A. Lange & Söhne

A. Lange & Söhne is a maker of distinctive timepieces, and had an illustrious history. A. Lange & Söhne was first established by Aldoph Lange in the town of Glasshutte, Saxony. In 1945, Russian bombers destroyed Lange's main production workshops. The company got back on its feet, but in 1948 the East German communist government nationalized the company. Its head, Walter Lange, fled to West Germany. In 1951 the trademark Lange ceased to exist as it and six other nationalized firms disappeared into a combine.

Nearly forty years after the Lange company disappeared, in 1990, with Germany reunited, Walter Lange returned to Glashütte to found the company Lange Uhren GmbH and re-registered the trademark A. Lange & Söhne. He accomplished this with IWC's financial and logistical support. The head of IWC at that time, Gunter Blumlein, wanted to re-establish Germany's reputation in watchmaking. So, the instructions to Walter Lange were to do whatever it takes to make the finest watches in the world, as long as they are German.

Lange spent four years designing and preparing to manufacture their first new watch, which they called the Lange 1.