A Legendary Watchmaker Just Perfected the Ultimate Elevated Daily Driver

A. Lange & Sohne’s Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar “Lumen” rightfully commands attention as one of the most ambitious and visually arresting releases of this year’s Watches and Wonders trade show.

But the more consequential release may be the quieter one: a watch that’s impeccably refined and fascinatingly complex, yet also remarkably easy to live with.

Watches and Wonders Geneva: Rolex, Grand Seiko and dozens of other heavy hitters gather in Switzerland every year to release their biggest watches. Catch up on all the new novelties.

Resized? More like rethought.

A. Lange & Söhne

The previous Saxonia Annual Calendar, which at one point served as the only annual calendar Lange offered outside the 1815 family, was officially discontinued in 2018.

Now it’s back, and more versatile than ever.

The most immediately noticeable change with this revival is the case size. The previous-generation Saxonia Annual Calendar measured 38.5mm in diameter – the same as the Lange 1.

This new version trims that down to 36mm while maintaining a height of 9.8mm. It’s a move that follows the brand’s own playbook from Watches and Wonders 2025, where the 34mm 1815 three-handers drew widespread praise for their compact, confident proportions.

A. Lange & Söhne

At 36mm, the new Saxonia Annual Calendar also earns the distinction of being the smallest complicated Lange currently in the catalog beyond a simple date or power reserve display, as Worn & Wound noted in their coverage of the release.

It’s available in two rich and elegant-looking configurations – white gold with an argent-colored dial and pink gold with a cool grey dial – each of which keeps the clean, minimal design language that defines the Saxonia family.

A. Lange & Söhne

Beyond the obvious engineering hurdles of shrinking the movement, the key to downsizing any watch is nailing the proportions of key design elements, and, unsurprisingly, Lange clearly went to great lengths to get the watch’s overall aesthetic balance just right.

For example, slimming the bezel makes the dial appear more expansive, making the 36mm dimensions feel even more generous on the wrist.

Applied baton hour markers feature redesigned pyramid-shaped tips that catch light, adding subtle visual interest without cluttering the dial.

The subdials for day of the week (at nine o’clock), month (at three o’clock), and small seconds with moonphase (at six o’clock) are gently sunken and beveled, with a delicate azurage finishing that creates depth.

A movement to match

A. Lange & Söhne

Under the dial sits the new L207.1 automatic caliber, replacing the outgoing L085.1. It’s a central rotor movement – a shift from the offset microrotor layout of the previous generation – with a platinum winding mass and a 60-hour power reserve, up from the former 46 hours.

The movement runs at 21,600 vibrations per hour and, in keeping with Lange tradition, is assembled twice and finished to the brand’s exacting standards.

Through the sapphire caseback, you’ll find German silver bridges with Glashutte ribbing, gold chatons, heat-blued screws and a hand-engraved balance cock.

A. Lange & Söhne

One of the most practical upgrades, as Revolution notes, is a new external pusher at ten o’clock that advances all calendar indications forward by one day – a welcome convenience for anyone who hasn’t worn the watch in a few days and needs to catch up the display without reaching for a tool.

The annual calendar complication itself is as practical as they come. It automatically accounts for months with 30 and 31 days, requiring manual correction only once a year at the end of February.

A. Lange & Söhne

The moonphase display, rendered on a gold disc coated in a deep-blue finish and dotted with 428 miniature stars, needs correction only once every 122.6 years.

As a complication, the annual calendar occupies a sweet spot between a simple date and a full perpetual calendar. It’s less mechanically complex and less expensive, but far more useful day to day than a basic three-hander.

The combination with Lange’s oversized big date makes the information instantly legible, which is exactly what you want from a dress watch you’ll actually wear.

Availability and pricing

A. Lange & Söhne

The new A. Lange & Sohne Saxonia Annual Calendar is available now in both white gold (ref. 331.026 E) and pink gold (ref. 331.033 E), each fitted with an alligator leather strap.

Pricing is listed as available on request, though Hodinkee lists the price as “in the range of 65,000 euros“, which puts it in a similar neighborhood to the 1815 Annual Calendar at $58,600.

It’s not an inexpensive watch by any measure, but for a Lange with this level of finishing, an annual calendar complication and a moonphase display, it represents a compelling value proposition within the high-end dress watch category.

Both models are available through A. Lange & Sohne boutiques and authorized retailers worldwide.

A. Lange & Söhne

A. Lange & Sohne Saxonia Annual Calendar 36mm (Ref. 331.026 E)

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