In 1845, Adolph Lange moved to the small impoverished village of Galshütte, Germany, where he personally trained 15 local farmers in the fine art of watchmaking. Together, they began designing and producing exquisite timepieces. Nearly 160 years later, I step down from a bus to confront his vision – a complex of Lange buildings – I, II, III, the original headquarters and a run down brewery across the street to be acquired in the near future. Neatly tucked away between the mountains, the sleepy town of Galshütte (population 2500) which suffered severely during World War II seems to hide all traces of its ill-fated past. Today, it has become a town of watchmakers.

After rationing out press passes and lab coats, our guide-translator and friend, Katrin Meusinger (press and public relations executive for the brand) leads us through a labyrinth of departments, halls and rooms where we find ‘projects’ – beautiful working pieces – designed by some of the students of the Lange watchmaking school. “A good watchmaker never gives away his secrets, he takes them to his grave,” she laughs, but briefly interrupts the craftsmen (60 per cent of whom are women), to try and give us an explanation of the finer details that go into a timepiece such as this. With over 650 individual units which pass through almost 10 different stages, each watch produced is almost perfect after a tedious double assembly. At the design department, a Lange can be studied for years before receiving the final seal of approval. Take, for instance, the Lange Tourbougraph “Pour le Mérite” – the highlight of the collection according to Anthony de Haas (head of development). Its 1000-odd individual components were tested for about a year before the prototype was put into production. As we joke and take turns modelling this powerful mechanism packaged in platinum, De Haas tells me how he began his association with A Lange & Söhne: “I could not refuse when I was asked. For a watchmaker, this is the best place to be.” His simple explanation seems to be the unanimous one.

Up in the hills of Pillnitz, Fabian Krone, is eager to introduce us to his historical brand. Over a quick toast and with Farhan Akhtar by his side, he anoints the maverick filmmaker as the brand’s new Indian spokesperson. Krone and Akhtar stay close together for the next two days and liven up otherwise courteous dining room conversation with their continuous boyish banter. When I manage to steal Krone away for a few moments, he tells me that he has been a fan of fine timepieces since his youth. In 2004 he left his job in the automobile industry and apartment just 20 minutes away from a gorgeous Italian beach to move to Dresden and be a part of the A Lange & Söhne organisation. I learn that Krone and Sukaiyna Gokal (brand manager), have serious plans of bringing down the entire Lange collection to retail outlets in Mumbai and New Delhi, later this year. Sounds timely.