A. Lange & Söhne continue their quest for German watchmaking excellence, with two new 1815 UP/DOWN models that bring a new colour and size to the lineup.
A. Lange & Söhne is a brand that is markedly rooted in tradition. Since 1845, the brand has characterised itself by distilling the very best of Germanic arts and mechanical heritage into high-class horological pieces. But such brands are becoming a rarity these days. The modern watch world is growing in both size and speed, with designs, sizes, and functions becoming increasingly ephemeral for a dynamic audience.
Despite this, A. Lange & Söhne stays the course, developing pieces of refined horology that maintain a strong sense of the brand’s history. In no other watch is this more readily apparent than the 1815 collection, particularly the UP/DOWN line. Not only is it named after founder Ferdinand Adolph Lange’s birth year, but the UP/DOWN’s crowning feature can trace itself back to 1879, with Patent No. 9349 protecting a device in pocket watches for recognising whether the watch is wound or unwound.
These days, we call that a power reserve indicator, and A. Lange & Söhne has one of the best versions of it. In 2026, the 1815 UP/DOWN collection keeps this lineage going in two references with gold cases and argenté-finished silver dials. But now, two more join the fray in limited-edition runs, sporting a completely revised look and feel.
Get Up To Get Down
The new A. Lange & Söhne 1815 UP/DOWN duo maintains the same elegant stance as their peers, yet are markedly different in several ways. For starters, both watches now measure 37.5mm in diameter with a 45mm lug-to-lug, reducing the size of the original’s 39mm-wide, 46mm-long case. Regardless, the watch’s 8.7mm case thickness remains the same, maintaining its attitude as an elegant dress watch. Also consistent are the materials of choice, with both available in 18k pink or white gold.
Having had the privilege of wearing both of them, and having more grey/silver-toned hardware on hand, the white gold blended in well with my outfit. However, the pink gold is really hard to deny once it’s on your wrist. Either way, you still get the same level of density and wrist presence from the gold, one that doesn’t often come with a watch of this stature.
As is typical of a dress watch, the new 1815 UP/DOWN models come on an alligator leather strap toned in accordance with the temperature of the case. The warmer pink gold gets brown, while the white gold matches the dial with blue.
One other observation I made with these leather straps is that they’re extremely comfortable, more so than most alligator leather straps tend to be. Either way, with 30m water resistance, you’re assured that the watch is robust enough to handle any of the dressy events you decide to take it to.
Blue & Sentimental
And with the new case size comes a new design, not in the sense that these 1815 UP/DOWN models massively redefine the collection, but that the new layout goes beyond what can be seen from the surface level. The original 39mm references of the lineup both sported 925 silver dials, topped with A. Lange & Söhne’s typical argenté finish. For these two new releases, the brand has decided to take the dial in a slightly new direction. A blue finish now covers the silver dial, which almost looks flat were it not for silver’s understated glow.
Not quite rich blue, perhaps bordering on green territory, the new dial colour is quite hypnotising, and meets my not-quite-green suit jacket right in the middle. Just like last time, a small indented border runs between the printed indices and the dial’s centre, segmenting the watch with a subtle dimensionality. Another change can be observed through the new handset, which foregoes the original blued steel for material-matching with the case.
Evidence of the older watch’s DNA still pulls through, though, as the subdials have kept both the argenté finish and their blued hands. Finally, the smaller size brings forth an even finer detail, in that the subdials are brought closer to the outer minute track. I honestly prefer this, though, as it leaves less negative space between the two without completely intersecting.
German Silver Surfer
But for the visual and tactile updates the new watches bring, it’s still the same 1815 UP/DOWN fans of the brand have come to know and love. Turning the watch around reveals this through the open caseback by way of the manual-wind Cal. L051.2.
Beating at a steady 3Hz (21,600VpH), the movement is able to run for a continuous 72 hours. This is easily trackable through the Cal. L051.2’s crowning feature: its power reserve indicator, set into the uniquely positioned eight o’clock subdial. This is also where the watch gets its name, as the reserve itself reads “AUF/AB”: UP/DOWN in German.
For a manually wound watch, it’s important that the power reserve is easily trackable, a challenge made much harder by the stringent slimness the dress watch design subscribes to. A. Lange & Söhne knows this, and has circumvented the issue with a planetary gear directly integrated into the movement instead of on top.
Not only does this keep the watch slim, but the solution is one that uses the same concepts introduced by Richard and Emil Lange, the sons of Ferdinand Adolph – in-line with the heritage of the brand. While it’s not a new movement, as is so often expected of A. Lange & Söhne, the 1815 UP/DOWN is not a new collection. What it is, however, is a refinement on what is already an intricately finished timepiece.
Initial Thoughts
As a huge fan of German watchmaking, I was not expecting lightning to strike twice this year at A. Lange & Söhne. Coming off finishing my review on the Saxonia Annual Calendar 36 presented at Watches & Wonders, and immediately being given the opportunity to wear this, it’s safe to say I was trying really hard not to lose my mind.
Yet, that’s what happens so often with A. Lange & Söhne. Though their watches remain understated, traditional, and familiar only to a select crowd, they can still blow minds as much as any bombastic piece from an avant-garde brand. Even when the watch’s attitude ascribes itself to its lineage as much as the 1815 collection does, the new UP/DOWN duo feels distinctly modern, almost as if Lange & his sons had stepped into a time machine and started making watches today.
References & Specifications
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Reference | 244.037 (Pink Gold) 244.028 (White Gold |
| Dimensions | 37.5mm case diameter x 45mm lug-to-lug x 8.7mm thickness |
| Case | 18k pink or white gold |
| Dial | 925 silver with blue, argenté, & gold finishes |
| Crystal | Sapphire |
| Caseback | Open, sapphire |
| Movement | Manual wind Cal. L051.2 with power reserve indicator & small seconds complications |
| Power Reserve | 72h |
| Beat Rate | 4Hz / 28,800VpH |
| Water Resistance | 30m / 3bar |
| Strap/Bracelet | Brown / blue alligator leather strap with gold pin buckle |