A. Lange & Söhne

F. A. Lange Watchmaking Excellence Award 2012

In Dresden, A. Lange & Söhne has bestowed its international awards for up-and-coming watchmakers. This year the prize money in the amount of 10,000 Euros was shared by two young men from the USA and Germany.

On 6 December 2012, the F. A. Lange Watchmaking Excellence Award 2012, the third such prize, was presented by A. Lange & Söhne. For the first time, there were two runner-ups instead of one winner. Bennie R. L. Hernandez (24) from Texas, USA and Daniel Neu­ge­­bauer (29) from Munich each received 5,000 Euros in prize money for their date display constructions. The company's founder Walter Lange and Lange CEO Wilhelm Schmid presented the awards to both young watchmakers at a press event in Dresden.

Of the apprentices from 36 watchmaking schools around the world who had been invited to take part, eight budding watchmakers from Germany, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, the USA and the Netherlands qualified for the project. At a week-long workshop in the Lange Watchmaking School last summer, they familiarised themselves with the design and craft specialities of the Saxon manufactory. The competition task was set on the final day: The candidates were given four months to construct and build a fully functioning date indicator based on an ETA 6498 movement.

Seven of them submitted designs for evaluation in November by a five-member jury of experts. Alongside Walter Lange and Anthony de Haas, Director of Product Development at A. Lange & Söhne, the judges included trade journalists Gisbert L. Brunner and Peter Braun as well as the Director of Dresden's Mathe­matics and Physics Salon, Peter Plassmeyer. Marks were awar­ded for originality, innovation, functionality, technical prowess and quality of craftsmanship, as well as the aesthetic qualities of the execution.

As there was no clear winner in all cate­gories, the jury decided to award two joint second prizes for two designs which distinguished themselves by originality of concept and attention to detail in the construction respectively.

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About A. Lange & Söhne

When Ferdinand A. Lange established his watch manufactory in 1845, he laid the cornerstone of Saxony's precision watchmaking industry. His precious pocket watches remain highly coveted among collectors all over the world. The company was expropriated after World War II, and the name A. Lange & Söhne nearly vanished. In 1990, Ferdinand A. Lange's great-grandson Walter Lange had the courage to relaunch the brand. Today, Lange crafts only a few thousand wristwatches in gold or platinum per year. They are endowed exclusively with proprietary movements that are lavishly decorated and assembled by hand. In a period of little more than 20 years, A. Lange & Söhne developed over 40 manufacture calibres and secured a top-tier position among the world's finest watch brands. Its biggest successes include innovative timekeeping instruments like the LANGE 1 with the first outsize date in a regularly produced wristwatch as well as the LANGE ZEITWERK with its supremely legible, precisely jumping numerals. Meanwhile, both models have become icons of the venerable brand.

Press Release