A.Lange & Söhne opens store in Hong Kong
By MyWatch
As of June, watch connoisseurs in the metropolitan area as well as neighbouring Mainland China can experience the works of art bearing the quality seal “Made in Germany” in Asia’s major luxury hub.
Anyone who has visited the Lange manufactory and has been able to look over the shoulders of the master watchmakers while they carry out their intricate work knows how much craftsmanship, precision and above all passion go into the timepieces bearing the signature “A. Lange & Söhne”. However, it is a long way from Hong Kong to the idyllic watchmaker’s town of Glashütte, not far from the gates of Saxony’s baroque capital Dresden. Given that the connoisseurs in the metropolitan area have had the pleasure of enjoying the outstanding creations of A. Lange & Söhne at the brand’s authorized dealers in Hong Kong since 1997, the new A. Lange & Söhne boutique in Hong Kong intends to bring the precision, quality and ambience of traditional German watchmaking even closer, and in a more in-depth manner, to its customers.
A. Lange & Söhne Hong Kong, an exclusive world of experiences on a smaller scale, was opened in mid June in the heart of the luxury hub of Hong Kong at Shop G11, 1881 Heritage, Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon – a place where time is at home and where visitors are invited to encounter the history and philosophy of Lange watchmaking artistry. According to Franck Giacobini, Managing Director of A. Lange & Söhne for the Asia Pacific region, “A. Lange & Söhne timepieces are well received among the watch collectors, connoisseurs and watch aficionados in Hong Kong, hence China.” To him “the opening of A. Lange & Söhne’s first mono-brand store in Hong Kong is a step to further enhance the brand’s image and the relationship with its ever increasing number of fans in the region”.
The mechanical works of art produced by A. Lange & Söhne with their unique attributes are linked to the great heyday of a family business founded in 1845 by Dresden watchmaker Ferdinand A. Lange. Back then, Lange crafted pocket watches of exceptional quality that were coveted the world over. Nowadays, they are sought after rarities that fetch top prices at auctions. However, the family business was expropriated in the aftermath of World War II, with the brand name disappearing from the dials of watches to become a legend in collectors’ circles. It was only after German reunification – four decades later – that Walter Lange, the great-grandson of Ferdinand A. Lange, was able to resume the work of his forefathers. In the meantime, A. Lange & Söhne has again taken up a leading position in precision watchmaking and holds its own against the most famous Swiss luxury watch brands. Since the company was re-established, Lange’s master watchmakers have been painstakingly making wristwatches by hand exclusively in solid gold and platinum cases. Only a few thousand timepieces of perfect quality, equipped with exclusive manufactory calibres, leave the Lange workshops each year. In the past two decades, A. Lange & Söhne has presented 40 in-house developed manufacture movements. These include the iconic LANGE 1 with its decentralized dial design and patented outsize date, the TOURBOGRAPH “Pour le Mérite”, which is limited to 101 watches and unites three grand complications at the same time: a tourbillon, a rattrapante chronograph, and a fusée-and-chain transmission, and the LANGE ZEITWERK with a mechanical, precisely jumping hour and minute indication of singular clarity that has won numerous international product awards.
Like the store in Dresden, A. Lange & Söhne Hong Kong also reflects the personality of the brand shaped by the motto “state-of-the-art tradition”. The furnishings and ambiance embody the same spirit of perfect craftsmanship and technological innovation expressed in the watches of A. Lange & Söhne. Lange’s leitmotif is reflected in almost every detail of the sales rooms: the coffered walls in typical Lange grey create a pleasant contrast to the indigenous acacia wood. The design conceals the latest in communication, presentation and security technology. The display cabinets are made from a light transmitting concrete, and light-coloured sandstone was selected for the floors – the same material used to construct so many buildings in Dresden. However, it is the art of watchmaking that takes centre stage here: almost the entire collection of elaborately crafted timepieces from Saxony can be experienced first-hand at A. Lange & Söhne Hong Kong.
