There are a lot of different approaches you can take to making a watch, and as consumers, what we all hope to learn is what exactly constitutes a realistic expectation of the level of hand-work and care that goes into a watch. It’s not so much that every watch has to be hand-finished to within an inch of its life, and a solidly made, fairly priced tool watch has its own kind of charm as well. But at the high end, it’s more critical than ever to really be sure you’re getting what a company wants you to think it is getting, which is where a company like Lange comes in. Their work is not for everyone, both in terms of design, and in terms of cost. But we all benefit from knowing what first class work should look like. My dearest wish for A. Lange & Söhne after seeing them in their new home, is that they continue to do exactly what they are doing, because the temptation to scrape away at cost by scraping away at quality, and increasing production numbers, must be enormous. Right now, if you ask really serious connoisseurs – and by that I mean, people who really have some knowledge, not just collectors – who makes the best-finished watches in the world at the moment, the answer from an awful lot of them is going to be, A. Lange & Söhne. “Best” is a reputation very hard to gain, and very easy to lose, and it’s an accolade I hope Lange continues to treasure as much as it, and the company, and its craftspeople – and its clients – deserve.
Hands-On The A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Tourbillon Handwerkskunst
