A chat with Fabian Krone, CEO, A. Lange & Söhne

12 years ago in Dresden, A. Lange & Söhne unveiled its first series of wristwatches. Those five watches - the Lange 1, Arkade, Saxonia, 1815 and Pour le Merite - took the watch world by storm, unleashing upon an unsuspecting public the dazzling combination of German silver, gold chatons and blue screws. After the premature passing in 2001 of the revered Gunter Blumlein, chief architect of the Lange renaissance, many pondered Lange's future.

In 2004, Fabian Krone became the guardian of the Lange legend, when he was appointed CEO of the company. Prior to that Fabian held various management posts at the Fiat group, including a stint as head of marketing for Alfa Romeo. Below Fabian talks about the challenges, achievements and the future of A. Lange & Söhne.

Editor's note: This interview was conducted on October 9, 2006, at the House of Lange on Sentosa, a holiday island just off Singapore. All the photos below were taken at the House of Lange. Present that afternoon were:

Fabian Krone (FK)
Arnd Einhorn (AH), Head of PR, A. Lange & Söhne
Tay Liam Sze, Vice-President, Marketing, Sincere Watch
Su JiaXian (SJX), ThePuristS.com

SJX: What do you see as your major accomplishments in your time as managing director and CEO of Lange?

FK: That’s a very difficult question. To look back a little bit, where we were and where we are now. The only thing which we did is to concentrate more on building up the worldwide distribution, more harmonised on one side. And on the other side, the managing team built up more self-responsibility in terms of freedom to evolve and do the things as they should do. Since everyone in this management team loves the brand and has the brand in his blood, it is very easy to have total confidence that everybody will do the things that the brand requires them to do. This is surely very important and what we have today is a very good structure, product pipeline with novelties for the next 5 to 6 years.

SJX: So you have it planned for the next 5 to 6 years?

FK: Yes, yes, they are interesting and quite nice.

SJX: Is there a minute repeater in the pipeline?

FK: Let me think… is there a minute repeater in the pipeline? (Looks at Arnd Einhorn) I just cannot remember. (Laughs)

SJX: We’ll have to wait and see.

FK: We have the base now to slowly develop in terms of quantities, since we are still not in China, not in India, we’re still very small in America. We still build only 5000 watches. We have the base and the platform to reach in the next 5 years maybe 7000 watches.

SJX: Is 7000 the maximum you’ll go?

FK: Well you know the fact is always [that there’s] a natural barrier, natural limitations because we have 400 employees, of that it’s more or less between 45 and 55% watchmakers. So to increase the number of watches you have to find the watchmakers, train them, and get them a level which you can is Lange quality. That takes years, so only from that point we’ll be able to grow slowly. So is that the maximum we’ll ever, ever get to? I suppose no but I don’t know; [for now] that [7000 pieces annually] is our aim for the next 3 to 4 years.

SJX: Do you have lot of young people working for Lange?

FK: Yes, the average age in Lange is actually low, I’m over average so I actually get the average up a little bit. Actually you are over average too. (Points to Arnd)

AH: I think so. (Laughs)

FK: The average is 34 years old, which is very, very young, considering that there are so many watchmakers. Normally when you go to other countries and see the watchmakers’ average age, it’s far over 40. We are 34, which gives us a good base for the future.

A watchmaker's bench and tools, some movement parts are laid out on the glass plate in the centre of the photo. In the background, Manfed Weber, Regional Service Manager, Asia-Pacific

SJX: Even with that good base for the future, what are the major challenges for you as CEO?

FK: I think the major challenge is to try to motivate the team to continue to give its best and manage the challenges which are posed by the market. And in the market, on the product side Lange should go in the direction of the expectations of our customers. We should on the one hand continue to do challenging complications, meaning complications which have been presented by others, like a minute repeater for example. On the other side, functions which have never been on the market, but which [have been] in the history of Lange, as we did the Tourbograph with fusee chain, the Double Split with double rattrapante, on the minutes and seconds. Lange has always launched innovative functions which have never in a wristwatch till then. That is something we have to continue to do. And on the other side, I think we also have to develop and create timepieces which are just beautiful, handcrafted, timepieces without big, big complications, for example, the Richard Lange watch.

