A. Lange & Söhne’s Tino Bobe on Keeping Time with Tradition
Before we get down to business at A. Lange & Söhne at Watches and Wonders Geneva, we always confront the serious question of beer… You see, the Glashütte watchmaker
is rather famous for its amber goodness, which is only available at the booth and nowhere else within the Palexpo. Simultaneously, our particular story with regards to the brand has had something to do with a pint (or so) for years now, mostly because I keep doing the interviews and presentations and I have never managed to grab that drink with Production Director Tino Bobe.
This year, I finally had the occasion to hang about the A. Lange & Söhne booth at length since I was also heading to the ‘friends of the brand’ dinner. No celebrities at this one (sort of), just collectors, pundits and writers – all I can say about this wonderful gathering this year is that my contribution had something to with a discussion on Juliette Lewis (with regards to Kalifornia and the Amazon Prime TV series Yellowjackets) and Charles Bronson. Yes, watch nerds are capable of talking about normal (sort of) subjects.
Make no mistake though, Tino Bobe is the ultimate in watch nerdery, which I cannot believe is a real word but there it is. Of course, being a watch nerd is a compliment in our books, and this book in particular. In case you missed his backstory, Bobe has clocked more than 20 years at A. Lange & Söhne (it will be 30 years in 2029) and once described how the various departments at the firm work with each in ping pong terms – people at the manufacture have to bounce things off each other.
“I joke that I have an A. Lange & Söhne barcode on my body <gesturing to his heart>,” Bobe told us in 2021. “I’m really proud to be part of this team, and to be part of the success we have here, in making really beautiful watches.”
It is also worth remembering that Bobe is that rarest of breeds, a Glashütte native who happens to be a watchmaker at a company that established the fortunes of the hamlet. Besides his undeniable authenticity and technical chops, he also has a sense of humour, which he sometimes demonstrates in unusual ways. For example, in discussing the new Minute Repeater Perpetual, he cites a couple of repeaters that A. Lange & Söhne has made but left out the Grand Complication. Well, we caught it anyway, Tino, if you are reading this.
I will admit that A. Lange & Söhne and Bobe have still caught us coming up short because I failed to write down the name of the beer served at the booth. With that technical writing flourish out of the way, read on to discover some surprising facts about the novelties from A. Lange & Söhne this year.
We have to begin with the Minute Repeater Perpetual and the calibre name, L122.2, which puts many, including us, in mind of the L122.1 in the Richard Lange Minute Repeater. Is this a continuing story from that?
In terms of knowledge, it’s a continuing story because you get your knowledge by doing things… we had a Zeitwerk Minute Repeater that we learned from; we also had a Richard Lange Minute Repeater; and now the next one (is the Minute Repeater Perpetual). This watch is now a combination with the perpetual calendar (function) and yet we wanted to have this really elegant size with only 12.1mm thickness and 45mm diameter. So, we really had to pack all the components – it is not just a modification of an existing movement or just to add (a perpetual calendar module to an existing movement).
We had to build it up because it’s 640 movement components – so (to give you some idea by way of comparison) the Odysseus Datomatic is 11.1mm thick with a 40.5mm diameter with only 312 movement components. So, this means that in one millimetre more (for the case of the Minute Repeater Perpetual), you have more than double the number of components. So yes, we base all the knowledge we have for this new watch from both the watches on the perpetual calendar side and the minute repeater side; in this sense, it’s a continuing (story), but movement-wise, it’s completely new. (To your point), the perpetual calendar is integrated because we had to do it this way since it would be too thick as a module. So, it is now the perfect size.
We always try to add little things, and those who know us know that the perpetual calendar indication is clear – in this case, it’s the outsized date. Then you have the push piece, the recessed push piece, to advance all the indications by one day forward, if the client has left it in the safe and the watch has stopped. It’s very convenient and useful for the client. The same for the minute repeater, which is not only a classical minute repeater, which it is in the sense that it chimes the hours, quarters and minutes. But, if there are no quarters, there is this pulse elimination system, which is very useful. The client doesn’t have to wait and wonder if the watch is broken! There is no waiting time (repeating mechanisms often have a gap if the first quarter has not yet passed, meaning the movement skips the chime; the Minute Repeater Perpetual does away with this).
Security-wise, we thought that it would be good to protect the repeater! That is why the watch has two bars of water-resistance and the security mechanism – you can’t pull out the crown and set the watch if the repeater is activated and, vice versa, if the crown is out, you can’t activate it. Basically, the watch is not just a normal combination of a minute repeater and perpetual calendar (as if such a thing would be normal in any case).
On that note, we do know of collectors who bring their perpetual calendars back to the boutique to have it set there, mainly because of the safety issue. People might be afraid that something will go wrong, basically if you adjust the date indication too far or something. In extreme situations, you might need a watchmaker to intervene-
That’s terrible! And that’s why you have the possibility to adjust each indication (on the perpetual calendar) separately or everything together. Both possibilities are open (To be clear, the Minute Repeater Perpetual still only adjusts forward so the usual cautionary practices should be followed here).
