Why I own the Richard Lange

Warning: This is a long post

In the beginning, I wasn't really interested in A. Lange & Söhne

Ever since I got into luxury watches, A. Lange & Söhne have been on my radar. Based on online material though, I wasn't sufficiently impressed to seriously consider them, given their prices. I could not be more wrong: I find it hard to put into words how excellent their watches are.

Initially I only knew of them digitally. I guess a lot of us mainly research online. In May 2022 I got to see one in the metal for the first time: A colleague of mine had recently bought the Saxonia thin and brought it to a company event. I was completely stunned, the watch looked way better than I could ever have imagine. I remember thinking how bland I felt it looked online, compared to how dazzling it was in real life. I was so stunned I even forgot to take a picture. It was then and there I realized that I wanted a watch from A. Lange & Söhne at some point.

In the summer of 2022, I tried a lot of watches

A couple of months later, I found myself on a vacation through various cities in Europe. As part of this vacation I was on a quest to find a rose/yellow gold dress watch. For those of you have seen my posts here on WC, you can probably guess that this was when I settled on the Jaeger LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Date. A seriously underrated piece, I might add. I must have tried dozens of pieces, anything from Omega DeVille to the Saxonia Thin.

The first time picture I have of an ALS watch on my wrist

I found the Saxonia a bit too small for my taste at 38mm (my wrist is close to 20cm), and given how much I liked the JLC I couldn't justify going for it simply because it was an A. Lange & Söhne watch. In fact, the Vacheron Constantin Patrimony was the runner-up. In any case, the search for a Lange watch continued.

I kept trying various Lange pieces

At some point I got my hands on the legendary Lange 1 in various configurations. It's a stunning watch, but wasn't quite what I was looking for. Just like the Saxonia, it's just a tad bit too small for my taste. I also tried a Grand Lange 1, but it didn't feel quite right, either.

Lange 1, current production model

Classic Lange 1

Grand Lange 1. Maybe the moon phase threw me off, I don't know.

Eventually I found the Richard Lange and took a trip to Berlin

Towards the end of last year, I emailed the A. Lange & Söhne boutique in Berlin. I had settled on the Richard Lange as the piece I probably wanted. Buying it without at least seeing it first was not an option for me, however. They were super helpful: The watch wasn't available to buy then and there (an estimate was given of 3 - 6 months waiting time), however they could borrow one from the factory so I could see it in the metal. I was extremely thankful for this, and booked a trip to Berlin in January.

When I got the watch on my wrist, I knew I had found the one I wanted. It was everything I had hoped, and then some.

First time trying the Richard Lange on my wrist

I used to have a Frederique Constant Classic, a simple three-hand watch with a black dial, simple indices and a black, leather strap. Back when I first started out, the watch was an amazing value proposition (around €600 at the time) and I was super happy with it. At some point I saw the IWC Portofino when I had the Frederique Constant on my wrist, and I was blown away: The Portofino's design really appeals to me, and the finishing made my Frederique Constant look like a toy next to it. I know IWC get a lot of hate for their high prices when they use COTS movements, but to me, the Portofino was an excellent value proposition. The reason I am telling you this is that I brought the Portofino to Berlin, to see if I would experience the same thing again (this time with the IWC feeling like the inferior one).

Comparison photo of the IWC Portofino and ALS Richard Lange

While this isn't a particularly good photo, I think it shows just how vastly better the finishing of the Lange is. As it should be, given the extreme price difference of course, but still. I didn't make the order there and then, frankly because at the time this was a huge investment for me: The asking price for the Richard Lange was more than I had spent on my entire collection combined up until that point.

It didn't take me long to pull the trigger, but I did think a lot.

On the plane home from Berlin I started seriously considering the idea of spending this much money on a watch. It is a luxury after all, and not a rational way to spend money (at least not if you think of it as an investment). Basically, I had to come to terms with the fact that I was essentially spending €40 000 on something I didn't need, and couldn't expect to get the monetary value back from, either. I decided to spend some time thinking it over: As the Richard Lange isn't particularly hyped among ALS' watches, the opportunity wasn't going away anytime soon.

