Hands-On With The A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Time Zone Watch

Wearing an A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Time Zone is one of those treats you get as a watch journalist. This of course applies to all sorts of watches from a plethora of brands but receiving an A. Lange & Söhne is still something special. Even after 16 years of running this magazine, it is still a special moment when you can strap a Lange 1 to your wrist.

The Lange 1 Time Zone has been in the collection since 2005, but last year, in June, A. Lange & Söhne decided it was time to present an update. This new version of the Lange 1 Time Zone has a new movement, featuring a handy feature for indicating daylight saving time. But, of course, this hands-on Lange 1 Time Zone review is not about that new additional function, but, rather, what it is like to wear this watch.

Lange 1 Time Zone

At first sight, nothing much has changed from the previous version of the Lange 1 Time Zone. It is still the same beautifully designed watch, but it now has a few new details on the dial.  I reviewed the platinum version back in 2014, which you can read here. From a visual perspective, the dial underwent a few minor changes due to the new daylight saving indicator. But also the day/night indicators have been relocated on the dial. In the picture below, that we took of the Lange 1 Time Zone in platinum  6 years ago, you can see the small changes.

The day/night indicators for both local and home time are now positioned in the center of each dial. The small gold arrow at 5 o’clock that points to the reference location (city), now has an aperture. If this aperture turns red, it means that this location has a daylight saving time. If that’s the case, you need to add one hour to the time from spring to autumn in the northern hemisphere and from late summer to spring in the southern hemisphere. How is this done? With a little “coding” on the underside of the city disc.

Setting the Time Zone

You’ll see two correctors on the left side of the Lange 1 Time Zone. When you push the corrector at 8 o’clock, the city ring will make a jump to the city in the next time zone (from west to east). Simultaneously, the small hour hand in the sub-dial also advances by one, automatically adjusting your local time.

The large dial shows your home time. When you adjust this display (via the crown) the hands of both the large and small dials move together. As such, when you’re setting up this watch. you need to set the reference city (indicated by the polished rose gold pointer at 5 o’clock) to your home city/time zone. Then you can set the times concurrently. To further distinguish the home (big) and local (small) dials, Lange decided to use Roman numerals for the home time and Arabic numerals for the local time.

If you’re planning on extending your stay in your second (local) time zone, and want to synchronize the main time display to that of the small display, you can. All you have to do is to pull the crown out to the second position (the normal time-setting position) and hold down the 8 o’clock pusher. This decouples the two displays enabling you to set the large time display independently of the small time display. Then, for the smart noses amongst you, you might need to correct the date as well (th date is connected with the time in the large display). Use the pusher at 10 o’clock to do that. Easy peasy.

 L141.1 Movement

All this new functionality is powered by the new in-house developed and manufactured caliber L.141.1. This movement replaces the L031.1. Compared to its predecessor, the L141.1 of the new Lange 1 Time Zone has a 72-hour power reserve using only one barrel. As always, you’ll find some amazing finishing on the movement. Including hand-engraved bridges. Also, you’ll find a screw balance and freely oscillating balance spring.

Caliber L141.1 has an operating frequency of 21,600vph and, as indicated above, a power reserve of three days. As you can see in the pictures above, the finishing and decoration are just breathtaking. The typical 3/4 plate that is the Glashütte signature, is made from German silver. The screwed gold chatons, blue screws, and beautiful artisanal decoration of the movement are part of the joy when wearing (and owning) an A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Time Zone. Or any other Lange watch, to be frank.

On the wrist

The case of the Lange 1 Time Zone has a diameter of 41.9mm and a height of just 10.9mm. It makes this watch very wearable. I really love the pink gold version and am happy Lange was able to supply us with one. The combination of the pink gold and the argenté (silvery) dial is truly stunning. There’s a lot going on the dial, but not for a minute did I feel it was cluttered.

The city ring shows a lot of city names, of course, and then’s there the famous auf (up) and ab (down) as well as the indication it has a 72-hour power reserve. I am not sure I would mind too much if the latter information were excluded, but it is there because it has always been there and so I accept it is part of the traditional Lange aesthtic.

Then, there’s the eternal debate about the big date. Do you prefer a 0 in the left aperture or not? Lange chose not to, and it seems there are people who love it and those who dislike it. I might be in the latter group, but it would never be a dealbreaker for me. The Lange 1 Time Zone is simply a divine watch. Just like in real life, it is often that imperfection that makes things (and persons) beautiful. The same applies here. I love a good imperfection, so in this case, it’s the lack of a 0 on the left date aperture. So be it.

Price and Availability

There are three versions of the Lange 1 Time Zone. There’s this pink gold version I have here (reference 136.032), which carries a retail price of €49,200 (including VAT), and there’s a white gold version with a black dial (reference 136.029) with the same retail price. Then there’s (or was) a version in yellow gold, limited to 100 pieces only (reference 136.021), with a retail price of €52,200. I can definitely say that a Lange 1 (Time Zone) is high on my wish list. I respect the brand a lot and love its watches, the Lange 1 Time Zone would be an amazing travel companion to have.

More information via the official A. Lange & Söhne website here.