Lange watches stay the course
The upscale German brand continues to produce its timepieces in precious metals, gold and platinum
IS A Lange & Sohne going to make more mechanical watches in steel?
It is a question this writer was dying to ask, when offered the chance recently to once again interview the chief executive officer (CEO) of the upscale German watch brand. He was visiting the Asian market after staying away for three years, because of Covid-19.
The last time we met, Wilhelm Schmid restated what he told me in a previous interview: Lange would stick to tradition and continue to produce most of its watches in precious metals, gold and platinum. Stainless steel would be kept to a minimum – only in timepieces commemorating special occasions.
The brand did exactly that in 2018, with its unique 1815 model in a steel case, a sole piece created to honour Walter Lange, who died the year before.
A scion of the brand’s founder F A Lange, Walter Lange had revived the brand in 1990, after it fell dormant in World War II. The “Homage to Walter Lange” in steel was sold at an auction for US$852,525. The proceeds went to a children’s charity.
Till 2019, there was no question that steel Lange watches were rare. Then came the Odysseus, an all-steel sports watch, including the bracelet. Another Odysseus model followed two years later. Though this had a rubber strap, a first for the brand, it hardly raised an eyebrow. The case was in white gold. Perhaps the first Odysseus in steel was an aberration from its only-precious-metal stricture, or so it was thought.
Lange next rolled out another Odysseus model with a non-precious metal case early this year, this time in titanium.
No change
Schmid, who flew in from Dresden where he is based, again reassured me that there has been no change in Lange’s policy; its timepieces would still be made largely in gold and platinum. Non-precious metals, including steel, would be confined to the Odysseus range.
“It’s exactly why we launched the Odysseus; it is our playground,” he said. “So titanium, we’ll do on the Odysseus, (but) not on other families. We will not, despite the Lange 1 we produced in the 90s (in steel), come out with a Lange 1 steel.” Ditto for the Zeitwerk, Saxonia, 1815 and Richard Lange collections.
The Lange 1 and latter collections were collections launched when Schmid was still working at BMW. Many Lange fans would be relieved to hear they would not be messed with.
New models in the Lange 1, Saxonia, 1815, Zeitwerk and Richard Lange collections continued to appear in precious metals. They have made up most of the new watches rolled out so far this year – four in five, according to the tally: the 1815 Rattrapante and Richard Lange Minute Repeater, both in platinum; Grand Lange 1 in white and pink gold; and even the one-off 1815 Chronograph “Hampton Court” for charity was in white gold. Only the Odysseus was forged in a non-precious metal.
It would be tempting to churn out more steel timepieces. The demand for Patek Philippe’s Nautilus, Audemars’ Piguet Royal Oak and Rolex’s Daytona – all steel watches with matching integrated steel bracelets – has shot through the roof in the past two years. The market frenzy for such timepieces has sent prices soaring in the grey market to many times the authorised retail price.
Wannabes like the Odysseus and H. Moser & Cie’s Streamliner have also been riding the wave of the demand. And while the market is said to have softened recently, demand still far exceeds supply to sustain the higher prices in the secondary market.
But Lange has not fallen to the temptation to cash in on the situation. Schmid said it would be “opportunistic” if it did. “Is that really us?”
Anyway, he indicated, there is more than enough demand to keep Lange busy for some time – even if the recession many economists have predicted kicks in next year.
“If demand drops a little, who cares? My demand today’s twice as high as what I can produce and (if) it drops by 50 per cent, it’s still 50 per cent higher than what I can produce.”
He is clearly mindful of protecting Lange’s name. After having been around for 177 years, the brand is rich in watchmaking heritage. Schmid, who has run the company for nearly 12 years, aims not only to preserve Lange’s prestigious reputation, but to also build on it.
There would be no dilution of the existing collections’ value, by adding more. The Odysseus is an exception because Lange customers have wanted a Lange sports collection for a long time, he said.
Besides, he added, he already has his hands full with the existing 6 collections, including Odysseus. “(They) pretty much cover everything we potentially need… (They) express all (the) design languages that are good for us.”
The experience of brands with a long history and strong legacy has shown that true watch fans dislike radical changes. The Lange CEO would also have known to not rock the boat too hard, especially at a time when the loyalty of Lange fans is being tested on a front that requires urgent attention – the current supply shortage born of excess demand, a problem compounded in the past two years by Covid.
Not everyone who walks into a Lange boutique is a genuine customer, Schmid said.
Some are opportunists looking to make a quick buck by flipping a hot model they bought in the bullish resale market. It is a big challenge to tell one from another – and sell only to watch lovers who buy for keeps. If the watches are sold to speculators, long-term customers would soon cut loose their loyalty to the brand.
Lange’s headache has grown, following a recent consolidation that led it to bypass middlemen and sell directly to customers.
The move was necessary because demand has so overwhelmed supply that there aren’t enough watches to go around for the authorised resellers, said Schmid.
In Singapore, Lange has dropped its wholesale partner Sincere Watch, slashing points of sale for Lange timepieces from six to one.
To get up close and personal with customers is a good thing, but the problem remains: Who among those stepping into the boutique are the real buyers?
“We don’t know who are the customers who bought from our wholesale partners when they now come to us, because the wholesale partner has not shared the data,” Schmid said.
He hopes to fix this issue in the next two years, but he cannot do anything about the supply situation. “I don’t have a fall-back plan,” he said.
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