The origins of A. Lange & Söhne date back to 1845, when Ferdinand A. Lange, an exceptionally talented Dresden watchmaker, established his own company and began creating excellent pocket-watches that became highly coveted among collectors all over the world. During WWII, the German Air Force, or Luftwaffe, commissioned 5 watch companies to build its watches fitting a very specific set of design criteria. Basically, the watch needed to be 55 millimeters and virtually indestructible. Lange delivered because 80 years later their aggressively named "Beobachtungsuhr" is still ticking.

CASE & BRACELET

The 55mm stainless steel case is excellently preserved and shows some beautiful oxidation on the sides, which plays quite well with the patinated hands. The watch has short curved lugs and a fantastic oversize onion crown that is grip-able even in gloves. All of the watch's military markings remain present on the case back and on the side of the case. The fixed strap bars remain fully intact. The watch comes supplied on a 2pc leather strap.

DIAL & HANDS

The B-uhr was fitted with two dials, types A and B. Here we have the more sought-after B dial, with its fantastic 12-hour center ring. The dial is a beautiful matte black, allowing the subtle off-white numerals to lunge out and providing an ideal backdrop for the browns and creams of the massive sword hands. The dial itself remains in exceptional and original condition, showing almost no signs of age. The radium lume on the dial all remains remarkably fully intact when inspected under U.V. light. The original sword-style hour and minute hands and lumed center seconds hand have aged to a more vibrant color than the dial and display no degradation under U.V. light inspection.

ACCESSORIES 

None. The watch is keeping time and functioning properly, previous service history is unknown.