A. Lange & Söhne

Hi everyone here,

I am thinking to purchase my 1st Lange watch and was considering either Grand Lange 1 Platinium or Lange 1 timezone whiteGold since the price range is about the same.

However I find that the Lange 1 timezone is very complicated, do anyone here can tell me how to read the timezone ? how it function ?

Do you think i should go for grand lange 1 platinium new version or Lange 1 timezone whitegold ?

Thank you so much for your information.

 

... as it "depends"; on your preference, on your priority, etc.

I have owned neither, so I may not be qualified to give you specific answers - there are reasons why I have not owned either while I have owned, perhaps, more than 10 Langes.  The reason why NOT may help you.

1. Simplest reason - both are too big for my wrist.  I have owned 4 or 5 regular Lange 1s.
2. Timezone is a wonderful complication - but while I appreciate the complication, I doubt I would ever use it properly.  After all, the world time is too complicated - such as there are 30 minutes time difference regions, daylight saving time change day is not universal, etc....  So, after all, if you do need the function, you would be better off with digital watch.

Now, if I try to put myself in your shoes, I would go for Grand Lange 1 in platinum.  The weight of platinum Lange 1 is very, very, special.  WG watch is fine, and I have a few, but platinum Lange 1 weight is very distinctive and gives my wrist much satisfaction.....

If you want to learn more about Timezone, I would recommend you go to your nearest AD and handle it.  It IS interesting and may be worth having just for the sake of its complication.  YMMV.

Good hunting!

Ken

Hi Ken , thank you for writing these and really appreciated. I never owned Lange before and that day I saw the former version of grand lange 1 platinum at AD and fall in love. I owned several Patek and would like to try Lange this time.
What u think the lange 1 daymatic ? Thanks

... the NEW Grand Lange 1 without overlapping circles, more original, more golden ratio circles, etc., but it is up to your taste. 
Daymatik - the least discussed model.  Some say it was a failure, but I actually like it.  Slightly bigger than Lange 1, but less than 40mm and wearable enough for me.  I think it makes sense to have the hour and minute on the right hand side so that it is more viewable when worn on our left wrist.  Big date and day on the dial makes sense, too.  And the new automatic caliber seems quite good as well.  Lange's automatic is as good as, if not better than, Patek's IMVHO.  The design concept is now applied to the 2012 SIHH Novelty - Lange 1 Perpetual Tourbillon.  There may be more variation in the future.

Ken

This is the kind of problem I would love to have ^^ This message has been edited by totoro on 2012-04-04 05:45:36

Thanks for your respond. Your explanation make me understand more on how the timezone work but it seems like there is two hand on the small dial and should the hand move or the city flag move. Anyway appreciated your view. thanks

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I take the plunge... why?

Because I love this new Grand Lange 1: its purer dial makes it very attractive. New movement, new dial... Grand Lange 1 for me!



Fx

Hi there Randy,

Glad to see you are moving away from Patek and into the realm of the absolute best watch manufacturer in the world!

While i do not own the Grand Lange 1 ( new nor old), i have had the Lange 1 TimeZone ( in Pt though) for a long time.

I use it only when i travel to any destination that is plus minus 2 hours from my home time zone ( which is close to yours). Especially in my trips to Europe i find it particularly useful, not just in terms of telling me the time there and also at home, but always strikes up a good conversation. Plus with my love for Germany, i'd always like to bring the watch "home".

 As to how it works, simple. The dial on the right corner tells you the home time zone that you have set, the indicator at the 12 o'clock within that dial tells you whether you are in the hours of 6am to 6pm , that is am, or in the hours of 6pm to 6am, which is pm. There is the seconds hand at the 6 o'clock position, wthat has a stop seconds function too, thereby allowing precise to the second synchronisation with a reference time signal.

Then we move over to what would be the 5o'clock position of the entire watch dial, and this gives you the destination time, followed by it's very own am/pm indication at it's 8 o'clock position. Since minutes and seconds are virtually the same the world over ( yes with the exception of India's 30 minute forward zones) you can refer to the seconds and minutes hand of the home time zone to deduce those info, but for at a glance update that is more than enough.

On towards the right you have the power reserve indicator, and finally the big date which refers to the date of the home time zone.

On top of all these you have that sweet city ring which always gives me a wonderful time just staring at the dial. To advance the hours of the destination time to change to a new time zone, just push the pushpiece located at 8 o'clock of the case.

I hope that i have answered your questions to a sufficient enough level for you to understand.

Either way you do it, i believe you will end up with a very satisfying experience. I strongly urge you to try on the Timezone in Platinum, it is more rewarding that way as Platinum is always a much better material than gold due to it's inherent chemical and physical characteristics which shall ensure you and your progeny to follow will be able to admire and cherish in your hands and on your wrists for a long time to come.

And here's just some humble shots of my faithful companion.

Hope you enjoy it.

Tschuss

Stephen

Hi Stephen
Thank you so much for your reply. It is clear in your explanation of how the timezone work except I don't understand there are two hand at the smaller dial which show the destination timezone, one longer hand and one shorter hand. When it move does both the hand jump togther or just one? And did the city flag move as well ? Can you demonstrate how to it move for the destination? What is the longer hand of the smaller dial represent since it is not minute.
At the big dial it is clear that the shorter hand is hour and the longer hand is minute. What about the smaller dial?
Thank you in advance for answering.
Regards,
Randy

As the Timezone function jumps in increments of one hour the minute hand does not move. When the pusher is depressed at 8 o'clock, the city ring (or flags as you mentioned) moves by one city and the hour hand on the small dial moves by one hour. The minute hand stays still.

Fred

I've been seriously considering my first Lange, to commemorate a career achievement. Being a frequent traveler I've always been drawn to dual-time watches, but I have found that not all dual-time watches are made equal. 

I think the new layout is spectacular! I love the timezone as well I just think the new layout and platinum is such a nice combination. Good luck with your decision.

Tony

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