Just a couple of weeks after I came home, however, the boutique in Berlin called me. They wanted to inform me that a price increase was incoming, and that I could still get the Richard Lange at the old price if I decided quickly and paid a 100% deposit. If memory serves, the prices increased 11% across the board, which isn't negligible.

I had come to a crossroads in my watch collecting journey. Up until this point, I had made purchases that didn't significantly impact my private finances. The most expensive purchase I had was the JLC at roughly €15 000. Nearly tripling that was another ballgame entirely. While I didn't need to take up a loan to get the Lange, it was still a lot of money for me.

Maybe it was rationalization, maybe I had already made up my mind without realizing it. Whatever the case was, I had a few emotional days where I was contemplating what this hobby was turning into for me. The fact was that the money I had spent on watches was already a ridiculous amount. Why did I do this?

This post is getting long enough, so I'll dig deeper into this at a later point. In short I concluded that watches are a way for me to express my identity, my values and my visual taste. Expressing my identity and my values isn't really something I do, apart from people I am close to. As far as visual taste goes I have no natural artistic talent whatsoever. Curating a collection helps me do all of this, in my own way. As such, major purchases for me require that a lot of things align between how I see myself, and the company producing the watch.

So, how exactly do A. Lange & Söhne align with me? I am highly motivated and strive to be the best at whatever I do, and I respect passion and perfection a lot. Few words describe Lange better, in my opinion. They are also open, and communicate clearly, which are also values I hold high. The way they approach waiting lists and allocation of pieces is so much better than a lot (all?) of the other high end brands in my opinion. Lastly, they innovate and renew themselves. This last point is something that reflects more how I want to be rather than how I am today: I typically go with the old and reliable. My recent venture into photography is an example of how I try to do more of this.

Anyway: A serious talk with my wife, who gave me the green light (she is the best!) to go ahead, and I was committed. I was super excited!

Another trip to Berlin in August saw me pick up the Richard Lange

After quite a bit of a personal and emotional journey, and a waiting time of roughly half a year, it was finally time to pick up the watch. The boutique in Berlin was super accomodating this time as well, and we spent a couple of hours in the store with them. Various gifts and lots of champagne came with the purchase, and I got to try a lot of the watches they happened to have in the store at the time. Again I was so caught up in the moment that I forgot to take pictures, apart from the mandatory first wrist shot:

The very first picture of my Richard Lange

The white gold and the blued hands really shine in natural lighting

Following this purchase and the journey here, I have a new-found interest and respect for this hobby. I'm sure there are a million reasons for collecting watches. For me, the Richard Lange represents a commitment to who I am, and who I want to be.

I will get another Lange, I just don't know when

There are three watch companies which resonate a lot with me: Jaeger LeCoultre, Vacheron Constantin and A. Lange & Söhne. Among them, A. Lange & Söhne are my absolute favourites. I know that a lot of the buzzwords surrounding this industry is marketing. With that said, when you pick up a Lange and compare it to other watches, the passion and quality really show. I've held and tried various other hype pieces, anything from Patek to AP to Rolex. In my opinion, Lange is simply on another level.

The mechanical, digital Zeitwerk: Another amazing watch from Lange

It's a question of time before I get another A. Lange & Söhne watch. There are tons of Lange models I can see myself buying in the future: Currently the Zeitwerk is the favourite. We'll see if it remains in pole position until I've saved up the money I need.

In the meantime, I am super happy with my collection. I don't feel the need to buy another watch at the moment. Every time I look down at my wrist, my day gets just a little bit better. I feel privileged and humble that I'm able to own these amazing pieces.

At some point, I'll be super excited for a new watch. For now, the craziest and best purchase I've ever made is my most valued physical item.