A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia

By Michael S. Marsh

It's said that a man's watch reveals his personality. If the sentiment is true, wearing a Saxonia from A. Lange & Söhne would likely paint you as a confident, but modest gentleman, stylish, yet reserved, and as someone who understands that it's not the color of the car, but what's underneath the bonnet that counts most.

At a time when the demand for oversized watches with over-the-top designs grows, A. Lange & Söhne offers the simple elegance and refined class that discerning males still appreciate. There is always room for casual and sporting watches in a man's repertoire, of course, but the Saxonia is more about subtle charm than full-court press.

This year, A. Lange & Söhne has released its "modern interpretation" of the Saxonia, which debuted in 1994. The collection consists of three models—the Saxonia, Saxonia Automatik (pictured) and Grand Saxonia Automatik—and features sleek, understated designs and exclusive Lange manufacture movements that pay tribute to the Saxon artisans of yesteryear and Adolph Lange, the company's patriarch and visionary horologist, who established the company in Dresden, Germany, in1845.

The Saxonia collection is part of what A. Lange & Söhne calls its "new era" of watchmaking. In the final year of the Second World War, the company's factory was leveled during the bombing of Dresden (think Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five). By 1948, the communist regime had seized the company and the brand disappeared into a people's collective. Then, in 1989, the Berlin Wall crumbled, East and West were reunited and the A. Lange & Söhne trademark was reregistered. The comeback was completed with the Saxonia's release.

A. Lange & Söhne's latest version of the Saxonia is manually wound with a 45-hour power reserve. It displays hours, minutes and seconds and is available in yellow, pink or white gold. It retails for $15,100. The Saxonia Automatik, which displays the date and retails for $24,100, and Grand Saxonia Automatik ($21,400) both feature self-winding mechanisms and come in pink or white gold. All of the watches feature an alligator strap.

Visit www.alange-soehne.com.

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