This Limited Edition A. Lange & Söhne Shows That The Simplest Watch Is Often The Hardest To Make

• Two new SAXONIA THIN editions in 750 Honeygold® and 950 platinum, each limited to 200 pieces.
• Features a jet-black onyx dial, hand-cut and polished to a flawless, mirror-like surface.
• Powered by the Calibre L093.1, one of Lange’s thinnest manual movements at just 2.9 mm thick.

There’s an old saying from Johan Cruyff: “Playing football is very simple, but playing simple football is the hardest thing there is.”

You might be wondering why a quote from a legendary Dutch footballer has found its way into a watch piece. But for A. Lange & Söhne and the latest iteration of the SAXONIA family, perhaps no truer words could be applied. Because creating a simple watch, a truly simple watch, is anything but.

Based in Glashütte, Saxony, A. Lange & Söhne has built a reputation for obsessive craftsmanship across a nearly-200-year history.

For many, this German mainstay sits as one of the few true peers to the “Holy Trinity” haute horlogerie and although Lange’s collections have always been about restraint and meticulous precision, the SAXONIA Family has always struck me as the perfect distillation of what this manufacture does best; a minimalist piece that’s the embodiment of German precision and an obsessive attention to detail.

2025’s THIN sees Lange taking its most minimal design to make it even more exclusive, releasing two limited editions of 200 pieces each: one in 750 Honeygold® (a proprietary alloy warmer than yellow gold) and the other in 950 platinum.

The dial, jet-black onyx, which gives the watch a deep, mirror-like surface rarely seen in traditional watchmaking, is the stand-out feature. It may seem simple enough, but to carve, polish, and set a gemstone dial this thin without cracking it requires surgeon-like precision.

Here, light is absorbed into the dial, creating this glossy shimmer that contrasts perfectly with with either the warm glow of SAXONIA’s Honeygold® or the cool restraint of platinum. No logos, no date windows, no superfluous sub-dials. Just two hands and twelve baton markers. Simplicity, manifest.

Of course, with a name like THIN, it’ll come as no surprise that the all-new SAXONIA houses one of the manufacture’s thinnest movements in the brand’s history: the Calibre L093.1.

Measuring just 2.9 mm thick, this manual-winding movement first appeared in the original A. Lange & Söhne SAXONIA THIN 37 and has since become emblematic of the collection.

The challenge, however, of finishing such a compact calibre by hand is monumental. Every bevel, every polished screw head, every sliver of anglage must be executed with absolute precision.

And yet, despite its size, the movement carries the same traditional Glashütte striping, gold chatons, and hand-engraved balance cock you’d find on Lange’s most complicated timepieces. It’s no wonder A. Lange & Söhne watchmakers don’t even touch a watch during the first year of training.

The 38 mm case sits slightly smaller than my usual 40 mm preference, but with a lighter profile, you’re not picking up a SAXONIA THIN for its presence on the wrist. In fact, this sits perfectly proportioned, reflecting the balanced, minimalist aesthetic of the dial.

As Cruyff said, the hardest thing is to play simple. Well, in fine watchmaking, there isn’t a brand in the world that could make something so simple, and still be the most complicated piece in the vitrine.