Double Split in platinum

SJX: On the subject of big complications, some of the other brands in the Richemont group, Vacheron, Jaeger-LeCoultre, even IWC, they all make very big complications – Tour de l’Île, Reverso a Triptyque – is that something Lange will do?

FK: It’s a big, big accomplishment what Vacheron has done with the Tour de l’Ile, we are back for only 15, 16 years, back on the market only 12 years. (Editor’s note: Lange first launched its contemporary wristwatches in 1994) That means we have in this period we have developed 24 movements, which is a lot. And [all] that only in those 12 years. That’s an average of 2 movements a year, which is a lot. There’s still a lot of homework we have to do, like new functions or existing functions which we still may not do because we didn’t have the time. If after [that] we’ll have a Grande Complication or not, we’ll see. But I think [given] what Lange has done until now is not quite right [to say] that there is no complications. We’ll take our time to do the things, we still have a lot of homework to do, and like I said, the pipeline has so many beautiful, challenging products in there so I’m quite happy if we manage to do that.

SJX: When Lange first re-emerged in 1994, you launched watches that caused a stir amongst collectors and industry. People were saying “That’s the best finish I’ve ever seen, it’s the best watch in the world’, but now many collectors they feel the brand has lost steam since its initial introduction. What’s you point of view on this?

FK: I would like to talk to those collectors because [they refer to] the finish?

Lange 1A limited edition

SJX: In terms of product development, the watches you make. The grand Lange 1, the automatic 1815, they are just variations on a theme. Since the original Lange 1, maybe the Datograph, there hasn’t been a seminal, landmark, an iconic watch.

FK: I think the Double Split is a landmark, because it’s a wristwatch with a double rattrapante which has never ever been on a wristwatch. That’s the first one, then we have the Tourbograph, which is a tourbillon, rattrapante, fusee chain, which has never been in a wristwatch until then. We have now launched the Datograph Perpetual, which is the only perpetual with a big date and chronograph. I would like to really talk to these people who said that because it’s not true.

Datograph Perpetual in platinum

AH: Even the Richard Lange, that’s something too. What I sometimes feel, that Lange and our new products are much more questioned than other brands. And I think it’s interesting to see, we also follow the discussion in the net and so on, and it’s quite good because if you people wouldn’t care, it’s not a good sign. If people are so concerned, and they discuss and even if there is criticism, of course we are open to all different opinions. What you said especially with the new products, we have a big range of new products which are very consistent in the line, starting from Lange 1 up to the Richard Lange.

SJX: On the Richard Lange, you have raised the finish of your watch, you have said it’s finished to a better level than your simple watches, correct?

AH: Not quite like that. We have finished some parts of Richard Lange underneath, where no service watchmaker will also ever see the piece has been finished there. We have increased here and there a little bit on the finish. (Editor’s note: While Lange is arguably the best in top plate finish, some feel the dial side movement finish can be better, the Richard Lange addresses those concerns)

SJX: Do you think we can improve the finish on Lange watches further?

AH: I don’t think we have to increase it, because if you compare it with the market, start with the 1815 and go to the Tourbograph, I would like to challenge who is actually doing today a higher finish then we are. [In fact] it is hard to finish the level of finish as we are having it today.

Tourbograph in platinum, limited edition of 50 pieces

SJX: Finish aside, what are the areas you think Lange can improve? Lange’s case- and dial-work is all excellent, so is there anything you can improve in terms of product?

FK: There is always something that can be improved. It would be wrong to say, no, it’s perfect, but it would be also wrong to say what we can improve. So I don’t know what to answer. (Laughs) We are of course improving day by day the existing movements; there is always something that can be done better than you’ve done it yesterday. But there are only a few, tiny little things we try to improve each day.

