'Floral' 112.046 A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1

Finds. There are just a handful of über-Lange 1s, ref. 112.046 is one of them. It is a direct descendent of the 112.021 Lange 1A, the very first guilloché dial Lange of any model line. Except this later iteration, the ‘Floral’ (as this 112.046 has come to be known, for obvious reasons) is not guilloche; it is simply a massively time-intensive engraving masterclass. The 112.046 hails from a time when Lange was much less averse to limited editions or even piece unique productions for great clients, retailers, or even regions. That all slowed drastically near 2010. But prior, you get this kind of thing—what collectors trip over eachother to acquire. Such is the case here, a 25 example limited edition made for the Japanese market in 2007.

This image from Langepedia's initial article, the remainder of photography comes from the current Lunar Oyster listing. 

The Floral dial is a Lange balance cock engraving broken out of its constraints and at large. The work is both magnificently consistent and varying upon close study. The flat, thin golden plaques and borders for text are a direct nod to that first guilloché 112.012. The plaques don’t extent to the dial edge, instead each is borded by single-strike burin engravings that keep the entire dial cohesive and bounded. A floral thematic dial for the Japanese market simply makes sense, given the deep cultural meaning that blossoming carries in that part of the world. And then there’s the closed caseback, with the Glashütte coat of arms engraved in a style that wouldn’t look out of place in the Handwerkskunst collection today. This is days of hammering work for a perfect resolution, texture, and clarity. 

Unlike most limited editions, the Floral dials only came as a set. Each set contained this watch and the equivalent Little Lange 1 version, which goes by ref. 111.046. To my knowledge, the Floral Little Lange 1 has never appeared in the market publicly. This classic-sized Floral Lange 1 has barely ever appeared, only just with this example. Two weeks ago Langepedia managed to find one and offer it, purchased by and now offered by Lunar Oyster. And that’s the entire history of the reference’s market precedent. It is always entertaining to watch any given reference come to market for the first time, as we all collectively scratch our heads to figure out how to value it. In this case, 170K USD. But, actually, if a 101.026 in steel is worth 292k consistently at auction, maybe, just maybe, it might actually merit it.

The example itself here is just out of this world. No significant wear, nothing much to note. The Little Lange 1 equivalent is not included, obviously. But other than that, it has its complete set. It comes from a well-regarded US retailer.