German 18K gold open faced keyless lever watch Circa 1890

Gold Glashütte pocket watch by A. Lange & Söhne
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A German 18 carat gold open faced keyless lever watch, circa 1890. The watch has a first quality frosted gilded 2/3 plate movement with a gold lever and escape wheel, jewels set in screwed gold chatons, a bimetallic compensation balance, a diamond endstone, and is signed A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte, b/Dresden. The white enamel dial, also signed A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte B/Dresden, displays black Arabic numerals, an outer minute ring with red Arabic numerals, gold filigree hands, and recessed subsidiary seconds. The 18 carat gold case has a plain polished cover and cuvette, an olivette for hand setting beside the pendant, and the back cover is signed A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte, with the cover and cuvette numbered.
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Diameter: 50 mm
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Signed: A. Lange & Söhne Glashütte B/Dresden
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Movement is not running. The balance is currently seized. Surfaces generally appear in good aesthetic condition. The dial has some scratches on the subsidiary seconds dial, a few other minor scratches, and a small chip on the edge of the dial between 1 and 2 o’clock, though this is largely covered by the bezel. The case is generally good with light scuffs and scratches.
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Ferdinand Adolph Lange was the founder of A. Lange & Söhne. He was born in 1815 as the son of Johann Samuel Lange. Early in life, his parents separated and he was adopted by a foster family. Luckily this family offered him a chance at proper education and in 1829, he joined the Technical University of Dresden. Lange’s master was Christian Friedrich Gutkaes, the maker of the famous five-minute clock in the Dresden Opera House and the court watchmaker later on. Lange finished his apprenticeship with honours and went on to work with Gutkaes as his assistant for more than two years.

In 1837, Lange decided he wanted to learn the watchmaking craft from the best of the time, and this decision took him to Paris, Switzerland and England. He spent four years with the master watchmaker Winnerl, a student of Breguet, in Paris. Lange returned to Dresden in 1841 and took over his now father-in-law Gutkaes’ business in 1842. He had the ambition to bring prosperity to the once rich, now unfortunate Erzgebirge region, Glashütte, he wanted to build a watchmaking industry and create jobs. He received funding from the high council of Saxony and on December 7th, 1845, Ferdinand Adolph Lange founded A. Lange & Cie. He started with fifteen young men who were obliged to work with him for at least five years and following Lange encouraged his apprentices to found their own specialized firms in Switzerland. He set up a watchmaking cluster in the region along with his colleagues Julius Assmann, Adolf Schneider and Moritz Grossmann. At the time, there was a specialist for every part, producing individual pieces of the highest quality. Ferdinand Adolph developed numerous mechanisms, from the remontoir to dead-seconds and repeaters and he introduced the metric system to watchmaking. Eventually, it took Glashütte watchmaking 20 years to develop.

After two successful decades, and as the mayor of Glashütte Ferdinand Adolph Lange retired in 1868. He enjoyed his spacious house built adjacent to the factory, which today serves as the headquarters of the modern A. Lange & Söhne. He gave the reigns of his legacy to his sons Richard and Emil Lange, subsequently, the company’s name was changed from A. Lange & Cie to A. Lange & Söhne. Under their management A. Lange & Söhne expanded tremendously. Ferdinand Adolph Lange died in 1875. In 1948, the post-war Soviet administration nationalized the company’s property and the Lange brand ceased to exist. However, in December 1990, following German reunification, the founder’s great-grandson Walter Lange, together with watch industry executive Günter Blümlein, restored the company with the assistance of several Swiss watch manufacturers, including the International Watch Company (IWC) and Jaeger-LeCoultre. Again operating from Glashütte, the company presented its first range of wristwatches in 1994. Today, A. Lange & Söhne wristwatches are sold globally. Lange, like IWC, is now a member of the Richemont group.