SJX: As you mentioned earlier, Lange quality is top notch in all aspects. That being said, do you ever feel pressure to compromise to improve the company’s financial performance, since you are part of a larger, listed company?

FK: If we start to do so, the customer will notice it quite early, and if the customers notice it, we will lose credibility. And when we lose credibility, we will surely also lose our customers and that’s not worth it. We see it in other industries, where the smart cost cutters came in and they started to cut costs everywhere, and at a certain moment the quality of the product was not the one expected. See Mercedes for example, they started to become quite problematic and lose sales and so on. We should just keep to our quality standard. Where it makes sense to change processes maybe we’ll do it, but we’ll not do cost cutting because of cost cutting.

SJX: The product will remain…

FK: The hero is the product, the hero in terms of quality, in terms of timing, when it is ready to get on the market, we do not launch a product if it’s not ready. In all terms, the product is the hero.

SJX: How do you manage to balance the need for quality and the aims to expand production?

FK: If you want to increase the number of watches slightly, to go from 5000 to 7000 worldwide, which is not a lot, we have to train nearly 50% more watchmakers. If you have 50% more watchmakers, do you really manage to keep the same quality? The fact that we stick to the product philosophy which we have, a ¾ plate in untreated German silver, which is extremely hard to finish, which is extremely delicate, which oxidises very strongly. That [using German silver plates] means we also have to assemble, disassemble twice. (Editor’s note: Lange is one of the few companies that assembles a movement for regulating and testing, and then disassembles it for finishing and final assembly) If we wanted to do cost cutting, we will be questioning this product philosophy. The decision we have taken that in all watches, it doesn’t matter which category it is. Whether it is women’s watches, who do not really care for the time being about untreated German silver, they buy the watch for other reasons, but still we stick to our product philosophy. We do continue to use the same materials, and even if it’s not the most efficient way of producing, handling a watch, we’ll still stick to that. That is actually the duty we have, the duty is to bring A. Lange & Söhne to the next generation and we can only do it if we stick to the basic values of the brand.

Maik Pfeifer, Lange finisseur, finishing a 3/4 German silver plate

SJX: Speaking of the next generation, Lange’s main competitor in the eyes of most people is Patek Philippe, do you agree?

FK: First of all, I think it is a big compliment if our customers and the journalists see Patek as our biggest competitor knowing that we’re back on the market only 12 years. For a long time, yes, we have defined Patek as a benchmark in terms and truly they are doing a fantastic job.

SJX: Patek makes traditional Grande Complication watches with Geneva Seal, they also make the Patek 24. Some see that as a divergence from the traditions of the brand for the sake of commercial success. Do you think there is a conflict between commercial success and the integrity of your brand?

FK: What Patek is doing is really a masterpiece. They managed to really go in a totally different direction but still keep the brand very high. But that is because the brand is very strong and it’s on the market for over 150 years. Lange is on the market 12 years. We’ll see in 138 years what we’ll do, if we’ll be able to support a step like that but it is surely not foreseen that we start to be too commercial. Meaning you get commercial if you start to dilute a little bit the brand values, and you start to compromise in your product philosophy. We should not yet compromise in any way, we don’t need to compromise. The market is big, the planet is very big. As I said we’re not in China, we’re not in India, we’re very small in America, so there’s no need to compromise. The garden is still big enough.

SJX: How would you respond to market demand for products that may not fit into Lange’s philosophy? For example in some markets there is demand for very big, extravagant complications, like a double or triple tourbillon. These are obviously not in line with Lange’s philosophy, but there is a demand for them. Where do you draw the line?

