A. Lange & Sohne 1815 Up/Down 234.032 Rose Gold

This watch is in excellent condition, with light marks only.

Watch comes with box, outer box, box slip, booklets, warranty book.

The A. Lange & Söhne 1815 family contains the brand's most classic and traditionally pure designs. Initially released in the famous Tourbillon format, it was notably different from the other three watches launched in 1994. Instead of applied gold markers and numerals, it featured a printed dial with Arabic numerals. The first time-only references were introduced later in 1995, and offered a compelling alternative to the slightly more minimalist Saxonia.

The Lange Up/Down is a dial layout that shows the movement's power reserve at 8 o'clock and the sub-seconds at 4 o'clock. The result is an aesthetically pleasing symmetrical design, and was inspired by a design patented by the company in 1879.

A. LANGE & SÖHNE

From the ashes of the Cold War, A. Lange & Söhne's relaunch in 1994 reintroduced the world to both the brand and the concept of fine German watchmaking. When its first four watches debuted, they formed the crest of a resurgent wave of high-end watchmaking. This period marked the high tide of the watchmaking renaissance that began in the late 1970s as a response to the Quartz Crisis. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Lange has since gone from strength to strength, building up a highly-focused range of watches that show off its signature complications and Teutonic aesthetics.

While other brands look to their own history for inspiration, Lange takes a broader view. The brand prides itself in being a thought leader, being one of the first manufactures to produce an in-house manually wound chronograph from scratch a full decade before Patek Philippe. At the same time, Lange also draws design cues from its surroundings, with the most famous example being the "outsized date" window being inspired by the Five-Minute Clock at the Semper Opera House in Dresden.

This unique combination gives Lange a unique position. While the brand is part of a large luxury group and produces more watches than the highly-revered independent watchmakers, Lange collectors are arguably more passionate than their contemporaries who focus on other brands. The brand's positioning as a challenger while adhering to traditional watchmaking created an alluring combination that managed to excite even the most cynical of collectors, and continues to do so over 25 years after its revival.