A. Lange & Söhne

4 years after its first presentation, the Saxonia Dual Time comes back and is changed in the context of the restyling of the collection to which it belongs. This pure aesthetic  evolution is interesting to analyze because it hides behind the scene some details that may seem minor, but which are actually strategic directions for Lange. With the valuable assistance of the Lange Boutique located Rue de la Paix in Paris, I could compare the two versions, the 2011 one and the one which was unveiled at the 2015 SIHH.

First, it is important to clarify that I have never been a big fan of the Saxonia Dual Time.  I found the dial a bit empty and too austere and for my taste,  the solution of adjusting the gold hour hand backward or forward through two pushers located on the left  case side was not the most elegant (even if it could be considered as the most convenient). To be honest, I expected and I still expect more from Lange for a Dual Time watch including a setting of the second timezone aesthetically and technically more integrated and the ability to manage specific timezones like India or Iran. Besides, I still do not understand why only a few watches are able to manage these time zones when you know the number of cumulative population (and therefore potential customers!) of these countries.

The 2011 version on the left, the 2015 version on the right:




Anyway, it will not this time because the 2015 Saxonia Dual Time  uses the same movement as its predecessor, the  automatic L086.2 which features a central winding mass (the Sax-O-Mat is sadly only available for the calendar watches in addition to the limited edition Saxonia Outsize date), a 3-day power reserve (a good point) and a 3hz frequency. And with the same movement, we logically get the same characteristics. So I find again the side pushers and the sub dial on top of the dial for a 24 hour display of the second timezone. Fortunately, from the aesthetic point of view, the improvement is significant and only  a few adjustments were required to improve the watch.

I could summarize these changes as follows:

- a reminder of the past with an inspiration from the Langematik,
- a more reasonable case size to meet the demand of some markets,
- all together resulting in a more exciting aesthetic approach.


The initial problem of the Saxonia Dual Time  was that by wishing to make the design as pure as possible, to go to the essential, most felt no emotion by observating the dial. Even worse: if we removed the inscription A. Lange & Söhne, one would almost have trouble guessing it was a Lange watch. Some collectors also nicknamed this Saxonia Dual Time the high end version of the JLC Master Control Dual Time. A bit annoying when you want to embody the German watchmaking tradition.

The L086.2 movement powers the  two watches:



 

The first fundamental element that changes is the diameter of the case. From 40 to 38,5mm, the reduction is significant. It has several virtues: it reduces the surface of the dial and thus the empty areas and makes the watch more suited to a market like China ... not to mention mature markets such as Western Europe where collectors are convinced that elegant and dressed pieces can only come with reasonable diameters.

The 2011 version of the wrist:




The smaller case diameter forced the Lange team to move the location of the brand name initially positioned in an arc at the top of the dial. On the 2015 watch, it is displayed in the center horizontally like with the first Saxonia in 1994. In addition, the words "automatic dual-time" were replaced by "Glashütte Sachsen" to better reassert the origins of manufacture and the German roots.

This horizontal writing of the brand name is not the only reminder of the past. The watch has now several ones like the way how is designed the peripheral zone of the dial. The suggested and  discrete half-railroad was removed and replaced by long indexes that leave their mark on the dial and create a strong presence due to the smaller size of the watch. The dots symbolizing the 5 minutes was subsituted by applied indexes that become double every fifteen minutes. The Langematik style is recognizable and truly back for our pleasure! The picture is completed by the presence of the double-digit tens in the second hand subdial, another characteristic element of the Langematik which was back a few years ago with the Saxonia Outsize date.

The dial of the version of 2015:




The combination of all these changes is at the end successful. The dial is busier, more exciting and the more compact appearance (the watch keeps the same thickness of 9,1mm despite its smaller diameter) gives it more character. For me, this is ultimately the objective: to bring back  more personality and to add pizzazz to the watch, and at the same time, to the Saxonia collection which, from my perspective, was previously lacking spice. In 4 years, Lange has made a real 180 degree turn with the Dual Time. The principles that founded the design of the 2011 watch were swept to come back to the fundamentals in place at the time of Langematik.

I can only welcome this approach which seems to me more consistent. The design has more personality, the link with previous models is present and size is better suited to the diameter of the movement. In other words, I find with the 2015 version a more convincing Lange watch. This is why this comparison was interesting because it offered the opportunity to put side by side two aesthetic approaches of the same watch. The conclusion is that a brand must never forget its roots and that aseptic approaches that can be considered as low risk because without asperity generally lead to boring watches. I am convinced that the new Saxonia Dual Time will be much more successful than its predecessor and it will only be justice.

The 2015 version of the wrist:




Thanks a lot to the staff of the Lange boutique in Paris.

Pros:
+ A convincing aesthetic evolution, the watch becoming more exciting
+ The diameter better suits the movement
+ The 3-day power reserve
+ Quality of the finishes

Cons:
- The side pushers are not the most elegant solution to set the second timezone
- The watch does not handle specific timezones like India or Iran
- The central rotor movement doesn't have the same charm than a Sax-O-Mat movement

Fr.Xavier

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