FK: The biggest challenge is to create new markets; it is not to follow a market. Because if you follow [the trend], there are plenty of brands already in that market trying to fish in the same lake. The big challenge is trying to create the demand, and that’s what we’re actually trying to do with the Richard Lange. Everybody said you’re crazy, doing a three hand watch, why, what for and so on. But we really believe in the fact that in the soul of a watchmaker, there are two parts. One is the thing we’re talking about all the time today, complications, complications, complications; trying to translate a function as complicated as possible in a mechanical movement. But the other part, which we feel really strongly about, is to do fine watchmaking but in a pure way, in a simple way, but at the highest level of craftsmanship, and the highest level of technical solutions of the simple functions, hour, minutes and seconds, and in a highly precise watch. That already was the natural trend, since Lange was already going in a direction which nobody else was going into. We did create a demand for a simple timekeeping watches [with the Lange 1], but at a high level. To make it short, we should not follow a trend, we should try to create trends, and we should try to create demand.

SJX: So do you see Lange as a market leader in that respect?

FK: No, we are a very small Saxonian company in the Ore mountains. (Laughs] How can a brand like that be a market leader? We are a player in the market, and we try to play our game the way we like to play to play it. We have fun and we do it seriously.

SJX: The Richard Lange is a completely opposite to the trend in the market, many other big brands are doing this year, they are using silicium. What do you think of the trend of high technology in watches? And what does Lange have planned in terms of high technology products?

FK: Well, high tech products, we do not have many in the pipeline. We focus on classical watchmaking, that’s why we’re here. If there are technical solutions, in terms of materials or others, we will examine if we can use it or not. We should not forget that Lange was the first brand in 2003 to have its own hairspring, it’s not that Lange did not participate. After that all the others started to come.

AH: But we do it the traditional way.

FK: Yes, we do it the traditional way, so it is important that we stick to the traditional watchmaking but we will examine case by case if it fits in with the brand values.

SJX: So Lange is more tradition than state of the art? (Editor’s note: Lange’s motto is ‘State-of-the-art tradition’)

FK: Well you can also be state of the art tradition – that is our claim. (Laughs)

SJX: What do you think of the trend towards alusic, silicium, high technology watchmaking?

FK: Well, if it is helps, it really helps, and it does really give added value, then it can be good. If it does give an added value, [that] we don’t know yet, we’ll see. It’s our duty to participate in that and see what can be done better. But again, it has to have an added value, and it has to have a link to classical watchmaking. Now if a ceramic solution to a tourbillon has an advantage to the classical way, though I doubt it, who knows? But we have to examine case by case.

Pour le Merite tourbillon with fusee chain in white gold, an epitome of classical watchmaking

AH: It’s quite important [to consider] what our customers expect from our brand. So far I don’t have a feeling from discussions with customers that would press us to do something like that.

SJX: Most of the market doesn’t really care, if you put silicum or not. It’s a novelty, not proven that it’s that much better.

FK: We’ll see what the results will be, but I will still take some time [to evaluate].

SJX: On hairsprings, some of your models have in-house hairspring, do you aim to equip all models with in-house hairspring?

FK: The Nivarox hairspring is a very high quality product, so there’s no real use and added value if we utilise our own hairspring in all the models. Nevertheless, our hairspring has certain qualities, which are only [found] in our hairspring, so it depends on the watch model if we use our hairspring or the Nivarox. But there will surely be other models which have our hairspring in the future.

SJX: Can you reveal what is your production capacity for your own hairsprings?

FK: It’s not so much an issue of capacity, it’s important for a manufacture, in some crucial elements, have a certain independence. So if we invest we could increase the capacity, but we don’t, we keep it very low.

SJX: Do you think that in-house is important?

FK: It’s quite interesting how easy it is. Now some brands manage to do an in-house movement, it’s actually quite difficult to define what is in-house. From when is it in-house? In my view it is in-house when the parts have been mainly done in-house, if you buy parts and stick them together, I don’t know if it’s so in-house. But for certain brands, it is a statement of horological knowledge and know-how if they manage to do an in-house movement – for certain brands. For others, I don’t think it’s so important.

