Łukasz DoskoczCH24 Watch of the Year 2023 – winners of the 14th edition!
Hereby we present you the winners of the 14th edition of our “CH24 Watch of the Year”. International […]
A. Lange & Söhne new manufactory building [live]
Specious, full of daylight, eco-friendly and self-sufficient – that is a brief description of Lange & Söhne’s new manufacture building, just opened with honours in Glashütte.
Watchmaking nowadays is fastest and fastest chase for independence and self-sufficiency. It’s an unwritten rule, that the brand can use the term “manufacture” when it can present at least one home-made and designed calibre, a so-called “in-house”. For many companies this is just a beginning of a journey which goal is to be fully independent from suppliers and make all that is possible on its own. You can argue if such approach is justified (especially that there are many very skilled specialists out there to make a particular part like no one else is doing) or is it rather an exaggeration. Fact is – new Lange’s house in Glashütte makes a hell of an impression. What is interesting, that does not mean the growth of production numbers but an improved quality and work environment.
Groundbreaking ceremony took place in Glashütte on the 5th of September 2012. In just around 3 years 5400m² of space has been build, making this one of the most advanced structures in the entire watch industry. The address is Altenberger Straße 16, just across the old facilities, that all together create a so-called “Lange district”. There is a glass covered sky-bridge that connects the old main-building with the new one, complementing well to the brand’s strategy. Wilhelm Schimd, Lange & Söhne CEO, highlighted on number of times that the key target was to improve work comfort for the employees, because they are what makes the brand and in turn, the watches. New manufacture building as a self-efficient thanks to a special, geothermal system inside. 55 heat exchangers, dug deep into the ground, extract the heat from it and then use it to heat or cool the building down. There i so much of this energy created, that it will be enough to provide all the other buildings around. Electricity is also eco-friendly, so there won’t be any CO₂ emission whatsoever.
In many national (German) rankings and ballots of popularity and prestige A. Lange & Söhne is frequently named as one of the top “Made in Germany” brands – so it can be no surprise to see the guests list invited for the grand opening. The ribbon-cutting was honoured by Germen Chancellor Angela Merkel, Saxony’s Prime Minister Stanislaw Tilich and Herr Walter Lange – 91 years old, still very vital and active ancestor of the company’s founders. Quite a special guest was also Richemont Group chairman Johann Rupert, coming with his son Anton. It is not usual for Richemont’s high authorities to attend such events, and it is therefore more significant, especially that Mr. Rupert turned out to be a very charming persona, happy to speak to the guests and journalist, and not only about watches might I add.
Although Lange is still in a process of moving to the new spaces, some of the work-stuff have already settled. Lower floors were devoted to the machines and have duty equipment. Higher floors, with perfect natural light conditions thanks to the really big windows with Glashütte view outside, and with a special dust-free system, will be occupied by watchmakers, engravers and some other craftsmen and women. In their previous place it was somewhat claustrophobic, and rubbing shoulders with other watchmakers next to you does not help for sure either. New facility provides space good enough for twice the number of people, and still each one would have his own, big desk and more light he or she would ever need.
Whenever there is a new manufacture building in the watch industry, this usually almost straight away results in an increased production. Although Lange doesn’t officially speak about “how much do we make”, this secret number will not grow. Exclusivity is of very high importance for a company like that, and we have no reason not to believe. Every time I fly to Dresden (highly recommend to visit!), meet fellow watch-journalists from around the world and we sit and talk watches, there is always a question on which Lange everyone of us would love to have on his wrist. Those Germans know how to make timepieces, at least as good as they make cars.
Our visit to the “old” Lange & Söhne manufacture sides can be found HERE.
