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WatchProSite|Market|Digest

A. Lange & Söhne

Is that it???????

 

Well,where to start?A rather disappointing year I suppose..I was expecting news yesterday and the day before but apparently that s it!These are the ALaS novelties for 2011.

Maybe we were spoiled last year with a huge new lineup(Daymatic,ZW phantom,saxonia annual calendar,165th annyversary line,RL refhur,1815 chrono....am I missing something?),but this year is disappointing not only in quantity of novelties(only 2) but for the quality as well.

Lack of vision,poor inventiveness....I wonder how big is the Lange stand in Geneva,,,just a display little box will do this year I suppose...

Lets recap

1)A rather gimmicky RL PLM:cant judge it I am sorry....hats off to Lange expertise and usual umbeatable finish and finesse but,its a busy uniteresting watch....dial appearing and disappearing?I am not sure....to be seen..

2)A super bland re-packaging of the blandest Lange line Saxonia......no comment,too austere and cold for me to judge...leaves me indifferent...

3)First long awaited striking watch for Lange.........roll of drums.....even blander than Saxonia line and rather disappointing for such a long awaited novelty.What? A petite sonnerie?Why?...Lange should have debuted with a REPEATER with a Sonnerie in it...That would have been Lange style...why settle for second best?A sonnerie would have  been good as part of striking watches...but not THE first The debut for Lange!

Then ..why on a Zeitwerk????What is with Lange recently to ruin perfect executed and designed watches?Last year the purity and beauty of the classic Richard Lange was violated with that horrible Refhur poor design....L1 was given an automatic treatment???Anyone bought that?Please let me know .....and now my fav Lange is given a" second best" striking action that on top of being a bit useless is also not very good looking(reserve judgement befor seeing it live..)....just a little sonnerie....PLEASE leave the ZEITWERK  alone!I am still dreaming of the Luminous,but this spoils it a bit..Maybe an alarm sounding like a repeater would have suited the ZW better???

A sonnerie like this one would have been more suited for a Saxonia model or 1815,a very classic watch,AFTER a big sounding watch was presented...

What can I add,,,,maybe lack of economical resources after a tough time?Maybe mr Lambert  splitting his time with 2 huuuuuge brands is not very productive?(even JLC is a bit disappointing this year compared to 2010....)

Lack of vision is to blame for me.......They should listen to sites like this a bit more ,,,,I am sure some of us can advise better....

A very disappointed Mo

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51 Comments view entire thread 

Not only you Mo.......

 
By: BluNotte : January 18th, 2011-23:57
I guess i am in total symphaty and empathy with you as well. What does Lange think it is doing? To be disappointed is an understatement, i would be mad! The RL PLM Tourbillon is courageous, and probably one of the best finished tourbillons on the market, ... 

And you are right....

 
By: moc : January 19th, 2011-00:03
you own one of Langes milestones,no doubt....it s amazing how they can produce gems like yours (or others I like.....)and then loose their control like this year....Lange has a very hot torch to carry,they position themselves as top of the top,,and maybe ... 

Long Live The King!

 
By: patrick_y : January 19th, 2011-22:03
The King is still my favorite Lange ever made!

Yes bro!

 
By: BluNotte : January 20th, 2011-05:50
Long long long live the KING! He is still the one that I am so proud to be an owner of. One that shall never leave the grasps of me and my family. I think i shall walk down the aisle on this one! Cheers Stephen...  

Same here guys...

 
By: sidneyc : January 19th, 2011-00:51
I feel a bit disappointed... the striking time had my heart beating for a while, until I discovered it's not a repeater, and not a grand sonnerie... The rest of the updates are uninspiring. I do however welcome the Saxonia Thin... It's doesn't interest me... 

You are right,safe wallet this year..

 
By: moc : January 19th, 2011-01:43
because there is nothing to buy...... Someone saidthat all that calm before SIHH ,no prewiews,no excitement,no news....was the calm before the storm...well it was the calm before...the calm.... Andrew asked what were the expectations for this SIHH,and i s... 

Saxonia Thin

 
By: peafjp : January 19th, 2011-01:52
Out of all the new models I can really see myself buying this, simply due to the fact that a super-thin watch is so much more comfortable to wear with business attire. Would love to see movement shots.

Confirmed: It's not a sonnerie, it's a simple striker

 
By: peafjp : January 19th, 2011-01:39
So at 10 o'clock, for example, it strikes once, automatically, on the hours hammer. It doesn't strike 10 times, like a sonnerie would. It's quite a simple complication really, although the quarter hours striking is a little more complicated.

I guess you might call it a "sonnerie en passant", it's definitely not a petite sonnerie

 
By: peafjp : January 19th, 2011-01:41

There you go....

 
By: moc : January 19th, 2011-01:45
I was optimistic to call it "petite"...even worse really...bad debut for Lange in the striking world......A honest alarm would have been much better.... Mo

Thx for the clarification! [nt]

 
By: dedestexhes : January 19th, 2011-02:18
No message body

Awww, it's a striker? Was hoping it'd be a Sonnerie...

