Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
A. Lange & Söhne · Saxonia
A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia 38 mm Black 18k
Reference 57493OR.53
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- A. Lange & Söhne
- Collection
- Saxonia
- Model
- A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia 38 mm Black 18k
- Reference number
- 57493OR.53
- Year / era
- 1954 · 1950s — pre-quartz mechanical era
- Complication
- Chronograph
- Movement
- In-house automatic micro-rotor
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Dial type
- Black lacquer
- Strap / bracelet
- Integrated steel bracelet
- Water resistance
- 200 m
- Limited-edition status
- Limited edition of 250 pieces
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 38 mm
- Case thickness
- 10.2 mm
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Bezel
- Bidirectional 24-hour Cerachrom
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Black lacquer
- Hands
- Faceted dauphine hands, polished by hand
- Indexes
- Applied faceted white-gold indexes
- Bracelet / strap
- Integrated steel bracelet
- Clasp / buckle
- Titanium deployant clasp
- Water resistance
- 200 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 8A — In-house automatic micro-rotor
- Movement type
- High-frequency automatic
- Frequency
- 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 72 hours
- Number of jewels
- 40 jewels
- Complications
- Chronograph
- Functions
- GMT second time zone, date
- Watchmaker
- The calibre is built in-house and adjusted in five positions before delivery.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1954 – 1967
- Limited-edition quantity
- 250 pieces
- Current market information
- Thin secondary-market supply — pricing is set piece by piece at auction.
Designer
Emmanuel Gueit
Emmanuel Gueit came from a family of Geneva jewellers and was barely into his twenties when he drew the oversized Royal Oak Offshore in 1993 — a watch the house's traditionalists resisted and collectors turned into an icon.
Historical significance
A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia 38 mm Black 18k sits within A. Lange & Söhne's Saxonia line, introduced in 1954. It carries the house codes established since 1845 — 18k white gold case, black lacquer dial and in-house automatic micro-rotor — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
- The case is finished by hand, alternating polished and satin-brushed surfaces in a single pass so the edges stay razor sharp.
The House
A. Lange & Söhne
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1845
- Founder
- Ferdinand Adolph Lange
- Headquarters
- Germany
- Tier
- Ultra-Luxury & Haute Horlogerie
- Major collections
- Lange 1, Saxonia, Odysseus, Datograph, Zeitwerk, 1815, Richard Lange
- Signature technologies
- Composite and ceramic case materials · In-house hairspring production
- Famous movements
- In-house tourbillon, manual-winding · In-house manual-winding, hand-finished · In-house automatic with 22k gold rotor · In-house automatic micro-rotor
- Notable watches
- A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 40 mm Slate Platinum (1978) · A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 39 mm Green Stainless (1969) · A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 44 mm Blue Quartz (1954) · A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 41 mm Silvered Quartz (1973)
Brand history
A. Lange & Söhne has spent more than 181 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Lange 1, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Ferdinand Adolph Lange established A. Lange & Söhne in 1845, working from Germany at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every A. Lange & Söhne calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1845
Ferdinand Adolph Lange founds A. Lange & Söhne in Germany.
1885
A. Lange & Söhne earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces A. Lange & Söhne to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
A. Lange & Söhne enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
A. Lange & Söhne continues to produce Lange 1, Saxonia, Odysseus and other icons in limited numbers.