he year 2022 marks the debut of the redesigned Grand Lange 1 with a grey dial and even more elegant proportions. Available in 18-carat white or pink gold, it has a diameter of 41 millimetres and is just 8.2 millimetres high.

The brand-new Grand Lange 1 reflects A. Lange & Söhne’s ambition to achieve ever-new milestones in horology. Its true grandeur comes to the fore not only with a case diameter of 41 millimetres, but also in numerous remarkable details. Since 2003, it has been an integral component of the watch collection and was endowed with its own movement in 2012: the latest version of the Grand Lange 1 features an elegantly reworked design.

The new model excels with a reduced height of 8.2 millimetres. This allows the watch to snugly embrace the wrist and fit under any cuff. The strict asymmetry of the dial adds extra appeal. The off-centre display of the time includes the Lange outsize date in a gold-framed double aperture, a power-reserve indicator with the characteristic “UP/DOWN” inscription, recessed subsidiary dials with concentric lines and flat appliques.

Gently bevelled chamfers assure balanced transitions from the subsidiary dials to the granularly textured main dial. This allows high-contrast highlighting of the hands, the Roman numerals and the lozenge-shaped markers in white or pink gold. The resulting dial is remarkably vivid, exquisitely modelled, and elegant.

To match the respective gold hue, the white-gold version of the timepiece comes with a black leather strap and the pink-gold model is paired with a red-brown leather strap. The quality artisanship extends to the carefully polished prong buckle in white or pink gold. This makes the Grand Lange 1 an ideal dress watch in which noble understatement and exciting design come together as a coordinated whole.

The proven manually wound calibre L095.1 powers the new Grand Lange 1 as well. Due to the enlarged proportions relative to the Lange 1 with hand arbors slightly shifted outward, it respects the model family’s design code down to the smallest detail. Contrary to the Lange 1, it has only one mainspring barrel instead of a double barrel with two stacked mainsprings. But thanks to the larger diameter, it also achieves a maximum power reserve of 72 hours.

The movement, assembled twice, can be admired through the sapphire-crystal caseback. It consists of 397 parts that are elaborately finished by hand, even though they are then concealed beneath the three-quarter plate that is made of untreated German silver and decorated with Glashütte ribbing. Seven of the 42 ruby-red bearing jewels in the movement are seated in mirror-polished gold chatons secured with blued screws.

The carefully orchestrated interaction of the various materials and finishes produces a fascinating myriad of colours. The finishing touch is the oscillation system with the classic screw balance and the Lange balance spring. It is located beneath the hand-engraved balance cock that graces every A. Lange & Söhne watch with an artistic signature and makes it unique.