RECENTLY SOLD
151.001
A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 "Wellendorff" Closed Back 151.001
Year
1995
Reference
151.001
Case Material
Yellow Gold
Case Size
38.5 × 9.8 mm
Movement
L901.0
Dial
Champagné
Condition
Good — Unpolished
Scope
Original box and papers
Notes
On integrated Wellendorff bracelet; solid (closed) case back
Price
-
Lange 1 "Wellendorff" Closed Back — 151.001
The Lange 1 was unveiled at Dresden Castle on October 24, 1994, one of the four watches in A. Lange & Söhne's first modern collection, and all 123 pieces made that night sold within minutes. The very first Lange 1, reference 101.001, was built with a solid gold case back. Lange hid the movement behind a thick disc of gold, as was still the norm in 1994. A transparent, sapphire-backed version followed barely a year later, and from that point on, the closed-back Lange 1 became the shorter, rarer chapter of the reference's story.
This is reference 151.001, a solid-back Lange 1 from 1995. What sets it apart further is the bracelet: an integrated Wellendorff, the same Pforzheim jeweler with ties back to Walter Lange's own family background, and the reason a handful of early Lange pieces left the manufacture already fitted to a bracelet rather than a strap. Closed-back examples are scarce enough on their own; one built for a Wellendorff bracelet from this early in the run is a genuinely uncommon combination.
The dial is the classic 101.001 execution: a champagne dial with a subtly grained surface, diamond-shaped indices with mirror-polished facets under a millimeter wide, and sub-dials finished with concentric circles. The hour/minute register alone is said to carry over 150 of them. It's a dial built on the rule of thirds, every element placed with almost mathematical intent, and the champagne in these early editions remains fiercely stark compared to today's slightly more faded tone.
Inside is the caliber L901.0, the first movement built by the modern A. Lange & Söhne, sketched in 1990 around a heavily reworked Jaeger-LeCoultre gear train. The first generation ran a Glucydur balance regulated by an index rather than free-sprung, and, crucially, the earliest batches were fitted with a Breguet overcoil balance spring, a detail Lange abandoned after roughly the first 2,000 watches in favor of a flat spring, purely because of how much time the overcoil took to craft by hand.
This example is in good, unpolished condition and comes with its original box and papers. Sold at Langepedia.com.
