It's not just the Lange 1 that comes in a 'Stealth' grey dial. This is the ref. 216.027, a fifth generation Saxonia that was a boutique-only edition with several rather significant changes. 2015 saw the fifth generation of Saxonia and several major updates. Most importantly, the new calibre L941.1 actually filled the caseback entirely, an Achilles heel of previous iterations. The dial was made less cluttered with longer indices that were now solid gold. And the case shrank to 35mm. However, rather quietly, Lange maintained the fourth generation size in their two boutique editions only. This 216.027 and the 216.033 (grey dial in white and pink gold, respectively) were quietly continued in a 37mm that was both thinner than previous designs and with the calibre L941.1. In the words of Tim Mosso, 'It's the sort of watch that would've been crafted had Philippe Dufour been born in Germany.'
Only the two Boutique editions sported this teutonic anthracite dial, made of solid silver and reminiscent of the earlier Lange 1 'Stealth' tones in white gold. The elongated alpha hands and dial furniture are crafted from diamond polished white gold. Unlike the fourth iteration, the hands and dial are entirely non-luminous and in that way wear a little less casual, more classic.
The manual L941.1 encompasses 164 exquisitely finished components, a 21600 vph calibre adjusted in five positions like a classic chronometer. But the specs here are secondary to the finishing. The Saxonia in particular features a broad German silver (not Swiss rhodium brass) 3/4 plate which serves as canvas to traditional German technique. Jewels are set in screw-fixed chatons. Script is engraved gilt. Screws are heat-blued or black polish. The bevels are mirrored, broad and masterful. And then there's the balancecock, freehand engraved and decorated by one watchmaker, no two alike, here with a radial floral pattern and signed 'N'.
Its case is only 7.8mm thin, which at 37mm lends a very classic proportion skewing toward slightly more masculinely-proportioned wrists. The case features a typically German 3-piece construction with complex satin-brushed sides, polished bevels, and lugs finished similarly. Even the white gold pin buckle is beveled and faceted to match the lugs.
The Saxonia remains Lange's simplest offering but also one of their most attractive, a dress watch to rival any Calatrava in finish, proportion, or style. It is a design that while modern will refuse to age, this is an archetype of German three-handers. Patek Philippe's Calatrava of today is closer to 40mm and significantly more thick. Lange focused on all the right areas in this generation and few rival the Stealth grey dial in a slightly more modern 37mm. Although it hasn't been made in anything like the numbers that the Lange 1 'Stealth' has seen, this is a grey dial worth the name and attention.
