The State of A. Lange & Söhne in 2025: A Horological Powerhouse Evolving
Does Lange still hold the Saxon crown?
I thought it fitting that my first post would be about this powerhouse of a brand. I won’t go over the history or heritage of A. Lange & Sohne (Lange from now on!), that is well documented by people that can do a much better job than I (click here to watch Alp Server’s excellent video series). Instead I want to focus on the brand today, the positioning, reputation, missteps taken over the last few years and what the future may look like.
I am not affiliated with any brands, I have nothing to sell and they don’t pays my bills. So you can expect an honest and transparent deep dive into the state of Lange in 2025.
Brand Positioning in 2025
Among collectors, A. Lange & Söhne has always held a distinctive position—less flashy than its Swiss peers, yet arguably more revered in circles where craft trumps clout. It has built this reputation by making ‘quiet’, yet luxurious watches that perhaps the average non enthusiast wouldn’t look twice at, but as soon as you handled one, you could immediately tell the quality. Gunther Blumlein likened handling a Lange to closing the door of a Mercedes, it had a heft, luxury and quality that gave you an immediate satisfaction.
It is clear that Lange is positioning itself in the high horology category, up there amongst Patek, AP and Vacheron Constantin. There is well deserved argument that perhaps the quality and exclusivity of Lange in fact surpasses that of the ‘holy trinity’, who seem to have slipped into making 45mm watches and superhero collaborations (more on them another time).
All is not sunshine and roses across the German border however. CEO Wilhelm Schmid made a decision that Lange would move to a direct to consumer, boutique only method of distribution. With that there have been growing voices of collectors who have reported poor bundling practices, huge losses of previous brand loyalty, poor service experiences and astronomical servicing wait times and costs.
Video from Watches in Singapore about their experience servicing a Lange 1 lumen moon phase.
Retail and Secondary Pricing in 2025
I think the first thing we need to touch on is the current pricing of A. Lange & Sohne. It goes without saying that this is a luxurious brand and the pricing reflects that, however the sheer rapidity of the price increases over the last few years has left collectors flummoxed.
I’m going to take a watch I own as an example- the Lange 1 stealth (platinum) and compare it’s pricing from the 2000s to now.
A Platinum Lange 1 in 2008 would’ve cost you at retail £21,400, in 2015 that had risen to £34,000, an increase of 58.8% within 7 years. In the following 3 years this increased only a further 9% to £37,100. What followed in the next 4 years however was a price increase of a further 50% to its 2023 (and current) MSRP of £55,400.
We should note that there has been no innovation or update to the 2015 model to the current retail price. It’s the same model, same movement, same case. However the price has risen by 63%. Well surely the increased price of platinum can account for some of that? Unfortunately not.
The price of platinum over the last 10 years has remained almost static. What we have seen is Lange falling prey to the same trap that has plagued many companies- most notably Richemont group companies like IWC, JLC, Panerai and VC- they hiked their prices so much when times were good during the Covid period in an attempt to increase profit margins.
This has however disillusioned collectors who are now seeing their new watches drop as much as 60% in price as soon as they walk out of the boutique. I understand that most Lange collectors will be high net worth individuals- but this will not be tolerated for too long by their core client base, most of whom will turn instead to the secondary market to buy their watches, or turn to brands that can guarantee better value for money.
So talking about the secondary market…surely that’s doing great? Not quite.
There has been a steady decline in secondary market prices for all Lange watches over the last two years and unfortunately there is no end in sight for the decline. Looking at three of the most popular models, the stainless steel Odysseus, Platinum Datograph and Lange 1, the losses over the last 12 months are huge.
With the rise in retail price, and the huge losses on the secondary market the price disparity between new and secondary is just growing. For full disclosure- I bought the above full set platinum Lange 1 from the excellent Tim at Subdial in March 2025 for £23,000 (Edit: this did say £22k, but I’ve since checked my receipt!), a saving of over £33,000 from the retail price. Even factoring in a Lange service down the line, it makes no sense to buy new (more on servicing later).
The results at auction are another story entirely, and the brand seems to have really lost the pull of high prices for the ‘special pieces’ that once would have smashed through the high estimate and are now barely clearing the low estimate.
Switch to boutique only retail
At some point in 2019/2020 a decision was made from Lange to switch from their long standing authorised dealer network to a boutique only model. This meant that they would end their partnerships with established dealers like Wempe, Cellini etc and they would instead have independent, Lange owned boutiques.
This was done under the guise of wanting to get to know who is buying their watches, but I am sure that the real reason for this is to cut out the middleman and take all the profit themselves.
I mean it makes sense on paper- why would you sell your product to Wempe at 64% of the cost, for them to then sell it on and take up to 36% profit, when you can just have all the profit? Other brands like Audemars Piguet did the same and were enjoying great success- however the main difference between AP and Lange is the client base. The execution from Lange left a lot to be desired, and clients who had spent hundreds of thousands on their watches were told to start again from scratch at a new ‘Lange owned’ boutique.
