Gnter Blmlein Interview

October 02, 2021

I've been on an absolute A. Lange & Sohne kick the past few months. I think I've read every news blurb, forum post, review, and announcement made online in the past decade. I've gone pretty deep down the rabbit hole. I even picked up a copy of Walter Lange's autobiography to delve into. But no story quite touched me in the way that this 1999 TimeZone interview between Gnter Blmlein and Peter Chong did. Mr. Gnter Blmlein Peter Chong, who you might recognize as the founder of the watch site Deployant, conducted his chat with Mr. Blmlein over the internet (maybe over AOL chat? Email? I'd honestly love to know more); a detail we take for granted in the era of Zoom today but must have been quite novel at the time. Conducted prior to the Richemont acquisition C when IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and A. Lange made up the LMH Group C?Blmlein and Chong discuss a number of interesting topics, such as A. Lange vs. Patek Philippe, early enthusiast commentary on Lange's anachronistic movement construction, and the influence of the internet.? Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of Mr. Blmlein's unfortunate, early passing at the age of 58. His watch-industry legacy continues today through the success of A. Lange & Sohne, IWC, and Jaeger-LeCoultre, but it's hard not to wonder what sort of impact Blmlein might have had on the watch industry over the past two decades if he was still with us.? Please join us in remembering Gnter Blmlein this weekend. You can read the full interview between Blmlein and Chong on TimeZone.?For more information on Mr. Blmlein and his impact on the watch industry, click here.