German gunmetal open faced lever watch with chain Circa 1916

Keyless Glashütte pocket watch by A. Lange & Söhne
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A German gunmetal open faced keyless lever watch with gunmetal chain, circa 1916. The watch features a second quality frosted gilded 2/3 plate movement, signed A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte, B/Dresden, with a gold lever and escape wheel, a bimetallic compensation balance, precision swanneck regulation, and a ruby endstone. It has a white enamel dial, signed A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte, B/Dresden, displaying black Arabic numerals, a sunken centre, recessed subsidiary seconds, an outer minute ring, and gold filigree hands. The case is made of Swiss gunmetal with a pink gold bezel and lips, while the case back bears the maker’s mark FB for Frères Borgel/Taubert Fils, with the cuvette and back numbered. Additionally, the gunmetal chain features plaques inscribed gold zur wehr eisen zur ehr 1916, and the clip is marked with the maker’s mark K&O, possibly K&Q.
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Diameter: 49.5 mm
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Chain length approx: 300 mm
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Signed: A. Lange & Söhne Glashütte B/Dresden
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Movement is functional, hands adjusting effortlessly. Surfaces seem to be in generally good cosmetic condition. Dial is in good condition. The case and chain are in good overall condition.
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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 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, which was built adjacent to the factory and serves as the headquarters of 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.