The fascinating interplay of reflections on the blue copper-glittered face of A. Lange & Söhne’s SAXONIA THIN evokes images of a star-studded nocturnal sky. The solid-silver dial of the slender two-hand watch is coated with a thin layer of blue gold flux. Thousands of copper oxide crystals embedded in the material animate the deep blue hue with copper-coloured speckles that reflect incident light. They cause the surface to sparkle like a starry sky that will send the viewer into a reverie.

The elaborate artisanal process of producing gold flux has its roots in 17th-century Venice. Molten glass is infused with copper particles that form microscopically small crystals when heated over a waning flame. To use this material for crafting a dial, it has to be applied to the solid-silver dial with extreme care.

The elegant design of the SAXONIA THIN follows the principle of “less is more”. Its 6.2-millimetre-high case in 18-carat pink gold has a diameter of 40 millimetres. Thanks to the characteristic camber of the strap lugs, the elegant watch ensures a perfectly snug fit on the wrist. The slender hour and minute hands as well as the applied hour markers are in pink gold to match the case material. The narrow bezel of the case puts the focus on the dial. The optical effect of the gold flux can be displayed to full advantage on its perfectly flat surface, similar to the view through a telescope. A shiny, dark-blue leather strap with a solid-pink-gold prong buckle rounds out the elegant appearance of the watch.

Inside, the SAXONIA THIN stands out with the manually wound calibre L093.1, a movement developed and crafted in-house. With a height of merely 2.9 millimetres, it is the manufactory’s thinnest calibre but nonetheless provides a power reserve of 72 hours. Its twofold assembly and the artisanal finissage of the parts reflect the high standards upheld by A. Lange & Söhne.

Brand-typical quality hallmarks include the three-quarter plate with Glashütte ribbing as well as polished chamfers and bevels. A noteworthy detail: the elaborately flat-polished end piece in which the escape wheel is secured. It is visibly integrated into the three-quarter plate as has often been the case in historic pocket watches. Here, aesthetic perfection is taken to extremes: the chamfer of this flat steel part is matched to the chamfer of the three-quarter plate after it has been fitted by hand. As in pocket watches, the ratchet and crown wheels are decorated with solarisation and visibly integrated into the plate. The freely oscillating screw balance beats at a frequency of 21,600 semi-oscillations an hour. It is located beneath the hand-engraved balance cock. Three screwed, manually polished gold chatons hold the going train, reflecting the brand’s tradition in craftsmanship.

The solid-silver dial, coated with subtly shimmering black gold flux, makes the new SAXONIA THIN sparkle on the wrist. But it takes a closer look to recognise the reason. Tiny spangles distributed across the deep-black surface reflect the light to produce a copper-coloured sheen. A shiny black leather strap with a prong buckle in 18-carat white gold accentuates the distinctiveness of the timepiece.

This rare black gold-flux version is a premiere in an A. Lange & Söhne watch. It follows a SAXONIA THIN model presented in 2018 that was graced with a blue-red sparkling dial achieved with blue gold flux. The production process for gold flux was discovered in Venice in the 17^th century. It is a type of glass with copper constituents. While it is being heated, the copper forms microscopically small crystals. To attain a homogeneous surface, it must be cast onto the silver dial with extreme caution.

With slender hour and minute hands as well as applied baton-style markers, the dial of the SAXONIA THIN is reduced to displaying the time in hours and minutes. The narrow bezel of the round gold case gives the dial ample space and emphasises the unusual material. Thanks to the characteristic camber of the strap lugs, the elegant watch assures a snug fit on the wrist. With a case diameter of 40 millimetres, the two-hand watch is merely 6.2 millimetres high.

As for the movement, the SAXONIA THIN offers everything that makes it a typical Lange watch. With a height of only 2.9 millimetres, the manually wound calibre L093.1, developed and crafted in-house, is the thinnest A. Lange & Söhne movement so far. Despite the compact size, it offers a power reserve of three days. Two-fold assembly and the artisanal finissage of the parts comply with the manufactory’s high standards.