Do you think that’s a practical perspective for people who use it? How do you tell people that it’s really safe for them to adjust, or use, in the case of the minute repeater function?
If the client gets the watch, he also receives a really qualified explanation of the watch. Right down to how to set it, and so on. I think it’s the best way, even though we provide short videos from our academy where you can find all the information (about any relevant watch or function). But I think the best way is to get this information in person, with the watch. This way, if the client has a question, you can give the answer. It’s the best way to interact, in the very moment where you, as a client, get your watch.
“It’s never mass production at A. Lange & Söhne. The watches have become more complicated so our quantity goes down a bit because we need more production hours”
Tell us about the sound of the Minute Repeater Perpetual – how do you get the right balance for it?
So, it was never the case (in development where we said) let’s do it as loud as we can. It’s always the quality of the sound. It’s exactly how colourful the sound is and how clear it is. And this is why we even developed this hammer blocking system (unique to the Minute Repeater Perpetual). I think it’s a very intelligent way to bring the hammer back and to hold it there (at the end of each hammer’s strike sequence). As a result, you don’t have a second or third touch (or ricochet between hammers and gongs). The sound is much clearer and even a little bit louder because you don’t lose energy from the gongs. You get both advantages, which we can attest to, based on hearing the repeater in action a couple of times.
(Returning to the development process), when we started with the acoustical time indication, we even developed acoustical test equipment. An external institute and two universities helped to measure frequencies (of sound waves). In this way, you can find a range of frequencies and measure multiple frequencies, which gives colour to the sound. If you have just one frequency, it is not a colourful sound. In the end, it is still the ear of the watchmaker making decisions but he gets helped by this measuring (apparatus).
And it gets complicated because we can’t dictate how different materials are influencing the sound – the honey gold of the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater produces warmer tones than the platinum of this new watch. Each calibre also has its own specificities because of how the gongs are attached to the movement or the case, and the volume of air in the case…then there is the order and the speed of the strikes besides. There are many factors to have under control to deliver acoustic beauty; the watchmaker tries to bring it together and finishes his work when he is convinced that the sound is now colourful and clear (or as far as he can make it considering the materials he is working with).
Of course, it is not only about this one watch so we should talk a little about the Odysseus in honey gold. Solid as it is, it makes me wonder if you considered how people would feel about this watch, and how they would feel it?
I think, as human beings, we are all different; I can imagine even in the development team there are different feelings (about this and other watches that we worked on). But it’s clear here (with the Odysseus) that feeling includes the haptic, especially when you consider the bracelet too. If you take it in your hands (or hand when you wear it), we wanted to give this feeling that ‘oh yes, this is valuable.’ So, there is no merit in having the lightest case…if maybe (the client) does not get the impression that it is valuable, or has value. It has impact if someone picks it up and says ‘wow!’ In fact, that is what happened in one of the presentations (at WWG), where I unveiled the new watches and this lady said (of the Odysseus) that this is exactly what you want to have (A. Lange & Söhne makes it a habit to have the new watches arrive covered with a cloth; the senior management then pulls away the cloth with a bit of practiced flourish and watches your reactions. So, you are inspecting the watches and the watchmakers are inspecting you).
It was, for us, a little bit logical (to use honey gold for a sports watch, and introduce the honey gold bracelet for it) because it is twice as hard as normal gold. If I want to have a gold version of a sporty watch, it’s better to have the harder one to be more scratch-resistant, and (all the other virtues that hardness affords). The second point was that the honey gold fits perfectly with different skin colours (and seasons too). If I’m wearing it in the summer, and I’m wearing it outside in sunlight, it looks (more) brown. In the winter, it looks more white. So, it’s always perfect, I think, and that is not the case with every kind of gold.
Well, there is a hunger amongst collectors to see more honey gold pieces…
It’s so difficult, even with the processing of the alloy (before any machining happens, and the machining is pretty tough) and the heat treatment – we even had to reject some batches of the material. That’s why we stay with limited editions for (watches in honey gold). At the moment, there’s no way to do it for a watch in the normal collection.
Of course, this reminds me of the situation with the Odysseus Chronograph…
It’s never mass production at A. Lange & Söhne. You know, the (entire assortment) becomes more and more complicated. At the moment, even the quantity goes down a little bit as a result; this year, no more than 5,000, and maybe (only around) 4,800. This is because you need the production hours for more complicated watches.
For example, now we are training the second watchmaker who will work on the Minute Repeater Perpetual. There is a third one but he is working on the Richard Lange Minute Repeater, still, while also doing servicing for the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater. So, we are training people but it takes time. Hopefully, the 50 Minute Repeater Perpetual watches will be produced in three or four years…if everything goes well. It’s not fair to have the client wait five to eight years for that watch.
This story was first seen as part of the WOW Legacy 2025 Issue
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