A. Lange & Söhne Unveils the New Zeitwerk Date in Pink Gold

Adored by niche collectors, A. Lange & Söhne has evolved into a name that elicits reverence and aggressive bidding. Watch connoisseurs today know that when a Lange surfaces at auction, things get serious. From record-breaking sales of its chronographs to unprecedented interest in rare limited editions, the Saxon watchmaker has joined the pantheon of modern horological icons. Now, it adds another chapter to that legacy with the debut of the new Zeitwerk Date in pink gold, a striking evolution of its digitally inspired mechanical marvel.

From Bargain Bin to Bidding Wars

The transformation of A. Lange & Söhne’s market perception has been nothing short of remarkable. Before the pandemic-era watch boom, Langes were often quietly snapped up at auction for near-retail prices—prized by insiders, but rarely the stars of the show. That changed rapidly. In the past few years alone, auction houses like Phillips have seen rare Langes fetch seven figures. A Tourbograph Perpetual “Pour le Mérite” hammered at HK$2.9 million in 2022. A unique 1815 Chronograph “Hampton Court Edition” soared past the million-franc mark that same year. The Datograph Up/Down Hampton Court, too, stunned with a CHF 825,500 result in late 2024.

This crescendo isn’t just about scarcity, but also about taste. While steel sports watches from the Swiss giants dominated headlines during the post-COVID speculative frenzy, seasoned collectors shifted their focus to craftsmanship. And Lange, with its handmade movements, German silver bridges, and high-precision mechanics, offered just that. Even Philippe Dufour has remarked that his grail watch is a Lange, and it’s with good reason.

Let’s sidetrack for just a bit. If, like me, you enjoy geeking out over watch history, you might wonder: when exactly did Lange’s fortunes begin to shift? Strangely enough, the Covid years proved to be a pivotal inflection point. After years of striving for Swiss-level prestige through grand complications, the German brand surprised collectors in 2019 with the Odysseus—a high-precision steel sports watch that was both technically impressive and genuinely wearable. And when the pandemic disrupted supply chains, demand for this grounded, everyday Lange exploded. The Odysseus effect sent ripples through the market: a “Yellow Jacket” Datograph sold for four times its retail price in November 2020, a stainless steel Lange 1 set a record at CHF 312,500 in May 2021, a Zeitwerk “Luminous Phantom” hammered for HK$2,394,000 two months later, and as recently as May 2025, a Lange Grande Complication achieved CHF 1,168,400 at Phillips’ Geneva Watch Auction XXI.

Saxony Reawakens

Founded in 1845 by Adolph Lange, the manufacture in Glashütte was originally envisioned as a way to uplift a struggling mining town through watchmaking excellence. Adolph, trained in Dresden and Paris, brought Saxon engineering discipline to the craft, and his descendants Richard and Emil carried the torch into international acclaim. But history was not kind: the factory was destroyed at the end of World War II and nationalized during the communist era.

The brand’s modern revival began in 1990, thanks to Walter Lange, Adolph’s great-grandson, and Günter Blümlein, the marketing genius behind IWC and Jaeger-LeCoultre. The pair reimagined Lange as a German rival to Patek Philippe—an ambitious goal, but one now undeniably realized.

The Zeitwerk Dialect

When the Zeitwerk debuted in 2009, it broke the mold of traditional watch design. Inspired by the five-minute digital clock Adolph Lange built for the Semper Opera House, the Zeitwerk displayed time not with hands, but with jumping numerals.

In 2019, to celebrate the model’s tenth anniversary, Lange introduced the Zeitwerk Date. It retained the revolutionary time display but added a sophisticated ring-shaped date. Today, the Zeitwerk Date returns with a 44.2mm pink gold case and solid silver gray dial, a new palette that deepens the watch’s expressive warmth without sacrificing its technical cool.

High-Precision Elegance

The updated Zeitwerk Date maintains the model’s signature horizontal time display, flanked by two generous numeral apertures. Beneath this layout beats Caliber L043.8, a manually wound movement brimming with innovation. A pair of stacked mainspring barrels power the constant-force escapement, which provides a switching impulse every 60 seconds to “jump” these numeral discs. These numerals “jump” 1,440 times per day, with unerring precision.

“Precisely at midnight, the Zeitwerk Date puts on an exceptional show,” remarks Anthony de Haas, Director of Product Development. “Because then, all three jumping numeral discs and the date ring switch simultaneously. At that moment, a force and precision are at work that you imagine can be felt through the case.”

Correction pushers at 4 and 8 o’clock allow for independent adjustment of the hour and date. Notably, the pushers trigger the mechanism upon release, not when pressed, allowing for gentle, deliberate control. Meanwhile, the time bridge crafted from untreated German silver is both a structural and aesthetic feature, anchoring the Zeitwerk family’s visual identity with architectural clarity.

The sub-counter that you see below its hours and minutes display is, of course, Lange’s vaunted stop seconds display, and the semi-circle at the 12 o’clock position is the brand’s lauded Up/Down power reserve indicator.

Every element is deliberate: the gray dial minimizes glare and enhances legibility, while a red highlight beneath the date ring subtly marks today’s date, providing function without distraction. As you would expect of a Lange, even the smallest parts—down to the brand’s signature engraved balance cock—are finished by hand.

The Allure of the Zeitwerk Date

In a brand that prides itself on engineering-led beauty, the Zeitwerk Date represents a sweet spot: bold yet balanced, complex yet clean. It’s not a minute repeater or a Saxonia Triple Split, but it doesn’t need to be. It refines Lange’s mechanical vision of time, marrying technical mastery with poetic clarity.

More than just a new colorway, this pink gold release reasserts the Zeitwerk’s relevance in a post-speculation world. One where collectors seek substance, not just hype.

A. Lange & Söhne has never relied on celebrity ambassadors or bombastic ad campaigns. Its success is built on slow, steady excellence, which is exactly the kind of narrative the Zeitwerk Date embodies. In a market still fixated on scarcity and status, Lange continues to redefine what true high horology looks like. And in doing so, it reminds us why we fell in love with mechanical watches in the first place.