Brand-typical quality hallmarks include the three-quarter plate with Glashütte ribbing as well as bevelled and polished chamfers. To achieve visual balance, the chamfer of the flat-polished end piece is manually finished to match the three-quarter plate. The ratchet and crown wheels are decorated with solarisation and visibly integrated into the plate. Three screwed, manually polished gold chatons serve as bearings for the wheel train that transmits power from the mainspring barrel to the escapement. The freely oscillating screw balance beats at a frequency of 21,600 semi-oscillations an hour. It is located beneath the hand-engraved balance cock that carries the whiplash spring.

Günter Blümlein, who together with Walter Lange re-established A. Lange & Söhne 30 years ago, said: “A Lange watch is a fusion of the arts. It melds the passion of watchmakers for mechanical solutions and craftsmanship with the inimitable style of the manufactory and its venerable history.” Presented in 2018, the SAXONIA OUTSIZE DATE lives up to this ambition in every respect. The two versions with black dials are now complemented by two versions with argenté-coloured dials.

Historic eminence

The name SAXONIA refers to the impressive history of Saxony. The region in south-east Germany leveraged its inventiveness and imagination as an early pioneer in the country’s industrialisation. Ferdinand Adolph Lange, the architect of Saxon fine watchmaking, also contributed to the reputation of the state with his exclusive and innovative pocket watches. His unfaltering quest to persistently improve mechanisms and thus make them more precise still constitutes the foundation of Lange’s entrepreneurial philosophy. It is reflected in each of the twelve models of the current SAXONIA watch family.

A distinctive style

Starting in 1990, Ferdinand Adolph Lange’s great-grandson Walter Lange contributed significantly to the renaissance of Saxon precision watchmaking. When asked what characterises an A. Lange & Söhne watch, he said: “It was important to us from the very beginning to develop decidedly modern timepieces with sleek, classic looks.” In the SAXONIA OUTSIZE DATE, the true Lange style embraces numerous design details such as the chamfered and polished solid-gold baton appliques. The outsize date is another typical element featured in the launch of the first wristwatch collection in 1994, which included the first SAXONIA model. On the clearly and minimalistically designed dial with applied baton indices in solid gold, it is positioned at 12 o’clock. The subsidiary seconds dial at the 6 o’clock position counterbalances the face. With a diameter of 38.5 millimetres and a height of 9.6 millimetres, the case in white gold or pink gold exhibits classic proportions.

Mechanical finesse and craftsmanship

The common denominator of all Lange watches is the attention to detail invested in finissage and the passion for technology, artisanship, and materiality. Assembled by hand twice, the self-winding manufacture calibre of the SAXONIA OUTSIZE DATE is an impressive example. It is based on the calibre L086.1 of the SAXONIA AUTOMATIC. Due to the complex date mechanism, the number of parts increased to 286, up from 209 in the basic movement. The extraordinary design features two separate display surfaces for the units and tens that are at least twice as large as in watches of a comparable size. This significantly enhances legibility.

A large central rotor with ball bearings and a platinum centrifugal mass assures efficient winding of the automatic L086.8 movement. The strong mainspring barrel delivers a maximum power reserve of 72 hours. Further mechanical highlights include a classic screw balance and a freely oscillating balance spring manufactured in-house. The characteristic Lange style comes to the fore in various movement details such as the three-quarter plate made of untreated German silver decorated with Glashütte ribbing and the hand-engraved balance cock with the elegantly curved whiplash spring for precision beat adjustment. The finissage of the tiny movement parts with lavish polishes and exquisite decorations corresponds to the high artisanal standards for which A. Lange & Söhne is known.

Thus, in the SAXONIA OUTSIZE DATE, design, mechanical prowess, and craftsmanship interact to form a fusion of the arts that lives up to the founders’ ambitions in every respect.

The elegant personality of the latest Saxonia Thin version is based on the “less is more” principle. Its elegant white-gold case is merely 6.2 millimetres thick and has a diameter of 39 millimetres. The case colour is echoed by the two slender hour and minute hands as well as the twelve hour markers in rhodiumed gold. The hands and appliques contrast crisply against the background of the copper-blue dial. It is crafted from solid silver and coated with a thin layer of subtly shimmering goldstone. The precious facing requires an elaborate manufacture process that was originally developed in Venice in the 17th century. Microscopically small copper oxide crystals saturate the deep blue with choreographed reflections that are reminiscent of the stars in the blue midnight sky. A dark-blue hand-stitched alligator leather strap rounds out the expressiveness of the watch.

