A. Lange & Söhne

History

Ferdinand Adolph Lange established precision watchmaking in Glashütte, developing the distinctive German three-quarter plate architecture with gold chatons and screwed balance. Production was absorbed into the East German combine after 1948; the name was revived as an independent manufacture in 1990.

Major innovations

• Three-quarter plate Glashütte movement architecture
• Decimal-based measurement system in the Glashütte trade

Known markings

• 'A. Lange & Söhne Glashütte b/Dresden'
• Three-quarter plate with gold chatons

Serial numbers

Pre-war Lange serials are researched through Glashütte records and specialist literature; post-1990 watches are documented by the modern company.

Collecting significance

Pre-war pocket watches must be distinguished carefully from other Glashütte makers and from later re-signed movements.

Sources & references

1. Deutsches Uhrenmuseum literature
2. Published Glashütte trade histories

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.