By Meor Amri Meor Ayob
Dress watch is one genre in the world of watches that is not high on my own personal collection philosophy. I tend to appreciate the ‘hardier’ form of watches such as divers and sports watches. Nevertheless, I am starting to see the beauty of simplicity that is typical of dress watches especially under the Bauhaus inspired designs.
The Saxonia is one such series under A. Lange & Sohne that permeates the concept of ‘beauty in simplicity’.
In early 2016, during the SIHH event in Geneva, A. Lange & Söhne did a refresh on its Saxonia series with the introduction of the Saxonia Thin models in 40 mm as well as 37 mm size round watch casings.
From a design perspective, the Saxonia Thin is a very basic watch. There are only the hours and minutes hands and the hour makers are only slim bars. The dial is sterile except for the brand as well as some simple notation about origin in very thin font. In the comparative photo with both the 40 mm and 37 mm side by side, although the difference in diameter is just 3 mm, the balance between the various references on the dial is much better for the smaller case. Visually, the transition between the markers and the hands gets defused when there is more dial surface. As such, the 37 mm feels more pleasing to the eyes.
Both models are just 5.9 mm thick (hence the name “Thin”). The engine that powers both models is the Calibre L093.1. This movement is manually-wound with 72 hours of power reserve stored in a single barrel and operating at 3 Hertz or 21,600 BPH. The movement is beautifully decorated as expected from a product from A. Lange & Sohne. The movement can be seen through the display case-back. The strap of choice for the watch is hand-stitched alligator leather either in black or brown.
The watches are available either in pink gold or white gold.
From a price point, the new A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Thin 37 mm has a starting price of around EUR12,500 or USD14,800. This is remarkable as this would place it as a possible entry-level piece for any newcomer to the brand. If given the opportunity, I prefer to get the white gold 37 mm piece. Price aside, it is the balance between design and dimension that makes this particular model more desirable. For more info, please visit alange-soehne.com
