A. Lange & Söhne

Don´t worry

 

G`day,

i can´t refer to Lange pieces, other than knowing the plates/bridges don´t bear a surface coating that prevents from tarnishing.
Thus some sort of oxidation is inevitable, as long as the watch is not stored in an air-tight water-free environment.

German silver is quite hard, thus damages of a plate don´t seem to be very likely. Of course unless the movement is butchered by someone who doesn´t know and care. But that´s probably not the place to have a Lange serviced anyway... In fact i don´t see such threats under normal conditions, as long as the movement remains inside the case behind the sapphire back. Under normal use, chances for mechanical impacts leaving scratches or marks aren´t that high.

German silver is apt to oxidation, but personally i do regard this to be the nature of the beast and a beautiful patina.
To give an idea, here´s one that is more than 130 years old; the movement was found in a drawer after decades without being encased or covered to protect against oxidation at all, in a particularly hot and humid region of the world:

For comparison, the RL:



Oxidation is in fact inevitable, because watch cases are not air-tight. They prevent from moisture and water, but particularly manual-wind watches, which may require to pull out the crown on a more regular base, will allow a bit of air and subsequently a tiny bit of natural humidity to enter the case. There´s no workaround, unless one creates a one-part air-tight case with encapsuled movement. But that´s probably not the way, as it will not allow to see the movement.

If looking at both, you may see the old one is a little tarnished. It´s NOT been reworked to look like new, but strict guideline was to preserve the condition; it would have been possible to re-apply the decoration and re-finish the surfaces, which would have resulted in a different look and a somewhat lighter colour close to the RL.
At least you may get the idea; after 50 years, the german silver parts in your Lange might have a colour between the RL and the vintage movement. Of course this is depending on what service is done in between, as tarnishing/oxidation is possible to remove during standard service every couple of years.
Personally i´d not worry; german silver tends to have a very beautiful and colour-rich tone once it´s a bit "aged". Comments from owners of some early contemporary Lange pieces report to like their watches even better now!

Greetings from Germany,

Peter This message has been edited by PeterCDE on 2007-01-29 23:02:56