Found Three Of The Best Lange 1s Ever Made Are Up For Sale, And Not At One Of The Big Four Auction Houses

Coming up for sale in just a few weeks, and all at the same auction house, are three of the most interesting Lange 1 watches to ever have been made. And that auction house is not Phillips, Christie’s, Sotheby’s, or Antiquorum. They’re coming from Dr. Crott, and they are all awesome.

Let's start at the top. Dr. Crott is offering up what remains to this day the most collectible Lange in the world – a Lange 1 in stainless steel. Until last week, Lange made precisely zero watches in stainless steel, in any series. There were some special cases, and the Lange 1 in steel is likely the only one that ever made it to retailers. They are exceptionally rare – and came with either silver, or more the more rare, but in my eyes less attractive, black dials. This example is just the sixth to ever appear at auction and comes with a pre-sale estimate of € 100,00 to 130,000. The price feels right, considering there are both hammer fees and, very likely, import duties, depending on final destination. 

The 101.026 is one of my favorite watches – and I owned one for many years. It remains one of the best "sleeper" watches of all times, and I'm excited to see how this one does. It's the first to appear on the market in some time, and dates to 1998, coming through a German retailer. We don't know exactly how many were made – though it's generally thought to be 20 pieces – and they represent such an interesting time for Lange, and one of the most wearable "super" watches one can imagine. Have a look here.

This, my friends, is my absolute favorite Lange 1 of all time. Before we get into why, I have to say that I have owned one of these since it was new, and will absolutely, positively never sell it. The 101.050 was introduced with hushed breath in the fall of 2015. This was after, of course, the new Lange 1, a with completely redesigned caliber, was shown at the SIHH of 2015. There is very little about this reference online because collectors were asked not to speak about it, but SJX does have a nice post on it here.

The watch is basically the ultimate Lange 1, in that it is cased in honey gold, which is a proprietary alloy that sits between yellow and rose gold, but with a hardness that is dramatically more ding-resistant than normal gold. Honey gold was first used in 2010 by Lange and has since then been used regularly, but sparingly. To me, it is the quintessential Lange material, and one that I just adore. These watches are the very last to use the original Lange 1 caliber, but these are far more elaborately finished than any other Lange 1 in production history. The German silver three-quarter plates here are frosted, while details are hand engraved, much like you’d find on the balance cock of any Lange. Finally, on the dial side, you have a far more complex dial with a granular finish, and recessed sub-registers. 

Ultimately, reference 101.050, with its proprietary case material, final use of original Lange 1 caliber but finished to a much higher degree, plus the fact that it is limited to just 20 pieces for the world, and that it was launched under a veil of secrecy, make this an incredibly compelling and rare modern watch. In many ways, the 101.050 feels like it anticipates the "Handwerkunst" category of Lange watches, which, for many years were considered the pinnacle of Lange watchmaking. It is certainly the most “hand-made” of any Lange 1s to date, and its estimate is set to 66k-76k euro. You can see it here.

The final Lange 1 from Dr. Crott’s upcoming auctions is actually in a separate sale from the other two – an all online sale, taking place the next day. But don't think this one is any less special, though it should sell for significantly less than the other two. This is the Lange 1 reference 101.001, or, the very first Lange 1 reference. And for the uninitiated, that means this ur-Lange 1 has a solid caseback. 

Yup, several of the original batch of the Lange 1 watches came with screwed down solid gold casebacks! These watches are quite rare and interesting, because they are generally very early production watches – the watch at Crott, for example, features movement number 53. It was sold on December 23, 1994 – less than two months after Lange was re-born, at Wempe in Germany. Now some might say "why buy a Lange when you can't see the best part?" And that’s fair enough. But this watch likely will appeal to the more advanced collector that is looking for early production watches from the brand’s great formative years. It is expected to sell for between 10 and 15,000 euros. You may see it here.

While all of these three Lange 1s above were created before the 2015 change-over, it's worth noting how much more refined the current model is than these earlier watches, technically speaking (also, it features a thinner movement, which most people do not know). As only he can, Jack wrote a detailed look comparing the old versus the new Lange 1s, and as you'll read, there is a lot to love both ways. Have a read here.