Wristwatches · Wristwatch
A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1, late 1990s
- Maker / attribution
- A. Lange & Söhne (maker)
- Date
- late 1990s
- Historical period
- Mechanical Renaissance (1990 – 2010)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- 40991168
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40991168)
- Catalogue title (original)
- A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 (English)
Editor's note
The dealer's brand field named another maker; the dealer's own listing title identifies the watch as A. Lange & Söhne.View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number 40991168), this is a wristwatch by A. Lange & Söhne, made in Switzerland, dated late 1990s. The Atlas places it in the Mechanical Renaissance period (1990 – 2010) of its Wristwatches collection. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Analog/Shift
What you’re looking at is an example of the most important wristwatches of the last 30 years. The Lange 1 is without question the manufacturer’s flagship model, and the big date function is its hallmark. Though found in watches like the Zeitwerk or the Langematik Sax-O-Mat, it’s in the Lange 1 that it’s shown to the greatest effect. Alongside other details such as asymmetrical sub-dials depicting the hours and sub-seconds, and the A. Lange & Söhne signature with its famous ampersand, it shows a clarity of vision that is wholly Lange. And while the Lange 1 has seen many versions, from a tourbillon to the Timezone, it’s the original that has become the symbol of the maison — and perhaps even the symbol of modern watchmaking itself. This particular example from the late 1990s, housed in a 38.5 18K rose gold case with a sapphire crystal and sapphire case back, features a matching 18K polished bezel; a gloss black dial with subsidiary hours and minutes at 9:00; a seconds register at 4:00; a power reserve indicator at 3:00; a framed date window at 2:00; applied rose gold indices; and a matching handset. Powering this masterpiece is the Lange & Söhne Caliber L901.0, a manual-winding movement that’s stunning to behold — and which can thankfully easily be viewed via the exhibition case back. There are complicated watches, and then there are works of art. This is the latter.
Historical context
Mechanical Renaissance (1990 – 2010)
Mechanical watches return as cultural objects; independent watchmaking flourishes.
Mechanical watches returned as cultural and luxury objects. Complications, tourbillons and new materials proliferated; independent watchmakers such as George Daniels, F.P. Journe and Philippe Dufour revived artisanal watchmaking; collecting vintage watches became a major field.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Quartz Revolution
Atlas type guide
Wristwatches
Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.
After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.
What to look for
- The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
- The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
- Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
- Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
- Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
- Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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