WHEN A. LANGE & SÖHNE first introduced their Lange 1 in 1994, they did something few new watches manage: it arrived with its own sense of logic. The off-centre dial, oversized date and unusual layout gave the brand a very clear point of view. Daring, for a manufacture re-establishing itself after 50-odd years. The watch was clear in its priorities from the start, with each indication given room, hierarchy and purpose. Much of Lange’s design language since has followed that same idea; the balance between rigour and personality still defining the brand’s best work today.

At Watches and Wonders 2026, Lange has taken that house style in two different directions. The first is the new Saxonia Annual Calendar, offered in white gold with an argenté dial or pink gold with a grey dial. The second is the Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar “Lumen”, a far more complex platinum piece limited to 50 watches. One is compact and elegant, likely to have a much broader appeal. The other is more theatrical in construction, conveying that original Lange 1 spirit.

Saxonia Annual Calendar

The Saxonia duo is the more commercial proposition, and I don’t mean that as a backhanded compliment. This is an undeniably good-looking watch. At 36mm across and 9.8mm thick, it sits in a part of the market that prefers a smart, sensible timepiece that lacks fuss. It’s going to be especially enjoyed by buyers who want a serious calendar watch without committing to an oversized case.

Lange has also made the practical call to use a new self-winding calibre, the L207.1, with a 60-hour power reserve, rather than a manual movement. In an annual calendar, that matters. The watch only needs correcting once a year at the end of February, and Lange has made the system easy to live with through both individual correctors and a pusher at 10 o’clock that advances the calendar indications together.

Just as important is the dial. The day and month displays sit at nine and three, the moon phase and seconds anchor the lower half, and the outsize date keeps the whole thing legible at a glance. It is dense, but never crowded. That is what makes the Saxonia convincing: it does not flatten complexity into minimalism, but organises it properly. Of the two, the pink-gold model with the grey dial is the stronger look.

Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar

Personally, I believe the more striking of the new releases is the Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar “Lumen”. Perhaps because it is the slightly more challenging of the two and continues that original daring that relaunched the maison.

Its 41.9mm platinum case, dark semi-transparent dial and luminous displays give it a sharper presence than the Saxonia, but the real success is how naturally the complications sit within the Lange 1 architecture. The peripheral month ring, retrograde day display, moon phase with integrated day-night indication and stop-seconds tourbillon all fit without disturbing the balance that made the Lange 1 so interesting in the first place.

That is not easy design work. It is also why this watch feels more resolved, maybe. It also benefits from calibre L225.1, a 50-hour power reserve and a moon-phase display accurate to one day’s deviation after 122.6 years. Even the glow serves a purpose, allowing calendar displays to remain legible in low light at night rather than functioning as decoration.

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