At the end of last year, we made “resolutions,” and while I forgot we had done that until writing this post, I stayed pretty true to what I had said. I wanted to consolidate, focus, and potentially go big on a watch for my 40th birthday. I had to do the first to make the last part come true, and the second just kind of happened naturally. My tastes have changed quite a bit over the last two years, perhaps starting with the Bel Canto (shameless review plug). As such, I find myself drawn to a specific type of indie watch more and more, and frankly, I find most releases from large brands kind of boring. While that might be more of a “it’s not you, it’s me” kind of thing, I don’t see it changing anytime soon.

But, back to my birthday, turning 40 was something I ignored until it was upon me. I’m not a big birthday celebration guy, but 40 felt different; it’s a bit of a terrifying number, thus it needed to be marked meaningfully. And, well, I can’t turn down a good opportunity to horologically spoil myself. However, to go big, I had to let several things go. While I’ll avoid the details, all said and done, I sold six watches and traded one, though in fairness, not all before making my purchase (you know how it is). I went down a rabbit hole of options, obsessing, as I tend to do, to such an extent that I even dreamed about scrolling Chrono24. Custom pieces, indies, vintage, big Swiss, maybe nothing; I pondered them all, even creating renders of potential bespoke pieces.

But I kept coming back to pre-owned A. Lange & Söhne. Few brands exemplify modern, if conservative, haute horology like they do, and once I began to think about what I really wanted in a higher-end, milestone watch, they seemed the best bet. Though there’s a logic to being more precious with something the more it’s worth, I wanted the opposite. I wanted something I would like to wear daily: highly functional, versatile, and understated.

I landed on the idea that it needed to be white metal, have a black dial, and have a big date, while also being within budget, obviously. That doesn’t seem like it should be a tall order, and yet it’s not the most common combination for Lange. After extensive digging, I landed on two potential, slightly older models: the Langematick 308.027 and the Lange 1 101.029. The former was interesting because of the black dial, lumed hands, 37mm diameter (my current favorite diameter), and the movement, the retired caliber L921 “Sax-0-Mat.” They are stunning to look at with an offset three-quarter rotor in gold and platinum over decorated German-silver plates, but the zero-reset function was what really got me. Pull the crown out, and the small seconds jumps to zero, a rare and brilliant complication.

The latter got my attention for a few reasons, the first just being that it’s a Lange 1, the layout of which is striking and unique to, or at least originated by, Lange. I’m a sucker for decentralized hours and minutes, but the Lange 1 goes further with its golden-ratio-based composition. While larger than the Langematick, the case size is still an idyllic 38.5mm x 47mm x 9.8mm, and has a fully brushed mid-case, including between the lugs. And then there’s the movement, the caliber L901.0, with its Glashütte ¾ plate in German-silver, gold chatons, hand-engraved balance cock, impeccable finishing, and quirky “islands,” which were eliminated in 2015 when Lange replaced the L901 with the L121. Needless to say, it’s easy on the eyes.

With all that as a given, the 101.029 still stands out among Lange 1s for several reasons, making it about as close to a “sporty” Lange 1 as you can find. Made from 2003 to approximately 2007, the 101.029 was the first “Luminous” model. As such, it features lumed hour, minute, and power reserve hands, as well as hour markers, including the Roman numerals and power reserve increment markers. They all feature what appears to be C3 and glow quite well. Because of the extra pad printing to build up the lume, the numerals are heavier, adding to their presence.

Additionally, the layout and typography are different. Compared to other time-only Lange 1s, the minute markers at intervals of five are larger, becoming squares every fifteen minutes. This adds to a bolder, sporty look. Perhaps the most obvious difference, however, is in the seconds sub-dial, which ditches the typically minimal arrangement of small marks for heavier ones and large numerals at intervals of ten in a gorgeous typeface that matches the big date. The small-seconds surface is also multiplanar, with the printed components sitting in a lower, grained region, while the seconds hand is on an island in the middle.

But wait, there’s more! A white outline surrounds the merged hour/minute and seconds regions, with internal white circles on both. The only thing that would have made it sportier is if the sub-dials were white for a panda effect (which would be cool but over the top and not as Lange-classy). Based on what I decided I wanted, the 101.029 was the perfect fit—actually, even better than expected, as lume made it more practical.

In case you couldn’t tell, between the two models, the Lange 1 was the winner; however, there was a catch. I spoke to a noted Lange collector to get their opinion on these models and any pointers on trying to acquire one, and in their estimation, only one or two 101.029s come up a year. I’ve since learned that there were potentially less than 200 made (this was read on IG and not substantiated), which would explain that frequency, making them truly rare. The 40mm Grande Lange 1 version, ref 115.029, is much more common, but I definitely wanted to go for the 38.5mm model.

Well, the horological good luck fairy must have heard my prayers because one came up at a good price, and after some vetting, I decided to go for it. So, since May (though my birthday was in June), I’ve been the proud owner of a 101.029, and I have to say that it’s everything I dreamed it would be. I don’t know if there truly is such a thing as a “perfect” watch, which would really mean “perfect for you,” but if there is, this is as close as I’ve experienced. There hasn’t been a day since acquiring it that I haven’t worn it for at least a little while (actually, I don’t think it’s wound down fully once), and every time I look at it, I just get a wave of horological satisfaction. I guess turning 40 wasn’t so bad after all.