A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Outsize Date

Where does one turn when the typical, minimalist dress watch fails to inspire? To A. Lange & Söhne, of course. 

The Glashütte-based manufacture is world-famous for its absurdly beautiful, complicated timepieces, but their simpler watches are similarly the pinnacle of elegance. This Saxonia Ref. 105.021, with its large case and distinctly Saxon, oversized date complication, sits somewhere in the middle. 

Executed in understated yellow gold and housed in a 34mm case, this particular example is compact and subtle, making it a perfect under-the-radar companion. Dating to the late ‘90s/early 2000s, it features a satin silver dial with applied, diamond-shaped yellow gold indices and subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock, plus a matching alpha handset. Of course, what makes this particular model stand out is the oversized “digital” date complication below the 12 o’clock marker, controlled via a pusher at 10 o’clock — a holdover from the simply unbeatable Lange 1, which debuted in 1994. 

With its sapphire crystal and display case back, 18k yellow gold signed crown, polished matching bezel, and black alligator leather strap with signed 18k yellow gold pin buckle, this Saxonia is the type of watch that — at least aesthetically — pairs well with everything from a t-shirt to a tuxedo. (Though, to be fair, we might opt for something less precious while wearing a t-shirt!) The beautifully finished, in-house Calibre L941.3 ain’t bad to look at, either. 

There’s nothing wrong with a classic dress watch from a member of the “Holy Trinity.” But for a modern stunner in excellent condition, this Saxonia is simply unbeatable.

Try it on for size! 

For Germany, Reunification represented a renaissance of sorts for a country that had been rent asunder by the Cold War. And for A. Lange & Söhne, whom fate had situated on the Eastern side of the Iron Curtain, it was indeed a rebirth.

Lange was founded in Glashütte in 1845, and its first century was truly a golden age. The brand imbued its products with a care and an attention to detail that brought worldwide renown. Its pocket watches, in particular, gained high marks in competition and saw use on the railroads of Europe.

But the coming of World War II and the subsequent Soviet occupation saw that golden age come to an end. The Soviet authorities expropriated the company in 1948 — the factory was shuttered, and the once-shining name of A. Lange & Söhne nearly faded into obscurity. That is, until 1990, when Walter Lange — great-grandson of the founder, Ferdinand A. Lange — resurrected his family’s old company and brought it to prominence once more.

Armed with Ferdinand Lange’s journal, Walter Lange sketched a watch that would adapt his great-grandfather’s designs to modern tastes, while still keeping an eye firmly on tradition. In the journal, Walter discovered sketches of a clock that Ferdinand designed with his mentor Johann Gutkaes. Commissioned by the Elector of Saxony for the Semperoper House in Dresden, the “Five Minute Clock” was nothing short of revolutionary.

With legibility as their primary concern, Johann Gutkaes and Ferdinand Lange designed a clock that, with its rectangular construction and two counter-rotating drums — one to show the hours, the other the minutes — was essentially the world’s first digital clock. Over one hundred years later, it was that clock that would inspire the modern manufacture’s first watch post-Reunification.

In 1992, Walter Lange filed a patent for a big date window, similar in style to the clock in the opera house. Two years later, it would appear on the Lange 1. Without question the firm’s flagship model, it features a big date function as its hallmark. Though found in watches like the Zeitwerk or the Langematik Sax-O-Mat, it’s in the Lange 1 that the big date is used to the greatest effect. Alongside other details such as asymmetrical sub-dials depicting the hours and sub-seconds, and the A. Lange & Söhne signature with its famous ampersand, it shows a clarity of vision that is wholly Lange.

Subsequent models — no less innovative — have only further cemented the brand’s footing as one of the most refined and fascinating watchmakers in business today. From the ludicrously complicated Zeitwerk to the elegant Saxonia to the recent Odysseus dive watch, Lange & Söhne is committed to pushing the horological envelope and reestablishing Germany as foremost amongst the world’s centers of watchmaking innovation.

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