Lang & Heyne CEO and Watchmaker discuss their latest watch

We caught up with the CEO of Lang & Heyne Alexander Gutierrez Dias and Watchmaker Jens Schneider to discuss their latest watch: the Friedrich III Remontoir Sincere Platinum Jubilee Edition, a limited edition watch crafted to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Sincere Fine Watches.

In Conversation: Lang & Heyne CEO and Watchmaker discuss their latest watch

We met with both Alex and Jens at the Sincere Haute Horlogerie Boutique in Marina Bay Sands recently to discuss their latest collaboration with Sincere Fine Watches. We covered the Friedrich III Remontoir Sincere Platinum Jubilee Edition in some detail at the release. And as we did have some clarifications on the technical aspects of the watch, we began our discussion with this.

Technical questions on the Friedrich III Remontoir Sincere Platinum Jubilee Edition with Jens Schneider

So we started off with Jens Schneider. I have known Jens for a good two decades, since his early days as a master watchmaker at A. Lange & Söhne responsible for prototyping and assembly. And followed his career when he moved to Moritz Grossmann. He joined Lang & Heyne in 2019, and have been working furiously to move the watches from an almost hand made, individual production pieces by Marco Lang into a production environment with consistently high quality in the craftsmanship of the watches.

We started by confirming that the remontoir works as we described in our commentary. And the caliber is first seen on the special edition in collaboration with Lavish Attic. The Lavish Attic Friedrich III Edition uses the same Caliber VI-I. However the movement was in titanium, while the Sincere Edition novelty release uses the more standard substrate of brass.

The movement plates are “sand-blasted” using a special technique using ceramic micro-balls to achieve the unique textured surface, instead of the usual steel micro-balls. Jens said they also tried blasting the silver surface with glass micro-balls, but these shatter on contact and give an uneven finish which is interesting, but not the even texture they wanted.

This textured surface contrasts magnificently to the highly polished anglage on the edges as well as to the gold chatons and the black polished swan-neck fine adjustment system used in the balance. The flying barrels feature a snailed finish which also provides an aesthetically pleasing visual to the movement. Note also the use of a diamond end-stone in the balance, which is an age long indication of Quality 1A, the highest produced in the Saxony region.

Next, the dial. As previously discussed, the dial is a three piece dial made of ceramic and solid silver. The structure sits on a plate which is 0.4mm thick. The ceramic chapter ring is glued to the plate and occupies the outermost periphery. The ceramic here is 1mm thick. The sunken sub-dial for the jumping seconds hand is a ceramic disc of the same material which is 0.4mm thick, and thus sits 0.6mm below the chapter ring. Unlike two piece enamel dial construction where the sunken sub-dial is chamfered and friction fitted into the opening on the main dial, the ceramic sub-dial and the ceramic chapter ring are glued together. Jens told us that they initially tried to friction fit, but ceramic surfaces are smoother and brittle, and can easily shatter. The third piece is a center medallion in silver. This entire ensemble is mounted on a brass plate. The chapter ring and silver medallion is glued from the top, and the sub-dial glued to the edges of an opening made for it.

The solid silver center piece medallion also features a beautiful blue, textured finish. The blue is achieved by galvanic process and then blasted with ceramic micro-balls in the same way as with the brass movement plates.

The watch features hands which are made in-house in Dresden by Lang & Heyne. The hands are laser cut and hand finished. The markers are also laser engraved and infilled with enamel paint. This process is more complex than the usual pad printing technique as the enamel paint can bleed onto the ceramic if printed. For the sharp crisp outline of the markings, the specialist have to painstakingly apply the paint by hand using a syringe.

The Friedrich III Remontoir Sincere Jubilee Edition is a superb timepiece. Marked by the handsome good looks, and fine finishing. The conceptualisation of the watch is also of great interest, making the 7 piece limited edition a very rare series. The use of ceramic, and its juxtaposition to more classical materials like silver and stainless steel (case) is novel. And the special techniques developed for the sandblasting a statement of innovation. Especially from a small independent watchmaker.

Business questions on Lang & Heyne with Alex Dias

Next up Alex. We asked him to trace the history of the brand and the relation to Tempus Arte. The maison’s history began in 2001, when two young watchmakers – Marco Lang and Mirko Heyne started producing watches bearing the signature “Lang & Heyne”. I have known Marco Lang since the late 1990s when he operated a vintage watch shop along the streets of the Neustadt in Dresden. I also know Marco’s father, Rolf who was then the headmaster of the Watchmaking School at A. Lange & Söhne. Mirko left the maison in 2002 to become the head of research and development at Nomos. And Marco continued with the company.

Marco sold majority ownership of the brand to Munich based Prof. Dr. Ulrich L. Rohde. Rohde also bought Uhren-Werke-Dresden (UWD) to serve as a movement supplier to Lang & Heyne and both operations were managed by Marco. I visited both facilities in 2017, hosted by Marco. The companies were grouped under Tempus Arte GmbH & Co KG, who also acquired Stowa in 2021. Stowa makes mainly Flieger pilot’s watches and is based in the Black Forest. The group also owns 50% of Blaken, a watch customisation specialist.

Marco stayed with the maison till 2019 to start his own brand, leaving a legacy of some 9 in-house developed calibers which stand on their own. We have covered many of their watches over the last decade, and they have always been handmade timepieces displaying high craftsmanship.

Alex joined Tempus Arte in 2020 and with Jens at his right hand as head of development, he set about to “industrialise” the maison. Industrialisation is perhaps too strong a word, as the maison remains a small manufacturer, making 150 to 200 watches in 2023. The bulk of the work undertaken by Alex and Jens consist of streamlining the 6 in-house calibers, and ensuring that each incorporates elements to enable series production and assembly. This was essentially a reengineering process where serviceability and reliability were the key issues being addressed. The earlier watches made by Marco were essentially hand made by him, and exhibits the hallmarks of individual construction. Charming as this trait may be, especially for independent watchmakers, for the brand to grow and prosper, some form of standardisation needs to be in place.

With this reengineering completed, they then set about to re-focused the collection families, starting with the Georg as the core. The watch designed to exemplify the Saxon watchmaking tradition with contemporary vibes.

Work began with the Caliber VI and VIII, and with the new Caliber IX. The Caliber IX was improved on and the movement is installed in the Anton Manufaktur Edition with flying tourbillon which features cutouts so that the tourbillon is visible from both the front as well as the case back. With this novelty, the Caliber VI not only underwent changes to improve production, but also gained a complication in the form of a remontoir. These revisions were undertaken by Jens during his tenure.

Conclusion of the meeting

Alex also emphasised the independence of Lang & Heyne. Since day one, the Maison has chosen not to be in Glashütte, the heart of Saxon watchmaking. But to be located in Dresden, a city which is much larger than the village town of Glashütte. Dresden was the seat of August the Strong, the patron to the industry since the 1800s. It also is a signal to the world confirming their fiercely independent nature, and can thus follow their own path rather than be dictated by the traditions of Glashütte.

The manufacture currently have 35 employees, of which about 50% are watchmakers. And other than the case, crystal, straps and dials, the manufacture makes everything in-house in Dresden. All development and design work is also carried out within their facility in Dresden.

With that we have come to the conclusion of our time with Alex and Jens, as the boutique was getting ready for a collector cocktail in about an hour. We bid farewell and wished them all the best.