foversta's hands-on review of the A. Lange & Söhne 35mm Saxonia offers a timely exploration of the luxury watch market's evolving preferences for smaller, more classic case sizes. His insights into the design philosophy behind this 35mm iteration, particularly its use of the L941.1 caliber, highlight how Lange & Söhne strategically addresses both aesthetic trends and global market demands. This piece remains highly relevant for collectors interested in the nuanced balance between tradition, wearability, and movement integration in dress watches.
The restyling at the beginning of year of the Lange & Söhne Saxonia collection brought us a little surprise with the unveiling of the handwind version in a 35mm case, available both in rose and white gold . I must confess that I didn't expect such significant reduction in size on this specific model since the previous version had a diameter of 37mm. And 2mm less, it's a huge difference. Obviously, this choice was not made by chance. It actually meets several objectives from the Glashütte Manufacture. They can be summarized as follows:
- Lange & Söhne takes advantage of the general trend which comes back to more reasonable sizes for simple and elegant watches,
- The catalogue was missing an unisex small size reference and this Saxonia fills the gap,
- The Saxonia collection becomes more structured with several sizes available for simple watches: this reference to 35mm, the Saxonia Automatic 37mm and 40mm Saxonia Thin,
- The watch meets the expectations of several markets such as China in where cases adapted to small wrists and more discreet styles are requested.
If I take into consideration our usual today's criteria, such a size seems inappropriate. I know that you would argue that for collectors and watches lovers a 35mm diameter is fine for a 3 hands dress watch. But we have to face the reality. Due to the clients' expectations, it is difficult to design an elegant watch below the 37mm that today seem to be the minimum diameter. And yet, thanks to its relatively thin bezel, its long indexes anda more visible minutes scale, it has enough presence on the wrist for not being considered as ridiculous. I find again, in a different aesthetic context, the sensations that gave me the first 1815 which was using a 35,9mm case.
By the way, the 35mm Saxonia uses the same movement, the L941.1 caliber, than the initial 1815. As its reference number indicates it, it is part of the first generation of Lange movements that preceded the 2000s and whose version with date powered the Saxonia unveiled in 1994 in the context of the first collection. I love this caliber thanks to its very smooth winding experience and it brings a lot of pleasure by using it everyday. Its frequency is 3hz and the 45 hours power reserve can be considered as a bit too short compared to the movements which were developed more recently but it is sufficient. The daily winding is part of the enjoyment of this watch. Anyway, the dimension reduction has a virtue: the L941.1 caliber finds a more appropriate case size given its own diameter of 25,6mm. This is felt immediately dial side with a more balanced lay-out (look at the second hand subdial location) than with the previous 37mm version.
The finishes of the movement follows, of course the high standards of the brand. Even if the 3/4 plate hides a lot of the moving parts, it is very pleasant to observe it because its controlled size, the writings and the blued screws in the gold chatons significantly reduce the surface of the areas only decorated with the Glashütte ribbing.
Once put on the wrist, the 35mm Saxonia reveals its charm. Its size no longer appears as an obstacle but as an asset. The dial is both harmonious and efficiently filled in, avoiding empty parts. Its thickness of 7.3mm, not too thin nor too thick for a 35mm watch makes the case well proportioned. To be honest, I felt more pleasure to wear this Saxonia than the 40mm Saxonia Thin as I found it for several reasons a bit boring after a while. And in watchmaking, it is better to use a smaller but well-balanced case than a case with larger portions without spice. I'm certainly used to wear the 35,9mm 1815 and it explains why I had a very good a priori about this new Saxonia but simple dress watches amateurs should convince themselves that a 35mm diameter is quite suitable and works well... even in a less formal context! After all, this size was a common practice not so long ago and it is the reason why I would like to thank Lange for this reminder.
Pros:
+ A size which suits the purpose of the watch and its movement
+ The new Saxonia style which brings more character to the dial
+ The pleasure brought by the L941.1 movement on a daily basis
+ The movement finishes and the care to details
Cons:
- The power reserve is a little too short when compared to today's standards
Fr.Xavier
This message has been edited by foversta on 2015-07-14 13:56:53 
