IWC vs A.Lange & Sohne

Dear Forum Members,

I am revisiting purchasing an IWC timepiece for my fiftieth. It has been seven years in the making and now I am 53. You cannot rush these things :)

After the recent email from IWC alerting us to the advent of their three new Pilot watches I thought it time again to visit our local dealer in Melbourne, Australia.

Up until now nothing ticked all the boxes.

Required conditions:

1. Non-cluttered easy to read dial face.
2. Easy to read date complication without the requirement for reading glasses.
3. Larger than the Portofino Automatic 38mm, smaller than the Big Pilot 55mm.

Upon visiting our dealer, the 8 day Portofino Big Date was displayed to us. It was then that I mentioned I could be interested in a gold timepiece. My estimate on how much that was going to cost was severely underestimated.

When I mentioned that I could be interested in a gold 8 Day Big Date. The dealer said the following:

"Possibly I would be interested in an a A. Lange & Sohne Saxonia Moon Phase"?

I wish to admit I am attracted to this watch. It ticked all the boxes though may have been a little on the small side at 40mm.

It was the following that the salesperson said next.

"The A.Lange & Sohne would be a better investment down the track and it is made in Germany". With an emphasis on Germany being more desirable.

My questions to the forum.

1. Do A.Lange & Sohne make better investments?
2. Is made in Germany more desirable?

The Saxonia does cost an extra $4,000 AUD. It is and is not a deal breaker. If I/we are going to spend $34,000 AUD on a Portofino. What is an extra $4,000 AUD?

Please remember my wife was present at the time and thought a watch would be a better investment than a fishing boat and I could hand it down to our son we he turns fifty.

For your thoughts and responses.

I did try to include a link to the Saxonia. Though my post would not post.

Definitely a better investment than a boat, but let's stop there! Both models can be had at a reasonable discount on the secondary market so I wouldn't be looking at any big investment opportunities. If you are serious about Lange (they are gorgeous but tend to be a little small for me as well) then I would suggest the hand-wound models over automatic. And I wouldn't say that "Made in Germany" is more desireable; there are some pretty nice watches coming out of Switzerland, too;)

Did you ever consider the Portuguese 8 Day Handwound? When I read your post, I think you might be interested. The date is fairly big, as it sits rather at the outside of the dial. For one reason or the other this watch is hardly ever mentioned here, yet it is a very classic design, and the movement is very sophisticated.

By the way, I hardly ever look at my watches as investments, the cost is made, they will probably be with me for the rest of my life. And I consider Lange a notch higher than IWC, to be compared with Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin.

Kind regards,
Paul

Thank you Ben and Paul.

Ben I notice you have taken a pic in the back your tub. Looks pretty decent. A bit more expensive than the tinnie I was planning on.

Paul, I typed my original message in three times before I learned to copy it and paste it the final time. A bit has been lost the subsequent reiterations when I tried to add a link.

The reason for my visit was to observe the Portofino 8 Day big Date first hand. I like the original 8 Day Portofino. Though the date was too small for me eyes to read. It was when I mentioned of going gold that the salesperson mentioned the Lange & Sohne. My wife and I are going back for a second look tomorrow to compare both watches side by side.

I had never heard of this brand of watch before and it fitted the bill. Ticked all the boxes. But its not IWC. My mindset. I think that this watch has a button for moving the date. A very desirable feature, for me. If it passes the wife's OK it will be on the shopping list. I have been so focused on IWC Pilots for so long, I thought of nothing else than IWC. This was a pleasant surprise at an extra $4,000 AUD.

Yes you are correct. It is for a life time. To be passed onto our son.

Thank you both for your comments. Well received.

Hello Paul - do take a look at the back side of a hand-wound Lange when you get the chance.

Hi Paul, great idea to buy a (belated) watch for your 50th birthday!

As Sunflower mentioned, investment is not the right word/attitude IMHO (or go all the way and seek rare vitage pieces with increased difficulty to find and risk of buying the wrong stuff....)