 
By: patrick_y : January 19th, 2011-22:06

Mo, you surely hit the nail

 
By: TdotBean : January 19th, 2011-02:49
I am not disappoint to the same degree. However I sense Lange have a tough act to follow after the Datograph. Not counting the historical model of L1, Turbograph and the 1815. IMHO to this day the Datograph still represent the peak of Lange. Of course the... 

Hear Hear

 
By: Hororgasm : January 19th, 2011-13:43
love the compario between U2 and Lange. thanks for sharing your thoughts. well said, and the more logical it becomes as i ponder. just a few points on U2, and i gather you are likeise fan, you correctly pointed out that Jpshua Tree was the peak in 87, and... 

Get your point Tyler...

 
By: moc : January 19th, 2011-14:51
but I am only judging this year s production...not lange as a Brand ,,it is still the best finish/quality on the maket to me...my consideration was just about the poorness of this year s models......probably we have been spoilt by Lange ans we always expe... 

Too much fireworks will an eye sour and neck pain.

 
By: TdotBean : January 19th, 2011-18:36
I do share your view on SIHH 2011 Lange offering. I also accept that constantly topping of previous triumph is not possible. I am not pessimist but a realist who look of the brighter side of things. BTW your DB25 is bugging me. I sense it want to be on my... 

"tried and true", but never tired but true - as I am right now !! [nt]

 
By: amerix : January 20th, 2011-09:22

It is all in BEST order ! ...

 
By: COUNT DE MONET : January 19th, 2011-05:38
I find the novelties this year quite o.k. : 1 Ueber- watch RL PLM Tourbi ---> but sadly out of reach for the "mortals". 1 Saxonia auto with a new movement in 38.5 mm, 7.8 mm (quite thin!) and 72 h (!) power reserve. 1 Saxonia in 40 mm ( :-/ or even :-( &n... 

Yes, very disappointing

 
By: leritz : January 19th, 2011-06:19
I agree with the disappointment in order expressed in almost of all these posts (as I wrote, a few minutes after Lange's "novelties" announcement on monday). I am going to do my big purchase this year (6-8 months) and I was really hoping to see something ... 

+1 Count...The new models are just fine. [nt]

 
By: =RWK= : January 19th, 2011-13:46
No message body

One thing is not "correct": the name for RL PLM Tourbi as it is more looking like a ...

 
By: COUNT DE MONET : January 19th, 2011-14:01
Saxonia! Have a look again Richard and you will see the bezel design makes it more look like a Saxonia than a RL. But the concept of the Saxonia as a modest, prudent watch line speaks a bit against it ... Still: Happy days at Lange! Regards Moritz

Well Count..

 
By: moc : January 19th, 2011-14:56
sincerely would you buy the new Zw? or would you choose the original one....lets face it its Lange s frst dip into striking watches ...would you have expected this?Sincerely I didn t.......A bitter taste in my mouth...Noone here doubts the Lange ability t... 

Nothing in Honey Gold! The price for the ZW Striking Time is a very, very "modest"...

 
By: COUNT DE MONET : January 19th, 2011-15:07
... Euro 92k for the platinum one and something like 75k for the WG one but not sure about this one as I can't find the WG one at the mo. But surely Euro 92k for the platinum. A nother note: nothing in honey gold! I reckon it will be only reserved for ann... 

Well not cheap ...

 
By: moc : January 19th, 2011-15:11
as you compared with PP i thought....we cannot compare a striking en passant with a repeater from PP or with a sonnerie.....the complication is much more simple.....30k+ more for the Pt compared to the normal Zw is an awful lot I think..... Mo

Let us be parctical and honest: 12:59 on the MR watch ...

 
By: COUNT DE MONET : January 19th, 2011-15:18
... is nothing that we will notice "by the way". We would have to focus and count carefully. The "by the way" watch from Lange is much more practical and absolutely o.k.! Imagine having it on your shelf, you do paperwork and just "by the way" and by ITSEL... 

You almost sold it to me,,great skills Count..

 
By: moc : January 19th, 2011-15:20
get your point....well done... Mo

Also: who can count here more than up to three and has got so much time to listen to a MR?

 
By: COUNT DE MONET : January 19th, 2011-15:25
I reckon I spoiled my selling skils by that ;-) ! Nice novelties. All ! Regards Moritz

Ha ha..that s why most MRs come with that..

 
By: moc : January 19th, 2011-15:28
watch from GO with the counter..the panomatic counter is a big seller amongst MR owners... Mo

Lange and luxury means: USERFRIENDLY! AND: yet again another reason more for a GO! Regards [nt]

 
By: COUNT DE MONET : January 19th, 2011-15:33
No message body

100% agreed, Monet! [nt]

 
By: passetemps : November 21st, 2011-05:06
No message body

Just an opinion, but....

 
By: SRG : January 19th, 2011-09:17
While last year was incredible, and these year is admittedly much less so, it's still amazing to think that a company that only produces 4,000 - 5,000 watches per year can come up with much at all. For a relatively small company, I think they have done ve... 

