Sell Your Watch
Sell your A. Lange & Söhne to someone who reads the movement.
Lange is the brand most often valued by someone working from the wrong reference points. It is German rather than Swiss, it is made in the hundreds rather than the hundreds of thousands, and almost none of it is steel. A buyer who prices it against a Swiss dress watch will get the number wrong, and the error rarely runs in your favour.
What I Look At
What actually moves the number.
German, and priced on its own terms
Lange builds in Glashütte, in Saxony, and the collector base that buys it is not quite the same one that buys Swiss. Demand concentrates in a small number of references and moves independently of the Swiss market, so a comparison drawn from the wrong catalogue produces an estimate that is confident and wrong.
The movement is where the value sits
The three-quarter plate is German silver, the balance cock is hand engraved by one person and no two are identical, and the chatons are gold with blued screws. Every movement is assembled, taken apart, and assembled again. I look at the caseback first, because on this brand the back of the watch tells you more than the dial does.
Case metal decides more than usual
Platinum and white gold are indistinguishable in a photograph and are not the same watch. Honey gold is its own thing again, and a limited edition in the wrong metal is just a normal one. Getting this right at the estimate stage is the difference between a number that holds and a number that moves after the watch lands on my bench.
The Lineup
A. Lange & Söhne models I buy most often.
This is not an exhaustive list. If yours is not on it, ask anyway. My working floor is around 10,000 dollars, with exceptions for exceptional pieces.
Questions
What people ask me about A. Lange & Söhne.
Should I have it serviced before I sell it?
Almost always no. A Lange service runs through the manufacture, costs real money, and can take months. I would rather price the watch as it sits and factor the service into the number honestly than have you spend that first and hope it comes back to you.
Mine is white gold, or possibly platinum. How do you tell?
The reference number settles it, and the hallmark inside the caseback confirms it. Weight is the giveaway in the hand: platinum is noticeably heavier for the same case. Send me a photograph of the papers or the caseback and I will tell you which you have before we talk about price.
Does an Odysseus price differently to the rest of the catalogue?
Yes, and it is worth saying so plainly. It is the one regular steel Lange, it is hard to get from a retailer, and it trades on a different set of pressures to the gold and platinum references. I price it against its own market rather than against the dress catalogue.
Is the first number the number I actually get?
It is an estimate and I say so every time. I give you a range from the reference, the condition you describe, and what the market is doing that week. Once the watch is in my hands and authenticated, I confirm the final number. If it moves, I tell you exactly what moved it.
What if I do not like the final offer?
I ship it back to you, insured, at my cost. No obligation and no fee. That is the whole reason I would rather give you an honest range up front than a flattering one.
How do I get paid?
Wire transfer, sent the same day we agree on the final number. I confirm your banking details with you on a second channel before anything moves.
Ready When You Are
Send me the reference and a few photos.
I will come back with a range and the reasoning behind it. Every number is an estimate until I authenticate the watch in hand.
Text 404-590-5059