German precision marks the essence of Lange's uncompromising horological heritage
Germany's high-grade watch industry is rapidly gaining an enviable reputation as its companies continue to develop increasingly sophisticated timepieces, many of which appeal to collectors for both their ingenuity and quality. At the heart of this burgeoning industry is the town of Glashutte, which has a long and varied history of watchmaking. Here, the name of Lange is the most distinguished name of all.
Born in 1815, Ferdinand Adolph Lange completed a watchmaking apprenticeship with Johann Christian Friedrich Gutkaes, a famous clockmaker and keeper of the tower clock at the royal Saxon Court in Dresden. After completing his apprenticeship, and after four years of working with a famous chronometer maker in Paris, he gained further experience in England and Switzerland.
After returning to Dresden he was re-employed by Gutkaes and married his daughter. He was deeply concerned by the poverty in the neglected Ore Mountain region and obtained a loan from the government to establish a watch manufactory in Glashutte. He set up his first workshop, instructed his pupils to build improved machines for making precision components and handled the administrative side of the business. Many specialised workshops were established in the town, specialising in the production of various watch components, such as jewels and balances.
Eventually, Glashutte became Germany's hub of horology, offering both practical and theoretical training to aspiring watchmakers.
Until the manufactory was expropriated after the second world war, its products had ranked among the most prestigious and sought-after timekeeping instruments in the world. The seized companies in Glashutte were merged in 1951 to form a people's co-operative, the VEB Glashutte Uhrenbetriebe, and the name of Lange sank into oblivion - but collectors remembered it fondly.