“You cannot make an omelette without destroying a few eggs”
Wilhelm Schmid, CEO
The CEO of Lange, Mr Schmid was asked about this in the below interview with Ben Clymer, he stated that they needed to know their customers and that there was no better way of doing this. I’m sure this leaves a sour taste in the mouths of those who spent their hard earned cash at Lange ADs in the past and the idea of needing to start from scratch is not acceptable. Remember, the cheapest watch Lange make is £24,000 at retail.
Bundling
There have been accusations that Lange have started the practice of ‘bundling’ with their watches. Plainly stated, this means- asking you to buy some of their ‘less desirable’ watches that are harder to sell and in return they will sell you a ‘more desirable’ watch.
In the interview above Mr Schmid outright denies this happens. I know that is not true, as it has happened to me. I was plainly told that if I bought a watch over £50,000 then I would be allocated a steel Odysseus. How do I feel about that?
Well actually I don’t mind. This practice is employed by almost every brand that has a desirable watch in their catalog- Omega with their snoopy, Rolex with all of their sports watches, Patek with their nautilus/aquanaut, AP with their Royal Oaks. In fact I appreciate the candid approach of knowing what the spend needs to be and the assurance of the allocation. Rolex, AP and Patek do not afford this to their clients who are told to spend, spend, spend and they will get on a list. I think the reason that this ruffled feathers with the Lange community, is this is simply not the traditional Lange way. Lange is a brand that is steeped in history and tradition and bundling does not fit that image.
In all fairness to Lange, it seems that they have listened to this feedback. For their latest 30th anniversary Lange 1 limited editions, anyone could get one if they were still available regardless of spend history with the brand. For this I applaud them, I couldn’t imagine Patek or Rolex taking this approach with a 300 piece anniversary model.
Servicing
This is the last topic I want to touch on, and I think it is the most important.
In 2025 the Lange servicing department is a mess. There are many many reports of poor customer experiences, ranging from the astronomical service costs to the time taken to service the watch.
Costs-
Lange are very transparent with their servicing costs. They publish a PDF (attached below) with all their servicing prices and fair enough it is in a tier system depending on the level of complication of the watch.
What is not so clear however is why customers are getting huge servicing bills from Lange once the watches are received in Glashutte. Lange claim that if a watch is opened by any other watchmaker, regardless if any damage is caused to the movement, the watch then needs a complete restoration and the cost to this can add up.
Here is an example from a customer who sent their time only 1815, and was sent a bill of over £4000. To put it into context, this is 15% of the current retail price of the watch, and probably 40% of the secondary market value of the watch.
I have sympathy with Lange in some regard- these are exquisitely finished, hand made watches, and if they come into the workshop in such a state that they need complete restoration then that’s fine. However a blanket rule that no-one can work on their watches other than them is I think unwarranted, especially given the cost and time.
Time taken for service-
It is not uncommon for a time only watch from Lange to take 6-9 months for a simple service. The thought of spending that length of time without your timepiece which have spent tens of thousands on is not acceptable.
Mr Schmid was asked about this in an interview with Justin Hast (14:30mins onwards):
Excuses given are: time to ship to Germany, polishing/rebuilding the case takes time and that they only have a limited number of watchmakers who are the same ones that build the watches.
I would have liked to see Justin push Wilhelm harder on this. Every other brand faces these challenges and we do not hear the same servicing horror stories coming from across the border in Switzerland.
Frankly, it is unacceptable and this must be sorted out. If they want us to spend £50,000 on a Lange 1, and they view their product and brand worth that, then their customer service has to match the price.
What is going well in 2025?
The product.
A Lange & Sohne still, to me make the best non-independent watches in the business. Their movements are exquisite, the finishing is remarkable and the feeling of a Lange in the hand is like nothing else.
I have been fortunate enough to handle many high end watches, and the build quality of Lange far surpasses anything Patek do at the same price. They employ the same quality and finishing to every single watch- from the Saxonia thin to the new perpetual minute repeater unveiled at this year’s watches and wonders. There are not many brands that can say the same. Patek’s Calatravas are so poorly finished compared to the higher end pieces, and famously Vacheron introduced a tier below their normal watches (fifty-six line) that removed the Geneva seal.
Lange have stuck to their DNA, the case remains the same, the designs and ethos remain the same and they make slow and calculated steps when it comes the design. They still make the same product we all fell in love with, and this makes a huge difference. They did not abandon their core product in search of profits, like Panerai for example. This is important, they do not follow trends and this puts the brand in good stead for the future.
Conclusions
Although this post may seem like it, I am not normally a negative person! I would love nothing more than for Lange to take some steps to correct the errors above, the customer base are important and if your loyal customers abandon you then there will be trouble. Servicing needs to be cheaper and shorter. Some olive branches need to be extended to those customers who spent huge amounts in ADs before the switch to boutique only and although I do not believe a luxury product can lower their prices, they should freeze any price hikes for the foreseeable future.
I continue to love the A Lange & Sohne product, and I will continue to be a collector, this post is written out of love for the brand, and I want to see it do well.
Until next time!
i just bought a 101.025 too! loved my 192.029 so much i realised i must have a second Lange 1 if the first ever ends up in the shop for too long lol. lange is where it’s at, the quibbles are minor.
The impression I get is that they are trying to maximum their profit by putting the squeeze on their customers, customer satisfaction be damned