An Exploration of Saxony Watch Making in Dresden, Germany

An Exploration of Saxony Watch Making – Day 2: A Tour of the A. Lange &

Söhne Factory in Glashütte, Germany

March 13, 2008

After a good night’s sleep it was time to head up to the sixth floor and sample the QF Hotel’s breakfast buffet – I was not disappointed in the least:

 During breakfast, I got to meet one of my fellow watch journalists who had traveled from Singapore for the Lange event – “JAW” who is the publisher of REVOLUTION magazine and owns the watch discussion site Horomundi. Much to my surprise, he recognized who I was and joined me for breakfast.

After a good breakfast and nice chat with JAW, I headed down to the lobby and myself and a couple of other journalists were taken to the small town of Glashütte, Germany which is the seat of Saxony watch making. Glashütte Original, Nomos, and several other German watch companies are located up in the mountains of this small town in Germany. It’s about a 30-40 minute drive from Dresden to Glashütte, mostly along winding country roads.

Finally we arrive to the A. Lange & Shne factory and headquarters in Glashütte:

Getting out of the car, I spot Nomos which is right across the street, and Glashüttee Original is on the same side of the street as Lange with its headquarters right next door to one of Lange’s buildings…that’s how small the town of Glashütte really is!

 Myself and the other journalists head into Lange’s headquarters:

 At this point, We were greeted by Lange’s PR representative who was to be our guide on the factory tour. But the first order of business for me was to “suit up” into my lil’ watch maker’s coat before entering the “clean rooms” of the factory:

 We got the opportunity to observe every aspect of the movement manufacturing process. Just like every other high end watch maker, Lange does incorporate automated machines in manufacturing the base plates and components in their movements. The didn’t allow me to take photos of these machines because they are concerned that people won’t think their watches are “hand-made” when they see the machines. However, I can assure you master craftsmen are integral throughout the entire process. Here we see watch makers working in various departments to finish/decorate, assemble, and test Lange movements:

 Here’s an example of components which are cut out by precision CNC machines:

 But someone like this does the finishing and assembly:

 It takes a true artist to do the engraving work you see on a Lange movement:

 Before it leaves the factory, every movement is assembled, tested, then disassembled, tested again, and re-assembled:

 Here’s a very special movement component to their brand new model…but I’m not allowed to tell you ALL about it until after March 31st…know what it is?

 Many are often surprised at how many women work in watch making. Perhaps it is their smaller fingers which make them well suited for the task…or the patience they develop from dealing with men. 🙂

After the factory tour, we got to view some of the museum collection pieces which are currently located at Lange’s headquarters until construction is completed on the watch and clock museum:

 The tour was absolutely fantastic – we all learned a great deal about Lange and very much enjoyed ourselves in the process. Afterwards we were taken back to Dresden for lunch at Piazza Nova, which is only a few doors down from the QF Hotel:

 We were joined by several Lange staff, as well as Walter Lange himself:

 After a fantastic lunch (I enjoyed the canonoli followed by some tiramisu) we had some free time before the main dinner event later in the evening to site see and explore. My first stop was to the famous “Green Vault” of Dresden.

 The Green Vault is a museum that contains one of the largest collections of treasures in Europe -it’s a marvelous tour of treasures and antiquities collected by the various kings of Saxony – marvelous artifacts made from the finest amber, ivory, wood carvings, silver, and jewels were on display – it was absolutely breathtaking! I couldn’t take any photos inside but I did purchase a DVD in the gift shop so my family could see for themselves. Here’s a photo of the entrance:

 After the Green Vault, I had just enough time before dinner to hit the “Old Masters” collection of paintings, with paintings of Rubens, Canaletto, Raphael and many others which is housed in one of the many wings of the famous “Zwinger” palace – oddly enough, I was allowed (for three extra Euros) to take photos, so here’s a sample of what I saw:

 A shot of the beautiful interior courtyard of the Zwinger:

 I wondered around for what seemed like hours from room to room – each one filled with priceless works of art. After seeing the Old Masters paintings, I hurried back to the QF Hotel to change for the dinner party which would be the main event for Lange to unveil their latest horological masterpiece – the much speculated A Lange & Sohne Cabaret Tourbillon. Again, there is a press embargo on the piece until after the 31st of March…but I can tease a bit can’t I?

Here’s some shots from the dinner party, which was held in the ” Mathematisch-Physikalischer ” Salon of the Zwinger. The Salon is officially closed until 2010 for renovations, but I guess if you’re A Lange & Sohne you can pull a few strings to make such a marvelous location for a dinner party available. 😉 The party was an international gathering of some of the most powerful and prominent in the watch trade publishing industry – I met journalists from Japan, Italy, Spain, Hong Kong, Singapore, and of course from Germany. I was the sole representative from the US:

 A sunset view of the Zwinger court yard:

 Of course, Walter Lange was in attendance:

 After about an hour of “schmoozing” at the pre-dinner cocktail party, Lange CEO Fabian Krone kicked off the introduction of the Cabaret Tourbillon:

 We were then given some detail explanations on the new Cabaret Tourbillon. Gosh, I wish I could tell you everything I learned, but there’s a press embargo until 3/31….come back to this page on March 31st. 🙂

After the extensive education we were given, it was time to unveil the new timepiece:

Sorry I can’t show you what’s behind the glass just yet. 🙂 After the unveiling, we moved on to the banquet hall:

I found my seat at the table:

Hmmm…let’s see what’s on the menu:

Each course had at least one of my favorite culinary delights…caviar, steak tartar, lobster, veal…it was most exquisite. And prepared by a marvelously talented chef…I’m told he is known as the youngest chef in Europe to have ever received his first star. After dinner, they broke out the port and cigars, but since I don’t drink or smoke, I left the party a bit early and headed back to the hotel. It was a most enjoyable conclusion to quite an eventful day. Stay tuned for Part III of this trip report as I rise bright and early the next day to head back to Glashtte for a factory tour at Glashtte Original.

*All text and images contained in this review are the original work of the author, John B. Holbrook, II and are copyright protected. Use of any of the information or images without the permission of the author is prohibited.