The newest strap in the Unpolished Store is Textured Taupe, made from Epsom leather. Lightweight, durable, and resistant to scratches and moisture, it’s famously used by luxury houses for all kinds of leather bags and leather goods.
Available in 18, 19, and 20mm at a special launch price of $100 through Labor Day (+ members still get 10% off!):
Thanks for the feedback on Thursday’s Gallet coverage. I’ve decided to open it up to all subscribers—read it here:
I went to the Breitling Boutique on Michigan Ave yesterday hoping to see the Gallet Classics, which I haven’t seen in person, but learned they won’t be carrying Gallet—kind of surprising, I thought.
Up and Down
I visited Dresden and Glashütte for the first time last year. The Up/Down format is in shop windows everywhere. Not just A. Lange & Söhne, but also more affordable pocket watches from when East German watchmaking was nationalized after the War.
I love when a design feels so tied to a specific place. The Lange 1815 Up/Down is based on a 19th-century Lange patent for power reserve—Auf/Ab tells you whether it’s wound or empty. It’s a bit quirky, at least for a German, with off-center subdials at 4 and 8 o’clock—a running seconds and power-reserve indicator.
Glashütte watchmaking is the charming underdog to the north of Switzerland, and the Up/Down captures its no-nonsense essence with a simple power reserve.
In the catalog since 1997, the Up/Down sits somewhere between the Saxonia Thin and the Lange 1. Not the entry-level, but thinner and more wearable than anything above it. A solid entry point, and still captivating enough for collectors to hunt rare, special, or early Up/Downs.
Lange introduced a limited-edition 1815 Up/Down pair this weekend. Blue dial with white subdials, 37.5mm white or rose gold case, limited to 300 in each metal. They look great. A limited edition, yes, but a pretty big one by Lange standards.1 I’ve already seen a couple get delivered.
The new pair is ~$45k from what I’ve heard. A first-gen blue dial—the one collectors want—trades around that, up from $30k just a year ago.
The limited editions adapt elements of previous models.
Reference Table:
First Generation 1815 Up/Down
The first-generation 1815 Up/Down is 35.9x7.9mm (43mm lug-to-lug), basically the perfect size for a dress watch. Same diameter as the three-hand 1815, only 0.5mm thicker to add the power-reserve gearing.
Case: Traditional Lange three-part case with polished bezel, brushed midcase, and notched lugs (interestingly, the midcase on the pink gold is polished, not brushed)
Dial: Railway outer track with Saxon floral at the cardinal markers; those bold numerals that look stamped by a Glashütte typewriter. Gangreserve floats around the power-reserve indicator.
Movement: L942.1, with 48-hour power reserve. I’ll quote Walt Odets, because his review, while not even glowingly positive, is one of the reasons I appreciate the Up/Down:
“While much of the beauty of the Lange derives from its traditional materials and appearance, the adherence to tradition limits what this watch could have been…The Up/Down is essentially a miniaturized replica of a 19th century German pocket watch.
The Lange Up/Down is its own kind of quirky, old-new masterpiece. It is not, however, a contribution to furthering the technical development of the mechanical watch.”
His entire technical breakdown is worth a read. Three-quarter plate, German silver, gold chatons, hand-engraved balance cock, with a differential gearing to drive the power reserve indicator. “If traditional German charm is to your taste,” it’s hard to beat the 1815, he writes, but adds that the Chopard caliber 1.96, Patek caliber 240, or Lange’s automatics are more technically impressive.
The first-gen models are mostly the same, except the platinum and yellow gold have blued hour and minute hands, while the white and rose have gold hands matching the case. I like the traditional look of Lange’s blue steel hands on the argenté dial, even if the Blue Up/Down is more “collectible.”
A curious detail
The 1815 Up/Down is typically seen with Lange’s standard silver dial, which has a flat, slightly textured surface. However, there seems to be another variant. A friend of mine recently bought a first-gen yellow, and when it arrived, he was surprised to find the center portion had a circular-grained pattern. Hardly noticeable until you get up close. I don’t think they’re any more valuable, but it’s an interesting detail to note (although I can imagine dealers marketing these as “rare two-tone dials!” in the future). Part of the fun of collecting, especially this era, when there’s plenty to learn:
Integrated bracelet
Like many early Langes, the 1815 Up/Down was also offered with an integrated Wellendorff bracelet
251.021 (Yellow gold): Last sold at auction in 2024 ($22,680), cataloged as the second known example. People pay crazy prices for anything Wellendorff now, so who knows what it’d sell for.
251.025 (Platinum): Documented in collector-maintained databases, but I haven’t seen one sell publicly. Let me know if you’ve seen even a picture of one!
ADDITIONAL READING
Last year I compared the first-gen Up/Down to the Patek Philippe 5000, two of my favorite watches from the 90s. Not the most collectible or complicated, just great dress watches.
Walter Lange Edition
In 2006, Lange introduced a limited-edition Up/Down trio in white, pink, and yellow gold as a tribute to Walter A. Lange:
Key differences: 37.5mm, hinged caseback with Lange’s signature engraved, and gold rings surrounding the subdials.
Limited to 50 pieces in each metal.
These have become more popular with collectors recently—market discussion below.
Second Generation
Bigger case, better movement
Lange discontinued the first-gen 1815 Up/Down in 2008 and introduced the second-gen in 2013 with an updated case, dial, and movement:
Case: 39x8.7mm, stepped bezel
Dial: Larger subdials, removed Gangreserve
Movement: Caliber L051.2 with 72-hour power reserve, exposed ratchet wheel and click spring (hidden under three-quarter plate in first gen)
I prefer the smaller size of the first gen, and also don’t love the larger second-gen subdials that gobble up the 5 and 7 numerals. But the updated movement is technically and aesthetically better. Catalog notes:
2013: Lange introduced the second-gen Up/Down in yellow gold (234.021), white (234.026), and pink gold (234.032), each priced around $30k. All with silver dial and blued hands.
2026: Pink and white remain in the catalog, MSRP: $39,600
Yellow gold was discontinued in the early 2020s.
Retailer Editions
Lange has also made a few limited-edition 1815 Up/Downs for retailers using the second-gen 39mm format:
Cellini 40th Anniversary: New York retailer Cellini was a long-time Lange partner. For its 40th anniversary in 2017, Lange released an 1815 Up/Down in white gold with a white lacquer dial—a first. Limited to 40 numbered pieces, the “40” on the subdial is also in red.
75 Years of Suarez: A 2018 special edition in pink gold for Spanish retailer Suarez, with an engraved hinged caseback. Limited to 20 numbered pieces.
Wempe Edition: A limited-edition pair for retailer Wempe in 2019 with a blue dial and contrasting white subdials. White and pink gold, 25 pieces each.
Back to the 2026 Editions
That brings us to the 2026 limited edition 1815 Up/Down pair: 37.5mm, “panda-style” dial with blue dial and contrasting subdials, same L051.2 movement as the 39mm. Details:
It takes the 37.5mm Walter Lange case and pairs it with the blue dial from the Wempe editions.
Limited to 300 each.
I’m curious how the large subdials work in the smaller case, a combo we haven’t seen before. Reserving judgment until I see them in person!
Price is on request, but I’ve heard it’s around $45k, a sensible ~10% over the standard editions.
2026 Market Update
The Lange market has been super hot, so I spoke to Vivek of Tahoma Watches about the 1815 Up/Down market. He’s sold a handful recently:
Below the paywall: How much you should pay for an 1815 Up/Down; the only one for sale in the U.S. right now, and which references the new pair could hit the most:
