A. Lange & Söhne says its Glashütte manufacture develops, crafts, finishes and assembles its calibres in-house. Its most distinctive stated practice is a twofold assembly: the movement is assembled and adjusted, taken apart so its components can be cleaned and finished, and then assembled again before casing and final testing. This is the company’s account of its process, not an independent factory audit.
What “manufacture” means at A. Lange & Söhne
The brand says all its calibres are developed, crafted, finished and assembled at its manufacture in Glashütte. That describes A. Lange & Söhne’s own approach; “manufacture movement” is not a universal certification with one generally protected definition. The company says it has introduced more than 70 calibres since its re-establishment in 1990, but its page does not state when that cumulative figure was published. A. Lange & Söhne: Manufacture and A. Lange & Söhne: Calibre development.
How the movement moves from design to final test
1. Calibre development and component making
A. Lange & Söhne says its calibre engineers develop movements for the manufacture, whose teams craft the parts. The company’s public description does not lay out a complete design-to-production workflow, so it is best understood as an overview rather than a step-by-step account of every engineering decision.
2. First assembly and adjustment
Watchmakers initially assemble the movement, bringing individual parts together through subassemblies. The brand’s Richard Lange Tourbillon Pour le Mérite example illustrates specialist assembly work. At this stage, the movement is also adjusted before it is taken apart again. A. Lange & Söhne: The twofold assembly.
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3. Disassembly, cleaning and finishing
After the first assembly and adjustment, the movement is dismantled. The brand says its illustrated process includes ultrasonic cleaning before the components are finished and the final assembly begins. As the company puts it, “Instead, the movement is entirely taken apart again.”
4. Final assembly and lubrication
In the example on its twofold-assembly page, the movement is assembled again with details including a three-quarter plate with Glashütte ribbing, polished gold chatons and thermally blued screws. A. Lange & Söhne says lubrication is applied at more than 50 oil sinks and bearing points, using up to eight different oils and greases. These figures describe the company’s account of the illustrated process; the page does not establish that every calibre uses precisely the same arrangement.
5. Casing and final testing
Once final assembly is complete, the movement is cased and put through a precision and function test. The company says its illustrated example can spend several weeks in this final check. That duration is not stated as a standard for every model.
Why the finishing matters—even where you cannot see it
A. Lange & Söhne says it finishes components whether or not they will be visible through the sapphire caseback. Named techniques include ribbing, solarisation, circumferential graining, flat polishing, black polishing and chamfering. The methods create different surface effects; they are not simply decoration reserved for the parts on display. A. Lange & Söhne: Finishing.
- Flat polishing: The brand says polishing selected components can take up to two hours.
- Black polishing: Selected parts can take several days, according to the company.
These are technique-specific examples for selected components, not timings for every part or every watch.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the Tourbillon Pour le Mérite example tells you
The Richard Lange Tourbillon Pour le Mérite provides a sense of the complexity involved in one particular construction. A. Lange & Söhne describes its chain as having more than 600 parts and its tourbillon as comprising 84 parts and weighing one-quarter gram. Those numbers belong to this model example; they should not be treated as specifications for the brand’s movements generally. A. Lange & Söhne: The twofold assembly.
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Can you visit the A. Lange & Söhne factory?
Glashütte’s municipal tourism site identifies the German Clock and Watch Museum as a public attraction for learning about the town’s watchmaking history, and the tourism office publishes visitor information and hours. Those public visitor resources do not establish that A. Lange & Söhne offers factory tours. Check directly with the brand for current access or booking information rather than assuming that a factory visit is available. Glashütte tourism: German Clock and Watch Museum; Glashütte visitor information.
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