There are objects, designs that never look out of place no matter how serene or how wacky they go. Take a Ferrari Testarossa. Dress it in black, Miami-Vice white, red, yellow, whatever and that car is irresistible. And take the Lange 1. Dress it in yellow gold with champagne dial like in 1994 and it is classic, timeless. Put a mother of pearl dial to it, and it is playful, incredibly charming and young. Slap a metal-looking striped silver façade, and you have something out of watchmaking world, just a design experiment, that somehow still works. Latest example of that came in 2024 for the 30th Anniversary celebrations of the icon – this time with a pitch-black Onyx dial. And my goodness, it made my juices flowing for a Lange 1 once again, after a long-while I must admit.
The full black look is no stranger to Lange enthusiasts. We had the Lange 1 “Darth” about 25 years back with its platinum case, two-tone black dial and black date discs. The Arkade, the Cabaret, Saxonia and a few others… The irresistible platinum / black coupledom started that day and still burns strong to this day. The Darth’s rein did not last too long, and the brand discontinued it after a few years. Only to reincarnate it in possibly the hottest livery of all Handwerkskunsts (or all Lange 1s?) the Lange 1 Tourbillon Handwerkskunst with a black enamel dial.
Ever since (2014), we started to get more Darth, rivaling Disney’s Star-Wars sequels and prequels, deserving the line’s nickname, but none with really an added spice, so to speak. In one of my earliest newsletters, and even in the youtube series A. Lange Story I did in 2021 with the 1916 Company, I strongly mention the need for renewed excitement for the Lange 1 collection and new material use. Mother of Pearl dial Lange 1s are some of my favorite pieces of all time, and it was rather sad to see that spirit go away. The Lange 1 Onyx duo brings that excitement, and even better, signaling that the brand is once again open for such executions!
Beyond the symbolism, the Lange 1 Onyx still stands on the familiar, time-tested architecture of modern Lange cases.
Lange 1 Onyx is fashioned in 38.5 mm in diameter and 10 mm thickness. Whereas the classic collection measures at 9.8 mm in thickness, the added 0.2 mm comes from the stone dial, just like the Lange 1 Soirée collection of the old days. The polished rather thin and domed bezel, brushed band and polished case back ring accompanied by the classic, strong and angular lugs of the brand. Surely one of the defining features of A. Lange & Söhne.
You know, after seeing these cases for more than 15 years, I am still incredibly appreciative of the design. Yes, as few dear friends who are more Patek Philippe focused often criticize it seems like a one hit wonder to use the same design for almost all the collection, but it is just damn beautiful. And with platinum, coupled with that weight, it feels what it shows.
The star however is the Onyx dial.
And unlike the general belief, no this is not the first time Lange utilized Onyx… That came about 20 years ago, with a Cabaret. I’ll share that later.
The onyx on the Lange 1 dial is one piece with sections printed on it and indices applied. Look carefully, and you’ll notice how thinly and delicately the lines were printed to not to disturb the deep glossy look of the flawlessly cut and polished Onyx stone and reveal as much as possible – as if they are almost floating over the sea at night like the Moonlight. Tilt the watch and you see the depth, tilt it again and they are just there gazing at you.
The applied indices just add further depth to the already deep black dial. No lume, no distractions. Just a few hands blending with the black when the light hits right and indices that shine above. It is not about legibility really. When you buy a Mercedes 300SL, you do not buy for comfort or road performance. This is the equivalent of it, just smaller, on the wrist, and ever present.
As you tilt your wrist, sometimes you’ll see the black Onyx transforming into blue. That is AR coating doing its work. At an angle, that dial is going to show up half black / half blue and that is just nice. It is a deeper black than the early 101.035 “Darth”, as if CRT vs OLED.
Apart from its looks, the Lange 1 Onyx matters for another reason, and that is related to the manufacture’s direction.
If you would go to some obscure articles at Langepedia, the articles looking at the early limited editions of the brand from 2000s you are going to see my laments on the experimental spirit of A. Lange & Söhne. From the Lange 1 Soirée to ReferenzUhr, to 1815 Side Step, etc. there is / was a spirit that I miss: Just do something more adventurous for the rather accessible prices, not only for Lumens and Handwerkskunsts.
I believe that spirit is starting to come back. Saxonia Thin “Onyx” is another example of this – and I just hope Lange just didn’t buy an Onyx mine and will do only that until the veins are depleted! I am very much hopeful to see a renewed experimental approach on the dial and bezel designs, materials. Let’s see where we land in a few years!
Turning this gem over, we have the classic Lange 1 movement caliber L121.1. Introduced in 2014 as the first major updated to the early L901.0 based on the JLC train, it is technically far more superior and visually much simpler.
I just love it.
The color spectrum of a Lange movement is out of this world. Golden hue of gold chatons surround the blued screws, which float above the calm waves of German Silver plate. Eventually all flows to the flat polished and partially black escapement wheel cap and swan’s neck regulator with hand-engraving balance bridge. It is just a tremendous architecture.
I must admit, this exemplary work has been around for so many years now, we just take it for granted. Any independent crafting a movement architecture like this today would be rightfully applauded, but with Lange it is standard.
The caliber l121.1 comes with an instantaneous date change, giving a taste of that magnificent click of the Zeitwerk; only once a day.
There is also another quirk. When the power reserve is zero, the seconds’ hand stops exactly at 60 seconds mark for precise setting, so to speak. A zero reset could’ve been nicer, but that would come with a price tag of course, so I am happy to with the current arrangement.
The caseback engravings follow the elegant font on the front. Thin and defined. A delightful detail for nerds is that the cases of these pieces were made by SUG, which sits in Glashütte, not far away from Lange HQ. It just feels more appropriate.
A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Onyx Price / Market
The classic Lange 1 Onyx came with a price tag of $57,400 on October 24th 2024. That is a very, very decent price within the realm of A. Lange & Söhne. Allow me to elaborate.
The classic Lange 1 stealth 191.025 is priced at $56,000. And A. Lange & Söhne is charging about $2,000 premium for the 300 limitation (which is not a small number) and a very special Onyx dial.
If you think about the premium applied to hot pieces when the market was burning during 2020 – 2023, such as the Zeitwerk Lumen premium, or even recently the Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon “Honey Gold” Lumen premium, things make more sense.
After a long while, and I must admit after making quite a few people angry, Lange 1 Onyx represents one of the first special edition pieces of the brand that was open to first-time buyers. No bundle, no history, just first come first served. Merge this with the very decent pricing, the clear message for me is that Lange wants to take care of the new clients and accessible range once again. That is delightful news to me.
Courtesy of @inkedbarrel
Lange 1 Onyx is still fresh to the market and currently seem to be floating just a bit over retail. I suspect that it is going to keep itself quite stable over the next year or so.
300 pieces is not a small number for A. Lange & Söhne, but it is still smaller than many other nicknamed Lange 1 editions, so you can draw your own conclusion.
It represents a new era on design and retail at A. Lange & Söhne, and I am excited for it.