While the name Lang 1943 might indicate that we are dealing here with an old and established brand, it is, in fact, one of the more recent additions to the watch world. The name and year are dedicated to Gerd-Rüdiger Lang, born in 1943, and to many best known for founding Chronoswiss. Before that, he worked next to Jack Heuer in the glory days of this brand. Lang was very passionate about mechanical watchmaking, which also came forward at the founding of Chronoswiss in 1983, a time when not many thought mechanical timekeepers would have much of a future. Lang thought differently, which also comes forward out of the fact that at the height of the quartz crisis, he bought large numbers of mechanical movements from brands that went bankrupt, including the respected brand Marvin. While he used a portion of them in Chronoswiss models, mainly the Orea, others remained in his possession, even after he sold Chronoswiss in 2012.
Those movements now fuel the new brand Lang 1943, the brainchild of an industry-insider and a close friend of Lang, Georg Bartkowiak. On his shoulders rests the task of building Lang 1943 into a brand that continues the legacy of Gerd-Rüdiger Lang, who unfortunately passed away earlier this year. If their first timepiece, Field Watch Edition One, is a promise for that future, it is going to be a bright one. You could call this watch a homage to vintage field watches, heavy-duty timepieces that came forward out of the timepieces worn by soldiers duri...