AndrewD
[HoMe Moderator]
12829
The new Australian home of A. Lange & Sohne
Please indulge me while I add a few more photos to Dreamers collection .
The quality of A. Lange & Sohne (ALS) timepieces is legendary and their generosity famous. So it was a pleasure to officially be part of the welcome for the new ALS Espace, at Watches of Switzerland in Melbourne.
Red carpet … something exciting going on at Watches of Switzerland ...
Eric van der Griend of Watches of Switzerland welcoming everyone to the evening ...
Some notable ALS staff flew in for the opening: Daniel Rogger, International Sales Director, the charming Joanna Lange, Senior Training Consultant based in Hong Kong and Michelle Chen (with her pockets bulging with treasures), Regional Manager for ALS based at the Richemont Singapore Headquarters.
We had been trying to get an ALS presence in Australia for some time, but the company produces only 6000 handcrafted watches per year and wanted to be able to supply the Espace with sufficient stock. So the planning took time. But it was worth the wait.
Joanna Lange chatting with guests ...
ALS have come a long way in their short 20 year ‘modern’ history. The pace of new watch releases is steady, but you can see a master plan behind every move and they have hardly put a foot wrong.
We adjourned a short distance to dinner at Vue de Monde, 55 levels above Melbourne. Beautiful location and view to complement the timepieces.
Everything was perfect, down to the table settings and the A. Lange & Sohne aprons on the wait staff. Love that attention to detail.
Daniel Rogger, ALS International Sales Director, warms up the crowd before dinner …
Whenever I pick up an ALS timepiece I marvel at the consistency of the finish – and it doesn’t matter if it is a flagship tourbillon or an ‘entry level’ piece. That takes passion and dedication.
The iconic Datograph, old and new again …
The Saxonia Annual Calendar, a svelte 38.5mm x 9.8mm with a useful zero-reset function, alongside another favourite of the event: the Lange Zeitwerk Striking Time …
The Lange 1 looks good on me …
… but the Langematic Perpetual looked better.
The ALS heritage reproduced in Adolph Lange’s diary, the original smuggled safely out of East Germany ...
The Lange 31 makes an impact. 45.9mm x 15.9mm. I was intrigued to discover from Joanna that the Lange 31 is designed to stop at 32 days, but could run for several more days; something akin to a speed limiter on a high performance car.
A highlight of the night, the Richard Lange Tourbillon Pour le Merite …
A 38.5mm Lange 1 in pink gold on Michelle Chen’s wrist …
And chef Shannon Bennett’s three course meal. The beef cheek, slow cooked for 48 hours, was spectacular, as was dessert.
Andrew
My thanks to the staff of Watches of Switzerland for a wonderful evening.
The new Australian home of A. Lange & Sohne
Looks like a great event!
Tasty watches ...
Very nice!
Awesome event!
Nice report
Thanks a lot for the comprehensive report Andrew!
Tough moderator´s job, but someone has to do it :-)!
