BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
I’ve got to be honest with you, dear reader, that writing this article has got me a little stumped. Although I’ve written about the same watches in different forms before, I don’t believe I’ve ever written about what is essentially the same watch in this level of detail before. You see, at the time of writing, A. Lange & Söhne makes four different versions of the time and date Odysseus and, once I’ve finished writing this piece, I’ll have covered three of those four watches in great detail. So far, the only watches I haven’t reviewed are the Odysseus in 18k white gold. I also haven’t reviewed the Odysseus Chronograph. So here we go, with some trepidation, this is my review of A. Lange & Söhne’s latest Odysseus watch.
Since its launch in 2019, A. Lange & Söhne’s Odysseus has made a name for itself among their already impressive lineup. The Odysseus represents the brand’s first foray into the sport-luxury segment; believe it or not, they hadn’t made a sports watch at all beforehand. Moreso, the first Odysseus was made of stainless steel, a material that had been used by the Saxon brand in very small quantities but which was seen as unfitting for A. Lange & Söhne. Product Director Anthony De Haas told us in a 2016 interview that Günther Blümlein, one half of the team that brought the A. Lange & Söhne name back in the 1990s, considered making some versions of the Lange 1 in stainless steel to be his biggest regret. One wonders what he’d make of the Odysseus today.
If anything, Günther Blümlein is likely to be impressed by the Odysseus not least because this specific version is not made from stainless steel. This version, introduced at Watches & Wonders Geneva earlier this year, is made from 18k Honeygold.
Honeygold is A. Lange & Söhne’s proprietary blend of gold so named because its colour is meant to be closer to that of honey rather than the bright colour gold usually is.
A. Lange & Söhne likes to tell us that Honeygold is particularly difficult to work with, they say that the secret blend of metals used to make the Honeygold alloy has a habit of prematurely destroying their tools thanks to its toughness, thereby showing their commitment to their craft. With that said, they don’t go as far as to claim that Honeygold is anything close to the toughness of stainless steel let alone that of titanium. Indeed, the gold case and bracelet can still be scratched, but they’re perhaps a little less prone to scratching than regular gold.
Let’s stick with talking about Honeygold for a bit longer, partly because of its uniqueness and partly because it’s the only main difference between this watch and the others I’ve been lucky enough to spend time with in the past. In case you didn’t know, according to statisticsijustmadeup.com, the number one reason people buy gold watches on gold bracelets is to flex when they’re out and about, and 18k Honeygold Odysseus could fit the bill quite well.
Under some lights, it takes on a truly rosy appearance which is only completed by the fact it comes on a gold bracelet rather than a strap. It blends with the little bit of tan I’ve gotten on my arm very well indeed.
However, under other lights and as you’ll see from some of the photos, the rosiness of the Honeygold alloy seems to disappear and it almost looks like white gold. Almost. It still has a muted hue to it, but it’s there, especially when the watch is on your wrist.
Speaking of the wearability of the Odysseus in 18k Honeygold, it’s pretty darned comfortable. A part of this watch’s design has always focused on comfort, for example, the bracelet has wide links near the watch head to spread its mass.
Also, as with the stainless steel and titanium Odysseus models, the bracelet has a rapid adjustment system built into the clasp, the circle bearing the A. Lange & Söhne name is also a button which allows you to expand the bracelet should your wrist need a little more room.
It also helps that, at 40.5mm x 11.1mm, the watch is perfectly sized for most wrists.
The only thing I will mention here is that, as the watch is made of the Honeygold blend, it’s heavy. I measured it at 251g on our VSS (Very Scientific (Kitchen) Scales), which makes it the second heaviest watch I’ve reviewed. I should add that I haven’t weighed any comparably sized watches on gold bracelets. The heaviest watch on my spreadsheet where I record this stuff, the absurd 18k yellow gold Rolex Deepsea, weighs 320g.
The next heaviest watch from A. Lange & Söhne I’ve reviewed is the Lange 31 in 18k white gold, which weighed in at 239 grams, but the difference is that the Odysseus’ case is smaller and its mass is distributed to the gold bracelet as well. So, all in all, noticeably heavy but not unbalanced. Overall, very wearable. The case is also 120m water resistant, so, very wearable even in the pool.
The other main difference between this new version of the Odysseus and its predecessors is the colour of the dial. A. Lange & Söhne opted for a brown dial which, like the Honeygold case, appears to change hues depending on the apparent lighting conditions. The contrasting finish of the dial’s centre, which has a grainy texture, and the dial’s edge which has been elegantly fluted.
Interestingly, this fluted edge can only be found on this model and the one made from white gold, the other watches have unique finishes of their own. The Honeygold inner flange ring has the minute numbers printed on it, and if you’re looking closely enough, you might spot that they printed the ’60’ marker in red. It’s a little detail, but a nice touch nonetheless.
Of course, what sets the Odysseus apart from the other integrated bracelet sports watches is its Outsize Date and day windows. A hallmark of A. Lange & Söhne since its revival in the 1990s, the Outsize Date is applied to a large proportion of the Saxon brand’s lineup today. The date window is larger than most, as it’s comprised of two stacked disks. To advance it easily and give the owner something to play with, a discreet pusher for the Outsize Date is hidden in the crown guards.The Outsize Day window indicates which day of the week it is and its pusher is also disguised as a crown guard. It can also be set independently of the date window, but will still flick forwards at midnight.
The inner workings of the Odysseus take the form of the self-winding calibre L155.1 DATOMATIC. In case you’re wondering, yes, this is the same movement as in the other Odysseus models, which means it’s an exquisitely decorated calibre finished by hand in Glashütte, where A. Lange & Söhne is based. A hand-engraved balance bridge supports the free-sprung balance wheel, this setup means the Odysseus’ most delicate component is more resistant to shocks and tumbles than other calibres.
It also runs at 4Hz for a total of 50 hours. In my older reviews, I noted that the L155.1 DATOMATIC movements in those watches had noisy winding rotors, I’m pleased to say that this issue wasn’t present on my review model. Of course, a noisy rotor isn’t necessarily a sign of an issue, but it’s noticeable.
A. Lange & Söhne’s Odysseus continues to be the watch that shows the brand is listening to its customer base. It’s very easy to deride watch brands when they do something different (and some of you, I’ve noticed, like to do that a lot in the comments section). But, when you’re the one deciding how one of the greatest names in modern horology is going to keep people coming back through its doors, you’ll know you’ve got to think outside of the box.
Although in many respects, the Odysseus ref. 363.150 in 18k Honeygold is the same watch as those that went before, it still manages to stand out in the range thanks to that unique alloy. It’s limited to 100 examples worldwide, and with prices exceeding €100,000, standing out comes at a premium. Still, if you get the chance to wear one, let alone buy one, you won’t be disappointed.
