Interview: In the Early '80s, Quartz Was King. This Man Had Other Ideas.

In a moment of darkness for an entire industry, Gerd-Rüdiger Lang helped pull mechanical watchmaking back from the abyss. But he didn't launch his company, Chronoswiss, with a goal so grandiose. He simply needed work, and mechanicals were what he knew. A watchmaker from the age of 15, Lang eventually branched out into watch design and entrepreneurship to make Chronoswiss one of the best-known independent marques of the past 40 years. There were hallmarks of a Chronoswiss watch: An exaltation of historical design elements such as onion crowns, coin-edge bezels, and regulator displays. And Lang paired them with exhibition casebacks. Ever the watchmaker, Lang wanted clients to see the movement itself. From its founding in 1983 until he sold the company in 2012, Lang was the physical embodiment of the Munich-based company, the bespectacled, loupe-wearing watchmaker at the heart of the brand. (In the minds of many watch collectors, his boyish, ruddy face will forever be framed by red acetate glasses.) Once the face of Chronoswiss, appearing in advertising campaigns and instantly recognizable as he walked the halls of the Basel Fair, Lang, who will turn 80 in two years, has stepped back into a comfortable retirement in his native Germany. He recently spoke to HODINKEE about the early days of Chronoswiss back in the '80s, and whether smartwatches are as much of a threat today as quartz was back then. Gerd-Rüdiger Lang (Photo by XAMAX\ullstein bild via Getty Images). HODINKEE: You launched Chronoswiss when the quartz watch was at its height of popularity. You weren't a newcomer to the business, and witnessed the worst of the Quartz Crisis first-hand. What were you thinking at the time? Lang: I learned classic watchmaking. I couldn't make new quartz watches – this is another technique – and I don't love watches with a battery. In the '80s, I worked for Heuer for a long time. Then, I had to look for new work. I started again with mechanical watches. Before, I was a watchmaker working at the table. I repaired and made many watches. I wanted to renew the old technique of watchmaking to transform it into a new one. At this time, 1982, two persons had the same idea. This was Mr. Biver from Blancpain and me. Where did you find faith that the venture would be successful given all of the devastation you had seen with the Quartz Crisis? I started only for the craftsmanship. As a watchmaker, I love watches. And I looked at what could be made better for mechanical watches. I was the first to make the back glass. You can see the movement through it. Chronoswiss Régulateur (Image courtesy Sotheby's). Can you tell me about the decision to use the exhibition caseback? Where did you get the idea to do it? The movement is the important part of the watch that I love. I wanted to show everybody the heart of the watch. The most important thing isn't the dial or the hands. Why didn't you patent it? I was young and silly, and not experienced enough to think that I could patent things like that. Where did you start your career in watches, and how did it lead up to the founding of Chronoswiss? I come from the city of Brunswick in the north of Germany, near where Volkswagen is made. When I was 15, I had to leave school. My father found a company where I could learn watchmaking. When my mother brought me to the company on my first day, I said: "Mother, what is a watchmaker?" I learned the craft there for four years. I had good results, and I was proud of my work. But if I wanted to learn more, I had to go to the country where they make the watches. I found a company in Biel, Switzerland. This was Heuer. I was there for 28 years. You were proven right in your decision to continue with mechanical watchmaking. Still, it's remarkable that the experience of the Quartz Crisis didn't make you want to try something else. There was a little section in between. I wanted to stop because of this unbelievable crisis. I thought a little bit about making dentures for a short time. Was there a year when it became apparent that the mechanical watch would be successful, that it was really back, and that there would be many clients to buy them? Around the millennium, so 2000. Caseback shot of the Choronswiss Régulateur. (Image courtesy Sotheby's). Tell me about one of your most famous designs, the Chronoswiss Régulateur. The idea was to bring a wristwatch with a regulator. Normally, the regulator dial is for the ship's clocks. If you change two wheels, you can make a regulator. I think it's beautiful; I like the design. At the same time, I brought my own case. The Chronoswiss case was always the same. Thirty years – the same case. In the first year, I had the Régulateur on the shelf in the window in the Basel Fair. On the day before the show ended, a man and a woman walked back and forth in front of my booth, and stopped to look in the window. They came in, looked at my wrist and said one thing, "How many do you have?" Not how much; how many. With this order, I founded the brand more or less. Chronoswiss was founded in Munich, Germany. I've always wondered about the name "Chronowiss." I worked in Germany. I could not make my brand name Lang – there is a very big German brand, A. Lange & Sohne. The watches I sold were made in Switzerland, but the ideas for the watches came from Germany. As someone who started a brand during the Quartz Crisis, what do you think of how the mechanical watch industry is doing today as it faces competition from smartwatches? People who own mechanical watches will also buy smartwatches. Today, the average for watch ownership among enthusiasts is around five watches, not one. So it's not really a competitor in the sense that it would cause the old companies to have to close. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.A conversation with Chronoswiss founder Gerd-Rüdiger Lang.