German luxury watchmaker Lange Uhren Gmbh (maker of A. Lange & Söhne timepieces) on Oct. 22 officially opened its new Technology and Development Center at its watchmaking home in Glasshütte, Germany. The ceremony capped a 13-month, 10 million euro (US$11.8 million) project.

The modernistic steel-and-glass facility is the first new building (though the fifth on the site) for Lange since the company was re-established in 1990 following the reunification of East and West Germany.

The new 1,500-sq.-ft. building puts a number of departments—such as movement design, prototype building, and technology—under one roof. The new facility also is a technological step forward and fulfillment of a 10-year goal for Lange, by enabling it to make balance springs (the heart of mechanical watches) in-house.

Lange is owned by Richemont, the Swiss luxury goods group, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

JCK