

And here are some more photos of just the Shinola bracelet.

Bottom line:  If you have a 20mm white metal Lange (particularly platinum) and are looking for a nice bracelet to try, consider this one from Shinola!

More posts: DatographGrand Lange 1Lange 1Lange 1 Moonphase

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