SJX: Is there an added value to the customer when something is in-house?

FK: That’s what I mean, for certain brands I don’t think there’s a big added value.

SJX: For Lange specifically, what advantage does your in-house production give the customer?

FK: The high level of quality. The fact that we do the parts in-house mean we are far faster in fixing things which are maybe not working, so we have a far easier way to perfection, far faster way to perfection, than if we had to buy parts from elsewhere. So that means flexibility, high quality and high level of handcraft. The quality is fundamental.

SJX: In the past, when Peter [Chong] interviewed Gunter Blumlein, he asked if Lange would make a pocket watch again. The reply was that the tradition compels Lange to make a pocket watch again one day. Is that still on the cards?

FK: Of course one day.

Lange 1A quality pocket watch, c. 1837

SJX: Can you reveal anything more?

FK: (Laughs) Do you think it will be interesting?

SJX: Of course.

FK: Why?

SJX: I think the market is not ready to accept a pocketwatch. At auction, pocket watches sell for very little. One reason for that is that the big brands don’t product pocketwatches, even if they do they are not marketed. There is no recognition among collectors of the value of pocketwatches, Lange can change that.

FK: Let’s put it this way, we surely one day will have to, will want to do so. But there’s still so much work to do. So we have to set priorities and focus on those priorities, and that’s what we’re doing.

SJX: On a broader topic, now that watchmaking has been re-established in Glashütte, what impact has it had on the area? How has it changed the region, the economy?

FK: For sure in Glashütte, watchmaking is the main employer. It has positively influenced the economic situation in Glashütte, you should see it today and 15 years ago. It’s beautiful, it’s new, and the unemployment is quite low; higher than in the Western part [of Germany], but it’s quite low for the East. (Editor’s note: Saxony, including Glashütte and Dresden, was part of the East Germany) It’s continuing to influence as other brands come in, and to build up suppliers and so on. Like in 1845 when Ferdinand Adolph Lange came, he started to build up an industry, to give confidence to his employees, to build supply companies or more brands. So it’s a little bit of this atmosphere there [in Glashütte today].

Ferdinand Adolph Lange

SJX: So Glashütte is still at the beginning?

FK: For sure it’s at the beginning. The only problem is that the space is very small. In fact we have had to go a little bit away, 8 kilometres from Glashütte, to have some parts, administrative parts, to put them there because Glashütte is too small. So that’s the only problematic area.

SJX: Do you think the watch industry in Germany can grow beyond Glashütte?

FK: Well that would mean that other brands would have to start business in Pfozhiem, or wherever. (Editor’s note: Pforzhiem is a town near the Black Forest historically known for watch- and jewellery-production) But it’s hard to say, it could be, but Glashütte surely is the main area of watchmaking.

SJX: One final question, this was asked on ThePuristS.com Lange forum. Will the hunter case back found on the Oeding-Erdel limited edition 1815 be available as an option for other watches?

FK: Maybe, it’s not planned now, but we’ll see. If we do a back like that, it has to be really high quality back, Lange quality. It [Oeding-Erdel 1815] took a long time to develop, which seems ridiculous now, but it does need a long time to make it solid like it is, it’s extremely hard. If we’ll use it in other watches, we’ll see.

SJX: Thank you for your time!

At the end of the interview which lasted for over an hour, one is left with strong impression of the man tasked with leading A. Lange & Söhne. Fabian Krone has clear ideas about where Lange should go, and what must be done to get there. More importantly, his displays an admirable, unwavering adherence to the Lange philosophy.

Some Lange watches of recent years, like the Grand Lange 1, are not my cup of tea, the Richard Lange was a pleasant surprise. With that precedent, the pipeline of novelties in the next 5 years promise to set new standards. Where Lange will be in a decade no one knows, but there are many people who are rooting for the small Saxonian company in the Ore Mountains.

- SJX