A. Lange & Sohne embarks on a new milestone
German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel and Saxony’s Prime Minister Stanislaw Tillich honoured the momentous opening of A. Lange & Söhne’s new manufactory building at Glashütte. Day & Night Magazine witnessed the historic event, and conducted exclusive interviews with Lange’s Head of Development, Anthony de Haas, and Chief Executive Officer, Wilhelm Schmid
Since the brand’s re-launch twenty years ago, A. Lange & Söhne has experienced sturdy growth that marks the continuation of the heritage that Ferdinand Adolph Lange started in Saxony back in 1845. With the courage of the founder’s great-grandson, Walter Lange, the brand has developed 51 manufacture calibres, and has established its name again as one of the world’s finest watch brands. Its greatest achievements are the iconic LANGE 1 – the first outsize date in a series produced wristwatch – and the ZEITWERK, with its supremely legible, precisely jumping numerals.
This year, A. Lange & Söhne has embarked into another milestone by making its biggest investment ever, totalling to a double-digit amount in millions of euros, in a complex that would provide a highly advanced and optimised working environment for the traditional craft of watchmaking. This massive project of a new manufactory building in Glashütte was formally completed and unveiled with less than three years after the groundbreaking ceremony that transpired on the 5th of September 2012.
And, on the 26th of August 2015, the monumental inauguration of the project that not only houses the finest watchmaking processes but also underscores the company’s commitment to Glashütte as a production site saw its inauguration with the German Chancellor, Dr. Angela Merkel, and Saxony’s Prime Minister, Stanislaw Tillich, in attendance together with high profile guests and select members of the local and international media, including Day & Night Magazine.
During the opening of the new complex, German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel addressed the 91-year-old re-founder Walter Lange, and said: “The new beginning was not easy, but you and your companions succeeded in securing the manufactory’s top-tier position among the world’s finest watch brands once again. Eastern Germany’s good reputation as innovative, flexible and modern location is based on success stories like yours”. The Chancellor also gave thanks to Lange’s employees for their dedication.
The new building with its 5400-square-metre production area is an urban landmark at the southern gateway to the town of Glashütte. With its bright and clearly structured facade, the two-part complex harmoniously blends in with its historic architectural surroundings. With the structured wall that reflects the tectonic principles of architecture and the hip roof silhouette, the new building emulates the defining characteristics of the existing complex and visually blends in with the ensemble.
There is a 13.5-metre long sky bridge that connects the new facility and the old manufactory building. The construction provides access to the assembly and engraving department and watchmaker ateliers as well as symbolises the link between tradition and modernity that is an essential part of the company’s character.
With 69 concrete pillars that anchor the building in the rocky ground and provide a firm standing, the new manufactory building features modern ateliers with flexible walls and oversized windows offer watchmakers ideal working conditions in a dust-reduced environment. The slightly inclined, large-format atelier windows assure ample lighting at the workstations. The ultra-modern workshops mean that the watchmakers can enjoy virtually dust-free conditions.
It also boasts a double-skin walk-in facade has a climate-control function. The corridor between the glazed façade and the ateliers that equalises the overpressure of the dust-controlled environments in the workshops and as a climate buffer prevents undue heating of the rooms during the summer. Meanwhile, the machines and other equipment used to manufacture movement parts are located in the lower-slung front part of the building. Several departments in which small components are manually engraved and decorated will also be housed in the new building.
Accordingly, the new building is a testament to sustainable architecture and innovative energy management. Saxony’s largest geothermal energy plant – with 55 downhole heat exchangers extending to a depth of as much as 125 metres – keeps the indoor climate pleasant throughout all four seasons. The electricity needed to operate the pumps is green. Thus, the new Lange manufactory is a CO2-free facility that makes an important contribution to climate change mitigation.
Indeed, as the Saxony’s Prime Minister Stanislaw Tillich has wonderfully commented, with the company’s new building begins another successful chapter in A. Lange & Söhne’s rich history – with much space for tradition and modernity.
The CEO’s Perspective
Amidst the exhilarating joy of the eventful inauguration, A. Lange & Söhne’s Chief Executive Officer, Wilhelm Schmid, met Day & Night Magazine for an exclusive interview. In this rare opportunity, the CEO highlighted the company’s vision in investing in a new manufactory building, its causes for the present, and its effects to the brand’s future
What is the vision behind the building of a new manufactory?
