Review – A. Lange & Sohne Saxonia Boutique Edition with Grey Dial – The Perfect Dress Watch… But More Exclusive (live pics, specs & price)

You love excellence. Excellence in work and excellence in life. But you do not like showing off. It is something that shows in your career, your lifestyle, your clothing, and your watches and jewelry. When you buy a watch, it has to be perfect. And it has to be understated. You are somewhat puzzled about what to buy next. You are looking for something that you can wear with other black or blue clothing. If you recognize yourself, take a look at the A. Lange & Sohne Saxonia Boutique Edition, with its pink gold case, combined to a stunning grey dial. If you want to know more about the watch and our view, continue reading!

In October 2015, we shared with you the announcement of the A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Boutique Edition grey dial that is sold exclusively in the boutiques of A. Lange & Söhne. We recently received the watch for a more in-depth review. Our views are shared with you in this article.

Let us start with our conclusion: we love it! It’s as simple as that. The combination of pink gold, grey dial and brown alligator strap makes the watch different enough from other Lange’s dress watches to justify the purchase, even if you already own a few of Lange’s functional dress watches. The employees of A. Lange & Sohne are as passionate about the lower-priced models as the higher-priced models, when it comes to attention to details and finishing. The watch works well on both a women’s and a man’s wrist, as we will show you later.

Some words on the Saxonia watch family

The Saxonia family is one of the 5 families of watches from A. Lange & Sohne. The watch has been part of the Lange collection since its resurrection in 1990 and the presentation of various new watches in October 1994 to the outside world. The brand has re-established itself as one of the top watch brands in the world. In many ways, the Saxonia represents the values of craftsmanship, functionality and perfection the Saxon watch industry has always been known for. The Saxonia family stands for focus on the fundamental aspects and perfection of every individual detail, harmony, readability and clarity. Every model in the family shares the same design characteristics: golden appliqués as hour markers, lancet-shaped hands, easily readable dial, small seconds – or moon phase – at the 6 o’clock position.

Design of dial and case of the A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Boutique Edition

Lange has always spoiled us with perfectly designed and finished dials and cases. The Saxonia Boutique Edition is no exception. The dial is functional and easily readable. It features golden appliqués, lancet shaped-hands and a small seconds sub-dial at 6 o’clock. The slate color matches well with the pink gold appliqués, hands and case. As to be expected, the case is very well finished with its partly brushed and partly polished parts and curved edges.

What about the size? The size of the manual-wound Saxonia went from 37mm to 35mm and now back to 37mm for the Boutique Edition. We love the size. 36mm or 37mm aligns very well with the design, more so than the 40mm Grand Saxonia. It looks balanced and it fits well on the wrist. On a women’s wrist as well as a man’s wrist.

The movement

Our hearts sing when we look at this familiar movement. The A. Lange & Sohne Saxonia Boutique Edition houses the well-known, precise and reliable Calibre L941.1. The movement has been used in other manually wound watches, such as the 1815 (see below). It features the typical Glashütte three-quarter plate with its rounded polished corners (a sign that it is finished by hand) which gives a secure base to the movement. Like all Lange watches, the visible and non-visible parts are finished. Triple-screwed and double-screwed golden chatons with synthetic rubies are used. By the way, did you know that the prices of the blued screws can vary from cents to close to 10 euros? And that Lange uses expensive screws?

The whiplash precision regulator is mounted on the hand-engraved balance cock. Each engraving is unique to a specific engraver. An of course, the movement is assembled twice.

All in all, a movement that you will immediately recognize as a Lange.

A comparison of the A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Boutique Edition to some relatives

We compared the Saxonia Boutique Edition with 2 relatives: The 36mm 1815 manual wound and the 40mm zero-reset automatic Grand Saxonia. That was more gratifying than attending a party.

Isn’t that a combination that goes well together? Each watch for its own occasion. The three watches show enough differences to include all three in your collection. You may notice that the hour markers of the Boutique Edition are longer than those of the Grand Saxonia despite its smaller size. The colors used and size difference make the watches different enough to wear each one at different occasions with different clothing. The military watch look of the 1815 is yet another great example of the perfect dress watch. The size difference is almost neglectable. Both watches share the same movement: the L941.1

As you see the bottom part of the case of the Saxonia is brushed while the bottom part of the case of the 1815 is polished. The Saxonia also has a more pink color.

Concluding words

The Saxonia might be the brand’s entry level model (the real entry level is now the Saxonia Thin 37mm), but that does not show in the finishing. The attention-to-detail and the passion for perfect finishing of movement and case is visible. The watch stands for perfection, understatement and functionality. Values that may match your personal values in work and private life. The Saxonia Boutique Edition is a pure, elegant dress watch for men and women. Whether it is worth the price (16.900 Euros), is something for you to decide. We love it and felt privileged to have the opportunity to review the watch.

Specifications of the A. Lange & Sohne Saxonia Boutique Edition

• Case: pink gold (also available in white gold) with brushed and polished finishing, diameter 37.0mm, height 7.8mm.
• Dial: slate/grey
• Functions hours and minutes, small seconds, stop seconds
• Movement: L941.1, hand-wound, 45 hour power reserve, 164 parts, 21 jewels, 4 screwed chatons, lever escapement, shock-resistant screw balance, nivarox balance spring, frequency 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour, whiplash precision index adjuster with beat-adjustment mechanism; diameter 25.6mm, height 3.2mm
• Strap: Brown alligator leather strap with pink gold clasp
• Price: 16.900 euro, exclusively available in the official boutiques of the brand
• Reference 216.033

More details can be found at: http://www.alange-soehne.com/en/timepieces/saxonia/#saxonia-boutique-edition/introduction/216-027