Sure,,,but..

 
By: moc : January 19th, 2011-14:59
Debethune makes 200 watches a year and.......always amazing! Not our fault if Lange position itself at the top of the industry...hard to keep up there I think... Mo

Actually...

 
By: MiniCooper : January 19th, 2011-11:23
I am not disappointed.... I rather see the glass half full... No interesting new models, banker happy or divert to so ethnic else... Cheers

that is a plus for me..

 
By: moc : January 19th, 2011-15:01
I thought a new Zw will change my mind...but my target is even more in focus now......I am happy like that,,, Mo

Always stay in focus! That's the spirit! [nt]

 
By: BluNotte : January 20th, 2011-05:53
No message body

Compare to the past, Lange is really not a winner this year

 
By: ling5hk : January 19th, 2011-15:38
It is not easy to maintain good performance for 20 years or so. On a different note, Lange gives you breathing space to recoup your resources. Regards Ling

That's true.

 
By: TdotBean : January 19th, 2011-18:42
I still wish there will be a WG Zeitwerk Luminous for us who aren't the lucky 100. Maybe I'll look for a dato instead. Best Tyler

I haven t given up on...

 
By: moc : January 20th, 2011-02:09
the luminous.....There must e 1 or 2 knocking about somewere.......my ultimate Lange. Mo

You had too high of expectations...

 
By: patrick_y : January 19th, 2011-22:03
Mo, I think our expectations are too high, considering last year was the 165th anniversary year and they launched some interesting pieces last year. All I need is one piece that I like from Lange and I think I found 1.5 pieces that I like. This year, the ... 

There is bitter irony

 
By: amerix : January 20th, 2011-03:50
in adding a striker to the Zeitwerk. The famous clock in the Semper Opera House, and source of inspiration for the Lange calendar and now the Zw, was installed for the express purpose of showing the time during a performance without it being disturbed by ... 

Amerix,ONE tiny, little, sweet "piing" every 15 minutes is nothing disturbing...

 
By: COUNT DE MONET : January 20th, 2011-05:18
I like the evolution of the ZW as it was clear that this will be a new line and not only a one off. Also: we always speculated that there will be a acustic Lange with a special mechanism: there it is! And as mentioned: the price tag for an instantly chang... 

sweeter than a cow bell and hopefully a lot more quiet :)

 
By: amerix : January 20th, 2011-06:15
My nerves are getting jangled. Regards, amerix This message has been edited by amerix on 2011-01-20 06:21:08

I am sure our friends from here reporting in Geneva will post a video! Also: ...

 
By: COUNT DE MONET : January 20th, 2011-09:13
What is the connection between Lange, Vianney Halter and Dufour? Could not find anything about that. Regards De Moooonet

Greetings Moritz - yes, I'm sure they will

 
By: amerix : January 20th, 2011-10:24
but the sound quality from the videos on Internet ??? Ah - the connections! Vianney was sponsored and taken under the wing of Philippe Dufour for his admission into the AHCI. Philippe has also called him "a very great artist", which he also (!!!) is, besi... 

in the worst case - when the burglers break in

 
By: amerix : January 20th, 2011-11:05
and lock me in the broom closet, I would want to hear a complete Grande & Petite Sonnerie - until the oxygen runs out. amerix - who else?

That is style! What a thought ... Regards Moritz [nt]

 
By: COUNT DE MONET : January 20th, 2011-12:02
No message body

More than ONE question to Vianney Halter, please Amery!

 
By: COUNT DE MONET : January 20th, 2011-11:40
Many, many thanks for the infos about ALS, Dufour and Halter! It is always great to learn about Halter and Dufour. I found a connection in Dufour's and Halter's fate: Both in theire early years had to raise fundings and worked also for Audemars Piguet. Du... 

I think the ALS one Mr. Dufour own is a Datograph

 
By: TdotBean : January 21st, 2011-03:41
Not a Datograph Perpetual. He also say something like he wasn't ready to pay for it in platinum so he opt for rose gold instead but with black dial. I think Lange specially make one for Mr. Dufour as the black dial is only reserve for Platinum.

Only flaw with the ZW Striking Time: no option to hear only full or just quarters! Regards [nt]

 
By: COUNT DE MONET : January 20th, 2011-05:22
No message body

continuous innovation Vs. continuous perfection

 
By: passetemps : November 21st, 2011-05:30
What do you/we prefer? To unable the hour gongs only or the quarter gongs only is to ask for a bit too much, IMO, haha! Me, i just wish the Striking Time was 2mm smaller. Then it would be the perfect discrete companion to contemplate the passing of Time. ... 

It's hard to improve such a great collection

 
By: dsgalaxy1 : November 21st, 2011-05:34
The only watch is missing is a minute repeater, and soon or later Lange will show us. The new trend is to improve the power reserve, so i'm waiting for a new datograph; the ZW has been an unexpected success, so collectors every year are waiting something ...