Glashütte is considered Saxony’s watchmaking hub, but by no means is it the only watchmaking town in this German state.
Other brands based in the Saxon capital Dresden are attracting attention from collectors. These collectors are looking for watches with typical German DNA: a classic appearance and complicated movement with an unrivaled level of finishing which often looks far more interesting than the watch dial. These Saxon traditions live on at the Lang & Heyne manufacture in Dresden.
The company has Marco Lang to thank for its inception, a fifth-generation watchmaker who spent seven years training under the guidance of the restorer Ihno Flessner who worked on antique timepieces and tower clocks. Lang followed in the footsteps of his father, who worked as the head restorer at the Mathematisch-Physikalische Salon.
It houses collections of watches and precision mechanical instruments and is part of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, a cultural institution comprised of fifteen museums. After returning to Dresden, Lang set up his own atelier, and later co-founded the Lang & Heyne manufacture following a fateful meeting with Mirko Heyne.
Lang & Heyne Friedrich III Deep Blue Ocean Unique Piece
Lang & Heyne Caliber VI
The new company unveiled its first models called Friedrich August and Johann one year later in Basel. All Lang & Heyne watches are named after Saxon rulers — the princes depicted on Dresden's famous Fürstenzug mural (English: Procession of Princes).
Mirko Heyne left the company bearing his name in the summer of 2002, although his resignation didn't impede the brand's development. Germans are known for their love of order, a stereotype which Lang & Heyne collections conform to, carefully organized into clearly defined lines named after historic rulers, each with its own dedicated movement.
The Lang & Heyne Caliber VI is used in the Friedrich II and Friedrich III watches, which are named after Frederick II, Margrave of Meissen, and his son Frederick III, the Strict Landgrave of Thuringia and Margrave of Meissen.
This manually wound Caliber VI with its 55-hour power reserve is housed in the Lang & Heyne Friedrich III Deep Blue Ocean Unique Piece — a one-of-a-kind model with a deep blue dial which sets it apart from the typical Friedrich III.
The manufacture's watchmakers have filled the dial's silver plate with Champlevé enamel. The cream-colored small seconds dial is meant to remind you of foam on blue breaking waves in the depths of the ocean.
The additional scales and full set of numerals have been abandoned for this special version of the watch. The case measuring 39.2 mm in diameter and 10.5 mm in height has a solid caseback which obscures the movement's masterful finishing. However, it provides an opportunity to admire the artistry by engravers at Lang & Heyne.