Its puristic elegance is complemented by a manually wound movement finished to the highest standards of Saxon watchmaking artistry. The technical features of the manufacture calibre L093.1 – it is a scant 2.9 millimetres thick – include a flat mainspring barrel which delivers a maximum power reserve of 72 hours despite its compact size. The upper sides of the ratchet and crown wheels are solarised and visibly integrated into the three-quarter plate decorated with Glashütte ribbing. The escapement that adjoins the three-quarter plate is a special eye-catcher: A classic screw balance with a manufacture-made hairspring oscillates beneath the hand-engraved balance cock with the characteristic whiplash spring. The polished gold chatons, secured with blued screws, accentuate the character of a Lange watch that radiates perfection down to the very last detail.

Functional, easy to use, and clearly organised: with these assets, the Saxonia Moon Phase – first introduced in 2016 – fulfils all of the criteria of a wristwatch that its owners will always enjoy wearing. The black dial enhances the optics of the timepiece with the two classic complications.

The moon-phase display is decorated with 852 stars and calculated to remain accurate for 122.6 years. It is connected to the hour-wheel continuum and, just like the moon itself, constantly in motion. The iconic Lange outsize date is another special feature of the model which so far has been available exclusively with an argenté-coloured dial. In this version, to match the black dial, the date numerals are white on a black background rather than vice-versa. The outsize date and the seconds subdial with the integrated moon-phase display are centred on the vertical axis, underscoring the sleek elegance of the overall design.

A large central rotor with a centrifugal mass in platinum reliably winds the Lange L086.5 manufacture calibre which is finished by hand to the most exacting standards. When fully wound, the generously dimensioned mainspring barrel delivers a power reserve of 72 hours. A classic screw balance, a freely oscillating Lange balance spring, a three-quarter plate made of untreated German silver and a hand-engraved balance cock are among the traditional quality features that connoisseurs around the world associate with the A. Lange & Söhne brand.

The models of the Saxonia watch family always focus on mechanical ingenuity; this applies to two-hand timepieces as well as to horological complications. The new Saxonia Outsize Date is no exception. Its self-winding movement is based on the calibre L086.1 that has been powering the Saxonia Automatic since 2011. Now endowed with an outsize date display, the new calibre L086.8 movement ensures that the debut timepiece will run with benchmark dependability. The ingenious configuration with separate displays for the units and tens ranks among A. Lange & Söhne’s most extraordinary technical developments.

In the Saxonia Outsize Date, the display – a classic arrangement of two white discs with black numerals – sports a new design. The date discs of the precisely centred outsize date are black and feature white printed numerals to match the black galvanised solid-silver dial. Applied hour markers in solid gold and the elegantly proportioned 38.5-millimetre case in white or pink gold underscore the richly contrasting overall personality of the watch.

A large central rotor with an outer centrifugal mass in platinum keeps the mainspring of the self-winding movement tensioned; the maximum power reserve of 72 hours is achieved with only one mainspring barrel. Additional technical and artisanal highlights include a classic screw balance with a free-sprung Lange hairspring, the three-quarter plate made of untreated German silver and the manually engraved balance cock with the characteristic whiplash spring for precision beat adjustments.

The two new Saxonia models come in 35-millimetre cases crafted from white or pink gold. The white dial made of solid silver is covered with a very thin layer of iridescent mother of pearl. Slender hands and baton-style hour markers in solid gold underscore the elegant design complemented with a white or grey alligator leather strap.

A. Lange & Söhne takes the term watchmaking artistry seriously, as evidenced by the manually wound movement of the Saxonia: it is a gem in its own right. From traditionally finished parts to the screwed gold chatons and the hand-engraved balance cock, the calibre L941.1 movement features all of the quality hallmarks for which the eminent manufactory is acclaimed.