A. Lange & Söhne

Lange said they polished (vs. brushed) the middle of their rose gold cases because for some reason brushing the RG middle cases would make them more likely to tarnish/discolor. I don't think Lange ever offered a more specific explanation than that.

But then, in 2015, Lange started brushing (at least some of) their rose gold middle cases.

Here is what I don't know or remember about that 2015 decision:

1. Did Lange change the composition of their rose gold alloy in 2015 to reduce the potential for tarnishing/discoloration? Or did Lange keep the same RG alloy and just decide (or discover over 20 years) that their prior concern about tarnishing/discoloration was no longer significant?
2. Did Lange start brushing the middle cases of any of the "old"/existing RG models that had been in production prior to 2015? Or did Lange continue to polish the middle cases of those existing RG references even after 2015 and brush the middle cases of only the new RG models that were launched since 2015? I think the latter is true, but I'm not positive.
3. Which RG Langes in current production (across all families) have brushed vs. polished middle cases?

That may be more than you were wondering about!

One more tip/trick that is generally (if not universally) true for RG Langes, since we often don't get to see side views of watches when they're being photographed:  You don't need to see a photo of the side of the case to tell if it's brushed vs. polished. You only need to see a photo of the caseback. If the caseback metal is brushed, then the sides are brushed. If the caseback metal is polished, then the sides probably polished.

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