Foversta's account of the A. Lange & Söhne exhibition at Les Ambassadeurs in Zürich offers a compelling look into the brand's heritage and contemporary innovations. This post highlights how Lange & Söhne educates Swiss customers on its high-end positioning, showcasing iconic models like the Grand Lange One Moonphase and historical pieces. The exhibition effectively demonstrates Lange's deep traditions and continuous pursuit of horological excellence.
During my latest stay in Zürich, I had the chance to visit the exhibition organized by the Les Ambassadeurs boutique and dedicated to Lange & Söhne.
Actually, it is always a kind of challenge to explain to the Swiss customers that a foreign brand, even coming from a neighbor country can play the same league than Patek or Vacheron Constantin. So, the objective of the exhibition is to describe why the Lange watches are so special, why they belong to this high-end segment and what are they key features.
The star of the show is the Grand Lange One Moonphase with an impressive display of the different versions. The watch is a 2014 novelty but it is also a member of the Lange One family, the most iconic of Lange and this year, the Manufacture has decided to focus a lot on the moonphases display. So this choice was in a way quite logical!
The first picture on the left highlights the beauty of the Moonphases disk:
My fav version of this watch, the Platinum one:
One of the main objectives is to give the proof that Lange is an old brand with a very long tradition in watchmaking. The exhibition cases gather some pocket watches:
... and also a Beryllium stone! But what is the reason behind the presence of this stone? In 1929, Richard Lange was the first to recognise that the addition of beryllium
to the nickel-steel alloy made hairsprings less susceptible to
temperature fluctuations and simultaneously more elastic. It is amazing to consider that a part of this stone is used in a very delicate element of a watch!
It is very important to remind these early years because the first contemporary collection, unveiled in 1994, is the perfect example of how to use again some traditional features of watchmaking art from Saxony. I have to confess that it was a surprise for me to see the 4 watches of the rebirth collection in this exhibition. Once again, due to its context, it is very important to explain that these first contemporary watches had a key goal: to give the proof that Lange was back... at the same location than previously, on the top of the watchmaking hill.
And the watch which symbolizes this excellence is of course the Tourbillon PLM with its Tourbillon Chaîne-Fusée:
We progress in the recent history of the brand with different evolutions of the Lange One with the Timezone, the Grand Lange One, the Lange One Moonphase...
The Lange Manufacture may represents a certain spirit of classicism, it doesn't forget innovation. The Lange 31 days is far from being my fav Lange watch but thanks to this watch, a efficient constant force system was developped and used afterwards in watches like the Zeitwerk:
The Zeitwerk contains all what we look for in a Lange watch: a pure design but with some original details, flawless finishings and of course a superb movement... both technically and visually speaking. The Cabaret Tourbillon on the left is well known for its stop-Tourbillon system.
7:52, the usual time displayed by the Zeitwerk on exhibitions:
I know that a lot of collectors much prefer the 1815 Emil Lange to this 1815 Moonphase from the Homage to F.A.Lange collection:
But... well... it remains a superb watch and for me the best for the use of honey gold:
The Lange One Tourbillon PC is now the most complicated Lange One, a way to show that from 1994 Lange has written a lot of pages of its prestigious history:
Two global views of the exhibition:
And as you can see it, even in Switzerland, I had Lange in my mind!
The exhibition at the Zürich Boutique of Les Ambassadeurs will take place till the end of July. If you are in the area of the Banhofstrasse, don't miss it!
Fr.Xavier
This message has been edited by foversta on 2014-07-09 13:01:12 