A couple of years ago, we realized that it was time for a big decision. We operated out of old buildings and historic monuments, and we’ve reached almost unbearable capacity issue because we had too many people.The new building is a response to employment growth in recent years and represents an investment in the manufactory’s future. The focus was on a modern, energy-efficient building that would offer appealing surroundings and ideal working conditions. The new building has a controlled environment wherein the humidity, cleanliness and temperature is managed. This will help us further enhance the quality of our watches and optimise our production processes. All the while, we strive to minimise our ecological footprint and resource consumption. Meanwhile, we will still use the old buildings for the other departmental works and as reserve for our future growth. So basically the new building is not only a building but the future of the company.
How does the new manufactory building help in improving your production?
Steel, glass and concrete do not build watches. It only provides a house for the watchmakers. A. Lange & Söhneis the same company that it was a year ago. We have more people on board now, and we know exactly how to develop their skills in fine watchmaking. Essentially, we understand the massive difference in creating a generic timepiece over a complicated one. We are not output driven, but instead we are driven by our aim for quality. Whatever we do had to be in line with the quality we require, and that will take care of the output that we need.
How do you see A. Lange & Söhne in the next five to ten years?
For me, the most important thing is to stay loyal to what we are. The first aim for us as a team is to increase the attractiveness of the brand, and that is what drives us every day. We want to develop, produce and design watches that really inspire our customers. All the rest – growth, profit and marketing – comes in the next level, so our first and biggest challenge target is to create the world’s best watches.
What is the feedback on your re-launch of LANGE 1?
We have received great feedback about it. I always say that the best feedback is what we get from friends from the press because they understand our rationale in not changing the design of our most sought after watch. With 20 years of gaining experience in the watchmaking industry, we believe it is time that we give the icon and face of our brand, the LANGE 1, a fresh touch that is a new movement.
After creating grand complications, what else can we expect from your production?
I think the good news is that we still have many good ideas. In watchmaking, a company has to have products in the pipeline since the complicated pieces require a couple of years of development. The customers are rest assured that we still have a pipeline full of interesting novelties for us and for our customers, and novelties for the people that are familiar with fine watchmaking.
Will A. Lange & Söhne produce ladies’ watches?
I wish I could, to be honest. I have to stand in the discussion quite often but we don’t start using quartz movements for ladies’ watches, and we can’t use our production to create timepieces for women with the same quality that we do for men. If we do that, it would mean that for every additional watch for women, there would be one less watch for our main customers. So, we have to maintain our balance by focusing on our men’s timepieces.
Coming from the automotive industry, what were the challenges you encountered in heading a watch brand?
I believe that we can move away from the car and watch industry in looking at my challenges in fulfilling the role. My main challenge in handling the management team is on how to operate within the big global player for a small retail company that we are. It is completely different because a small company requires the management to have far more disciplines to master than in a big company. In a big company, there are always people that a leader can count on in taking charge of departmental functions. In a small company, a leader has to go back to the basics and work it through. That was the big challenge for me: Finding my way into the smaller company coming from a big corporate.
How does A. Lange & Söhne fair in the Middle East?
Because we are very much a collector’s brand as you know, we realised that collectors around the world are not entirely different from each other. If I speak about our timepiece to somebody from Singapore to US, or from Germany to Italy or the UAE, I would learn that their preferences are quite the same. Their understanding about the fine watchmaking and about what they want would not be influenced by regional taste or culture.
When you hear the name A. Lange & Söhne what comes first in your mind, personally?
In my personal perspective, the name is synonymous to that huge respect for fine watchmaking. Whenever I see one of our watches, specifically when I see the newly developed timepiece for the first time, I get this phenomenal and overwhelming feeling for creating something grand. The emotional reaction stems from holding the product that carries the values that you aim for, and presents perfection and beauty.
What are the company’s plans in terms of expanding your boutiques?
As we sit, we have around fifteen shops around the world. Last year, we opened four new stores including one in New York, Miami, Shanghai and California. But in a bigger scheme of things, it is still small, and we want to keep it like this.
Viewpoints on development
Also present during the unveiling of the new manufactory building was the company’s Head of Development, Anthony de Haas. Day & Night Magazine was privileged to discuss with him A. Lange & Söhne’s past, present and future strategies in developing some of the world’s finest calibres and timepieces
As Head of Development, how important is the new manufactory building for your department?