In terms of your preferences: if IWC, why not the Portuguese Automatic? Very easy to read, large enough date AND as a bonus you get 7-day power reserve which is really convenient! Finally, it's also available in white and rose gold etc.! I have relatively small wrists but it really wears very comfortably too, despite it's thickness.
I own the white gold/ardoise since 10 years:

Finally, Lange&S is one of my favorite brands too, but I don't own one (yet)... They make beautiful watches / Teutonic design (like IWC!) / gorgeous finish of the movements / great history (incl. IWC being involved in their resurrection after WWII) / and high-end prices since they only do precious metals...
And NO, 'German' is not more desirable than 'Swiss' at all, but AL&S certainly is on of the best brands out there.

Looking forward to your response,

Bob

Hi Paul! Let me help you out a little.

First of all, I think the word "investment" is term that is not really correct. I think that re-sale value is the term we should use. So I think the real question here is: Which watch would have the best re-sale value down the road that you like the best?

If this is the question, I think the A.lange & Sohne will have better re-sale value. This being said, when selling the watch, you are most likely to lose money on both.

But let's be honest. You want to buy a watch for a special moment right? So we should go for a watch you would never want to sell! :)

But let me answer you second question: Is german made more desirable?

This totally depends really. The fact is that A.lange & Sohne has way, way smaller production numbers and is therefore is more exclusive. There finishing standards of the movements and cases is higher than IWC, but that's the extra price you have to pay for it. So is it more diserable? depends to who you compare it to...

It's always diffucult to give a right a advice and I know this is the IWC forum so I hope nobody is starting to dislike me for my advice.

Taking your wishes into consideration, I think the right watch to go is the A.Lange & Sohne. It has the most easy to read dial, big date, probably better re-sale value and also a better finished movement and case.

But like Paul already mentioned, this would be my advice if you are 100% narrowed down to these pieces. With such a budget you truly have so much to choose from. I am more than happy to help you out. send me an email anytime you like :)

Not looking from an investment perspective...

I am an avid fan of IWC. I would generally recommend people to get an IWC whenever they could.

In your case, if you could afford an A. Lange, my recommendation is: get one.

We have returned from our second visit to the "Toy Shop". Bob you are so unfair. To bring a rose gold Portuguese into the mix. A beautiful watch indeed. As of this morning my mind was made up on purchasing the A.Lange and Sohne. It is the watch I would never want to sell. This is the watch I will pass onto our son when he turns fifty.

Thank you every one for your input and advise. It has been well received and appreciated. I do not have all the funds together at the moment. Though hope to by the end of the year. If I miss out on the one on display, that is OK. I was advised it may take a little while to replace it. A few months to a year depending on stocks back in Germany. This is not an issue as I am and have been happy to wait for the right watch.

I have exhausted the last two days reading up on A.Lange and Sohne and their timepieces and company history. Quite a story.

I would like to thank IWC for not removing this post and allowing me to post on this forum with such a question. I appreciate the open and honest comments provided by forum members.

I will post again and hopefully with a pic when I do make the phone call to purchase the watch. My dear wife was happy for me to go ahead with my intentions. Though she did mention how many pugs she could have for the same money. We have enough pets, though it might appear, enough is not enough for her.

Thank you again. All was well received.

Now to look at the Portuguese family of watches ...... Bob?!@#$%

Excellent choice! A black dial Saxonia is on my wish list. One day...

ALS is a premium cousin to IWC and they were part of LMH before being bought by Richemont. The great Gunter Blumlein helped lead ALS's restart while he was still in charge of IWC & JLC and the rest is history.

IWC has more to do with ALS than some of us have thought.

If I recalled corrected, IWC (and many of their staff) were responsible for helping to reviving the brand (ALS) to what it is today.

Hello everybody! It's really nice to have such kind of discussion, as I am thinking of buying A.Lange & Sohne or IWC or VC as my next target. Thanks for the invaluable information.