A. Lange & Söhne opens boutique in Osaka
On 30 July 2021, A. Lange & Söhne opened the doors of its fourth boutique in Japan in the heart of the ultra-modern business metropolis Osaka. It is located on the first floor of the new W Osaka Hotel in the bustling Midosuji Boulevard.
The ideal way to experience the exclusive timepieces of A. Lange & Söhne is by holding them in your hands and being able to speak to someone who knows how to properly explain their exceptional nature – and the new A. Lange & Söhne boutique in Osaka is the perfect place for this. Here, you can also learn more about the history of the precision watchmaking company from Glashütte, which got its start 175 years ago. At that time, Dresden-based watchmaker Ferdinand Adolph Lange founded his manufactory in the little town of Glashütte in the Ore Mountains. His great-grandson Walter Lange took advantage of the opportunity presented by the reunification of Germany in 1990 to breathe new life into A. Lange & Söhne, making it once again one of the major players in international precision watchmaking.
In 1995, A. Lange & Söhne ventured into the Japanese market for the first time. Since then, the handcrafted timepieces have been held in high regard by the country’s watch lovers and collectors. This is not really surprising, because craftsmanship has always held high status in Japanese culture.
The new A. Lange & Söhne boutique represents an important step in the global sales strategy of the company. The sales floor, covering an area of 67,75 square metres, is located on the first floor of the W Osaka Hotel, the most recent masterpiece of renowned Japanese architect Tadao Andō, which opened its doors in March of this year.
The passion for perfection that makes A. Lange & Söhne stand out is reflected in the countless details of the interior design, which is characterised by transparency and clarity. A large glass front invites passers-by to enter. Inside, interlocking square volumes provide intriguing perspectives and an ever-changing series of spatial experiences. Movable partitions and sliding doors divide the space into different functional areas – from display areas for the exclusive timepieces through to customer service areas.
A central aspect of the boutique is the Experience Library which, with its painstakingly selected exhibits that make reference to the history of the manufactory, is like a window into the world of A. Lange & Söhne. Two separate rooms – a VIP area and a private lounge – offer the perfect place for discreet personal consultation appointments.
Refined details such as the metal pilaster strips of the wall fittings pay homage to the handcrafted manufacture of the watches of A. Lange & Söhne. Just like the German silver frame parts of the manufacture calibres, their edges have a 45-degree chamfer and their surfaces have been polished to a high gloss. The interior design as a whole can be summarised by the terms quality, functionality and timelessness.
For Lange CEO Wilhelm Schmid, the first boutique outside of Tokyo is an important milestone in the development of the Japanese market: “The opening of our new boutique in Osaka will make a major contribution to continuing the expansion of our presence in Japan, thus further increasing the already-significant appreciation for the A. Lange & Söhne brand. With our boutique concept, we have created the perfect framework to this end. It reflects the personality of the brand by uniting art, craftsmanship and technology into one cohesive whole, just like our watches do.”