Being a developer, I am concerned about the future of the brand. I have to make sure that the timepieces we develop are being tested and created under suitable conditions. So, the building of new manufactory building is essential in ensuring that the products we develop would be produced in a more conducive environment for our watchmakers.
What is the idea behind the new movement for LANGE 1?
The first idea of developing a new movement for LANGE 1 popped up five or seven years ago. We are very proud to have an iconic product in LANGE 1, and we believe that it deserves to be celebrated. So in conjunction with its 20th anniversary in October of last year, we planned to provide it a new movement that would fit for its next set of twenty years. The designer had to create the movement as if he was developing LANGE 1 for the first time, and it turned out quite well.
Why did you choose the Zeitwerk to be the second A. Lange & Söhne minute repeater watch?
A. Lange & Söhne does things differently. We never aimed for the easy way especially for our first owned and produced minute repeater. Our idea was grand and special so we wanted to build a decimal repeater in a complicated watch, and we thought that would be more interesting. Zeitwerk is the perfect timepiece to start with because we were challenged by its numeral type display. In our vision, we had to have a decimal repeater in a watch that displays the time on a digital level. It took us five years to work on the development because of the drawbacks on the complications, but we managed to surpass them. Now, the mechanical timepiece Zeitwerk Minute Repeater flaunts its jumping numerals display with a decimal minute repeater.
What challenges did you encounter in providing the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater the pure and clean sound?
That is what we wanted for this watch: An acoustic time indication that consists of a low-pitched tone for each elapsed hour, a double tone for each elapsed ten-minute period, and a high-pitched tone for each elapsed minute. As a musician, I play instruments specifically drums. I have around eight drums made of various materials such as brass, steel, copper. The steel sounds colder, cleaner and louder than the copper. To fully bring the timepiece its clean and pure sound, we needed the perfect material and so we gave it a platinum case. But the challenge with the sound of this minute repeater did not end in finding the right material. We also had to find the exact spot to integrate the repeating mechanism in the discs. Furthermore, we had to look for answers on how thick or long the gongs should be, or what materials must the gongs be made from. We had to develop the proper combination of gongs and hammer so we had to work on the weight of the hammer, the force as it strikes the gong as well as the speed of each strike. So, these were all the challenges we faced in creating the sound for this watch. And personally, I would say that was the fun part.
After the release of Zeitwerk Striking Time and Zeitwerk Minute Repeater, are you still developing a mechanical watch with interesting audio specification?
When we launched the grand complication, we never planned Zeitwerk to be a goal, a track nor a destination. Our vision for our products under development is in the enormous field of fine watchmaking. We do not restrict our brand in creating timepieces that would be boxed as mechanical watches with the grandest sound. We have enough ideas, although of course a successful model such as Zeitwerk gives birth to a couple more fields for us to explore.
With the number of complications that the company develops year after year, how does the production keep up with the development?
There are two important factors in this question: Developing and building. With respect to development, the company has more than enough ideas. On one hand, after the development and launch of the new product, the goal is to produce according to the orders which are a lot for complication watches. We are lucky to enjoy such attention from our customers but it is our responsibility as a company that the pieces we developed would have the quality we promised. To ensure this, we grow our talented watchmakers in our watchmaking school, and we monitor who would have more skills and talents after a few months. Then, we take them to the next level in the same manner where we also allow our experienced watchmakers to work on different complications. In this way, we provide them flexibility as well as enhance their creativity which would be significant in our watchmaking processes.
How do you prepare for Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH)? Was there any point wherein you needed more time to finish the product that you will present?
Yes, watch companies plan ahead, and I can tell you that I know exactly what we’re going to present in 2020. The preparation for exhibitions is not stressful because we have everything very well planned. Now, I can tell you that A. Lange & Söhne has sixteen movements under development, but of course we will not present all of them in the upcoming SIHH. I make sure that the development is done as planned, and whenever we encounter drawbacks, we make sure to fix them as soon as possible. I believe that the careful and timely monitoring is the key to the preparation for exhibitions. But, of course, a watch company should allot ample of years for the development and create an independence from the watch fairs. At Lange, we focus on our creativity, and we build and develop with the notion of a backup in case of malfunctions. We are also transparent with our customers, providing them the right amount of waiting time from the presentation of the watch to the promised delivery date. We don’t develop our products solely for the shows. Our aim is to give our customers outstanding quality watches, and we build pieces based on that goal.
Photography by JEAN GHALO
