That´s no coincidence of course, since both entrepreneurs, Ferdinand A. Lange and August Horch can be deemed fathers of technical progress and industrial development in Saxony.
It´s so easy … 🙂 You only need to have the brilliant idea to to combine the Lange watches with the Horch engine and car, bring the things together and organize a photo-shoot … The guys at Lange PR-department did a fantastic job.
Whilst curiously looking for new pictures of the A. Lange & Söhne “Grande Complication” on the brands press FTP some minutes ago, I just found these photographs. Wow!!!
Of course you have to see them. So I downloaded them and I quickly, with the material on the FTP, put this story together.
I now hope you´ll like my midnight surprise! OMG it´s late again … 🙂
Industrial pioneers Ferdinand A. Lange and August Horch both incorporated companies, albeit nearly sixty years apart. However, what the two entrepreneurs have in common is so astonishing that one is tempted to assume that a “Saxon pattern” exists. The quest for continuous improvement encouraged them to do things in their own way, and in both cases, the results were stunning technical accomplishments and influential premium brands.
Dresden watchmaker Ferdinand A. Lange, who was born in 1815, and mechanical engineer August Horch, 53 years his junior, never met. But their passions, ideals and visions were so similar they would have got along well with one another.
Ferdinand A. Lange’s dream of the “world’s finest watches” is an analogy of August Horch’s principle of “building cars exclusively with first-class materials”. What they also shared was the unfaltering pursuit of unprecedented technical achievements. As mechanical design innovators, they can both take credit for milestones in Saxony’s engineering heritage.
In 1845, for instance, Lange introduced the metric system to German watchmaking. And the three-quarter plate made of German silver, which he developed in 1864 to improve the stability of movements, remains one of the key hallmarks of A. Lange & Söhne watches to this very day.
Horch provided significant impetus for the refinement of automotive engineering with inventions like the first six-cylinder engine in 1907, shifting the engine forward for better weight distribution and introducing the drive shaft to replace the cumbersome belt drive systems.
Thus, both entrepreneurs can be deemed fathers of technical progress and industrial development in Saxony.
Thanks to their ideas and innovations, their influence on the companies they founded has extended far beyond their time.
Ferdinand A. Lange’s intellectual heritage lives on in A. Lange & Söhne’s current timepieces. The tradition-steeped 1815 Rattrapante Perpetual Calendar and the classic 1815 Up/Down are just two examples.
“Our photos show them with exhibits from the August Horch Museum Zwickau: with a 14/40 HP Horch four-cylinder engine, which dates back to 1919, and a 1936 Auto Union racing car Type C, one of the most successful German Grand Prix racing cars of all time”, expresses Lange.
The so-called “Silver Arrow from Zwickau” set over 30 world records. The speed record of 380 kilometers per hour in an open road race still stands today and testifies to the capabilities of Saxon engineers.
The photo-shooting at the August Horch Museum in Zwickau / Saxony / Germany (to enlarge the pictures please click on them once and then again …)
About the museum …
The August Horch Museum Zwickau GmbH was founded on 12.12.2000 by the city of Zwickau and AUDI AG as equal shareholders. The partners acquired the museum on the premises of the former Audi plant; it had been curated by the Sachsenring company since 1988. After the extensive rehabilitation of the century-old buildings as well as the redesign and expansion of the exhibits, the museum was reopened in 2004. It portrays the history of venerable brands – Horch, Audi, DKW, Wanderer, Auto Union, Sachsenring, Trabant and VW – and is one of two museums in Germany that occu-py original buildings of an automaker. Since the venue was reopened, the number of visitors has tripled to some 75,000 persons per year. For the city of Zwickau, the museum has become a flagship tourist attraction and an important economic factor.
Well Alexander, from one night owl to another: This is the time of the day where all distractions and nuisance vanish and creativity is released. Your creativity at this special time of the day has generated a very informative abstract of the history of Lange and Horch.
I am neither interested in cars nor am I a fan of Lange. But I really enjoyed reading this post. And I have to admit that the Lange watches indeed perfectly match with these cars.
Great pictures !
Love the Saxonia Annual Calendar on the racing tire – with the 8 exhaust pipes in the background 🙂
Apart from being a watch aficionado, I am also a car racing enthusiast and though Auto Union was before my time, I know about them, so thanks a million for the brief write-up along with lovely pictures!
Keep it up Alexander!!!