The Feminine Side Of Niche Luxury Watch Brand A. Lange & Söhne

A. Lange & Söhne is known for its large men’s watches and cult-status models like the Lange 1 and the Datograph, but there is a softer side to this luxury Saxon watch brand. The Little Lange 1 and the Saxonia for ladies are distinctly feminine and sized for smaller wrists without sacrificing anything of the brand’s distinct aesthetic, German engineering or outstanding movement finishing.

The Little Lange 1 Moon Phase takes the classic dial layout of the legendary boys’ model with its outsized date window and asymmetric dial layout, including small seconds over the moon phase display at the 5 o’clock position and the famous Ab/Auf (Up/Down) power reserve indicator. The addition of a guilloched silver dial with elegant red gold hands changes the look just enough to add a bit of fancy to the classic model. The size is also appropriately feminine. Compared to the men’s model, which is 38.5mm wide, the Little Lange Moon is 2mm smaller, at 36.8mm, which is the ideal fit for a ladies’ wrist – while it’s sized down, it remains a substantial watch, and not so small that it disappears. It contains an in-house manually wound mechanical movement with a 72-hour power reserve. There is also a Little Lange 1 without the moon phase display, leaving just the small seconds indicator at 5 o’clock. It pairs the same18k pink gold case with a gold rather than silver dial, and it’s given a brown guilloché finish. This model is a little more edgy and less traditional.

The Saxonia Thin is Lange’s slimmest watch, and while the functions are pared down to the minimal – just hours and minutes on a central dial – what a dial it is. The aventurine really stands out next to the white gold case and slim bezel, as it should. Too often aventurine is used as a background highlight or on a small moon phase subdial only, but it’s such a beautiful material – a sparkly processed glass – that it deserves to occupy the entire dial. This model also contains a manually wound movement with a 72-hour power reserve. The case is a little wider than the Lange 1, at 39mm wide, but it’s a slimmer model, at 6.2mm thick, compared to the 9.5mm thickness of the Lange 1.

The pink gold version of the Saxonia Thin is more traditional, with a plain white dial. Deliberately minimalist, it is the essential classic dress watch, with even smaller dimensions, at 37mm wide and 5.9mm thick. It is worth noting that Lange & Söhne’s production is less than 5,000 watches per year, so these watches are quite rare. They don’t have the immediately recognizable star power of a Rolex or a Cartier, but true aficionados will recognize these artisanal treasures in an instant. If you know, you know. Prices on request.