SIHH 2018 – Wilhelm Schmid of A. Lange & Söhne, On The New Collection

As with every year it seems, A. Lange & Söhne’s creations are once again the talk of SIHH. Last year, it was the mega Tourbograph Perpetual Pour le Merite (read our hands-on review here.) This year it’s the incredible Triple Split, a truly unique complication that enables you record two separate times of up to twelve hours each! On a more sombre note, this year also marks the one year anniversary of the passing of Mr. Walter Lange (1924-2017), the founder of the modern-day A. Lange & Söhne. We spent some time with A. Lange & Söhne’s CEO, Mr. Wilhelm Schmid, to learn more about this year’s novelties and how the brand is paying tribute to its late founder. 

As Mr. Schmid so eloquently explains in the video above, the focus for Lange this year is two-fold. The first point is to pay tribute to their late founder and beloved industry icon, Mr. Walter Lange. To this end, the Saxon manufacture is enlarging its 1815 collection with the 1815 “Homage to Walter Lange”, comprised of three limited editions in yellow, rose and white gold, and one piece unique in stainless steel. Inside this watch is a surprising and unexpected complication: a stoppable jumping seconds hand that dates back to a 150-year-old invention conceived by Ferdinand Adolph Lange. For all the details, check out our article here.

The other is of course the Triple Split, an exceptionally complex chronograph which led Frank to declare that the previous holder of the title “über-chrono” (A. Lange & Söhne’s Double Split) had been surpassed. Not surprisingly it is also Mr. Schmid’s personal favourite and you can see the immense pride on his face when talking about the successful execution of this watch. As well he should be proud, what an exceptional achievement! You’re definitely going to want to read that in-depth review, we promise you. That will come later though, so for now, we hope you continue to enjoy our coverage of SIHH 2018.