FOUND (In A Toolbox): A World War II A. Lange & Sohne B-Uhr Wristwatch

February 24, 2012

Its every car lovers dream to come across a Ferrari in a barn. Similarly, watch collectors hope to stumble upon a pre-Moon Speedmaster at a garage sale or in a relatives sock drawer. Well, it does happen and today weve got one of those stories. Ian Brown, owner of a jewelry store in Woodstock, Georgia, recently acquired a 1940s A. Lange & Sohne Beobachtungsuhr, or B-Uhr, that was found in a toolbox at an estate sale.If youre a regular reader of HODINKEE, you know weve covered these World War II pilots watches before. But heres a refresher. The German air force, or Luftwaffe, commissioned five companies to build watches for its pilots and navigators: IWC, Laco, Stowa, Wempe and A. Lange & Sohne. All of the watches were built to the same specification C a 55mm case, hand-wound movement with center seconds, an oversized crown for easy winding while wearing gloves, an extra long riveted leather strap for wearing over a flight jacket and distinctive, legible dial markings. There were two dial variations of the B-Uhr: the Type A dial had a more standard outer minute track and a large triangle at 12 oclock. The Type B dial had an inner hour track and a prominently demarcated outer minute track. The Lange you see pictured here is a Type B.The B-Uhr style is extremely popular, with many modern watch brands, big and small, selling some variation of it. But its not so common to come across the genuine article from the 1940s. Last year we featured a remarkable collection of five Fliegers that was up for auction at Antiquorum, including a Type A dial Lange. Of the five makes that still are occasionally found today, IWCs version seems to fetch the most when sold, perhaps because they only made them in 1940 and therefore are not as common. But to find any of these wartime relics, the majority of which were flown, is a rare treat. So when Ian Brown contacted us with his story, we knew it was special. Heres Ians description, in his own words, of how he came to possess this Lange B-Uhr:I came across the watch via a retired clock repairman who found the watch in the tool box in a shed at an estate sale 28 years ago. This gentleman wandered in and asked me if I might be interested in his WWII pilot's watch. He came back in about an hour later and I just about fell over.? I was expecting something a bit different than a Lange.He says he didn't know exactly what it was but recognized that the watch was a quality timepiece. He subsequently researched it and discovered what it is. He came close to selling it in the 1980s. He states it was wrapped and ready to go to a friend in California whom collected military watches. The day before he mailed it, the man died. Ian told us he plans to send the watch to Lange in Glashtte for servicing and then will sell it. He already has some interested parties, which is not surprising. The moral of the story is, dont stop going to estate sales. Someday you might get lucky.