A. Lange & Sohne’s New $50,000 Purchasing Policy

It’s common knowledge that if there’s a demand for a product with insufficient supply, the product’s price will increase. Rolex has been known to be a pioneer of that in the industry. However, not all brands can pull that tactic as perfectly as Rolex with their steel sports.

There’s an Instagram post going around that any A. Lange & Sohne pieces above USD 50,000 are now going to be by application only. Their top models, such as the Datograph, Zeitwerk or 1815 chronograph, are mainly affected.

This policy change is an interesting move by Lange and the Richemont group. In my opinion, Lange, compared to its bigger rivals, doesn’t have a considerable amount of customer support to pull the whole premise of scarcity and exclusivity off successfully. Lange’s starting price is more that of a Rolex Submariner, and with the Rolex, you get more for it; An instant doubling of the value and an iconic diver that stood the test of time. On the other hand, Lange will get you a 35mm dress watch with an old movement, albeit beautiful and made of precious metal.

Only time will tell whether this will work. For those who are already previous customers of Lange, this won’t be a problem. However, those who want a beautiful german timepiece might be deterred from the brand.

We should all still remember that this is just a watch, and a Rolex price increase is a bigger problem at the end of the day.

Read more about the issue in WUS here. If you’re keen to know how to get into a Rolex waiting list, you can visit my post here.