Wilhelm schmid

A. Lange & Sohne prepares move to new manufactory

A. Lange & Sohne will relocate into its brand new manufacturing facility in Germany’s Glashutte later this summer, a move that will “moderately” increase production capacity.

In an interview with The Luxury Report by WatchPro, the company’s chief executive, Wilhelm Schmid, said that the new facility was less about making more timepieces, and more to do with maintaining and improving the quality of its exclusive watches.

“Our new manufactory building will allow us to moderately increase our production to meet the growing global demand for our timepieces in the years to come. To maintain the high levels of quality, the share of manual work and the already very high vertical depth of production will increase,” he said.

Maintaining that quality continually requires new blood at the company, which is why it puts education at the heart of its business. “A. Lange & Sohne is a forerunning in the development of new talents. Promoting the art of fine watchmaking is the goal of a programme by the name of F.A. Lange Scholarship & Watchmaking Excellence Awards. Launched in 2010, it offers talented young watchmakers from all over the world the opportunity to become acquainted with our unique understanding of haute horlogerie,” explained Schmid.

British retailers yearning to add A. Lange & Sohne to their line up of luxury watches are likely to be disappointed, as Schmid said he was satisfied with the current mix of boutiques around the world. “With 14 own boutiques and about 200 points of sale in more than sixty countries, we have a well-rounded sales structure,” he said.

James Buttery

Editor of WatchPro, the WatchPro Hot 100 and The Luxury Report.

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