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GO Panoreserve vs ALS Lange 1

19K views 28 replies 22 participants last post by  HRC-E.B. 
#1 ·
I was looking into these 2 watches and looks like they both have the same complications - time, seconds, big date and power reserve indicator however there are huge price differences between them. Now granted ALS is only offered in precious metal. The price for GO Panoreserve (steel) is USD$11,500; GO Panoreserve (gold) is USD$23,900; and ALS Lange 1 (gold) is USD$34,700. It would seem that GO in gold is still significantly cheaper than ALS Lange 1. Albeit that ALS finishing is a few levels above GO.

What do you think of a GO Panoreserve vs ALS Lange 1 after taking into the price into account?

Which company came up first with the off-center time dial design?

Any experiences with GO or ALS in terms of reliability, service etc?

Pictures appreciated. Thank you
 
#4 ·
It's an interesting question with money acting as a balance between the two. Both are iconic but the Lange 1 more so. Brand equity seems to account for some of the price difference as finishing is actually fairly close imo but as you said the Lange is finished a bit better or it seems more work put into it anyway. The Lange does that cache, but you pay for it.

If you've always wanted a Lange 1 I would say just get it, don't get something that is almost it. I believe Lange came up with that idea, they did it before GO anyway.

But if you're satisfied with either, you could save yourself a pretty penny.

Service will be fairly expensive with either, GO prices are available as they're in the Swatch group. Lange service prices are probably floating around the web.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Glashütte Original Panoreserve: Lange 1

Hello to everyone!

Today I saw the Glashütte Original Panoreserve in steel with a white dial-I was instantly amazed and am now thinking about buying one.

But: When looking at the watch, there undoubtedly are strong similarities to the Lange 1.

Lange 1: at least ~$30k
GO: ~$8.5k (an AD nearby is running a renovation sale, MSRP is $10,500 here) (in steel)

I think I like the watch (interesting dial, GO's characteristic big date without the bridge, astonishingly well-finished movement, power reserve indicator, price, ...), but don't want to buy an imitation.

What are your thoughts on this? Is it an imitated lower-priced Lange 1 or a nice watch with a great value?


 
#14 ·
Re: Glashütte Original Panoreserve: Lange 1

I think you'll find that GO is a highly respectable brand and the Panoreserve an excellent time piece in its own right.

But if wearing it is a constant reminder of the Lange 1 then perhaps it's not the watch for you. Personally, I would love to have one.
Exactly this. A few years ago I was torn by this same decision. If you decide to go with the GO, you should never look back. I had decided on the GO and then I happened into an AD that had the Lange 1. After holding the Lange1, I realized I would always think I had "settled" for the GO. The GO is an amazing watch, the L1 is more 'refined' and stunningly finished.
 
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#10 ·
This again?! *moan*
It's an $8,500+ watch that is absolutely gorgeous. Please go look at all the round three hand watch designs (all 50 million of them) and tell me how they all aren't cheap copies of each other. Buy the watch you like. Anybody who looks down on you for wearing a GO has their own issues. Plus, they're different enough from each other that usually you will prefer the aesthetics of one of them. Luckily for me I find the GO way more attractive than the Lange, because I can't afford $30k for a watch.
 
#12 ·
I own the Panoreserve and an ALS timezone 1. Not exactly the same. I really love the beauty of the Panoreserve and got many positive comments. However, I have been considering selling mine. I don't wear it that often and the reason is that it does not feel as comfortable on my wrist. I have a small wrist and wear several 44mm to 40mm pieces. It is just the shape or the lugs and perhaps the clasp strap. In general the German watches are not as comfortable for me to wear.
 
#17 ·
Lange 1 came first, but GO is still a respected brand with superb quality watches. I personally don't care much for Lange 1's design (only Lange pieces I adore are their simple time only Saxonia/1815/Richard Lange models), and think that GO's dial design is much more... how should I put this, "sexy". In contrast, Lange is more "elegant".

Think like this: GO is a sexy girl you meet at a club, while Lange is a girl with a beautiful dress you meet at a ball.

They both have merits. I would never say buying a PanoReserve would constantly remind me about Lange, not at all, they are just too different in my eyes in their details. One of the reasons I don't like Lange is because of their super thin hands and the way they put up their brand logo in their dials... but this is my personal pet peeve.

They have the same price-to-quality ratio, they just have different pricing.
 
#18 · (Edited)
There is nothing in the world that would make me see the two watches under discussion as comparable. The Lange 1 has a degree of relevance in horology that the PanoR does not. The Lange 1 is the watch that put ALS "on the map." The PanoR has no such significance for GO.

As watches worth buying, either is fine, IMO, from a curatorial collecting standpoint as both makers, along with Nomos, Tutima and a few others reflect the reemergence of fine watchmaking in Germany, which occurred after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Make no mistake, however. The ALS we have today, even though it is partly led by a Lange family member, is not at all the same ALS that Ferdinand Lange created in the mid 1800s. IMO, if one is looking for a GO watch that's comparable to the Lange 1, it'd be the Senator Perp Cal. Why? It's the watch that put GO "on the map."

Just looking at the movement, there again isn't much cause to choose the L1 over the GO PanoR. They both use 3/4 plates that leave little to see, and what one can see of the remaining sliver of the movement is beautifully decorated and executed on both watches.

Technically, I know the L1 is implemented with a jumping date rather than a slow rolling date change. I do not know if the GO has that same functionality. There's little question that the jumping date is the more elegant and technically refined implementation of the date complication. Certainly if that bit of niftiness is critical to you, then by all means get the L1. If it's not, you're pretty well left to buying it based for self-indulgent or styling purposes. Nothing wrong with that, just be sure that you're clear in your own mind that those are the factors that drive the decision.

Personally, having the ~$20K to buy the L1 isn't point; I suspect few are the folks who would argue that a jumping date is, in and of itself, worth $20K more than a rolling one. However, there may be some people out there for whom various engineering implementations of date functionality is the thing around which they are building their collection. For them, I am certain that the "jump" would be worth $20K if that's what they have to pay to get it. If you are one of those people, well, you know what you have to do.

Now if what you want is an uncomplicated watch that has power reserve indicator on the dial, well, the GO PanoR fits the bill just as the L1 does. Were that, instead of horological relevance, the primary driver to my planned purchase, I'd absolutely get the GO, mainly because I don't see much point in spending nearly three times as much when I don't really give a damn about the intangible factors that in part contribute to that bump in price. Plus, the price differential is going to manifest itself not only upon purchase, but also for ongoing maintenance. To what end would I pay more to buy a thing, pay more to maintain the thing, all the while not giving two cents about why the L1 is important?

Aesthetically, I think the GO PanoR with a black dial looks better than the L1. With a white dial, I like the L1's looks better.

All the best.

Far be it from me to ever let my common sense get in the way of my stupidity. I say we press on.
― Sherrilyn Kenyon, Infinity
 
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#20 · (Edited)
To me it's like choosing between Hyundai Equus and S-Klasse. Well... not quite the same because GO has a wonderful Sixties collection that doesn't copy any designs besides GO's vintage piece's.
I can see a reason to compromise on cars (we all need a car to get from A to B after all) but not on watches. Buying a mechanical watch in 2016 is ridiculous anyway, your cellphone can tell the time... so why compromise?
 
#23 · (Edited)
If both watches were priced the same, then people would have been divided here 50-50. But since one is way more expensive than the other, people feel uneasy saying GO in fact might be a better option. I am not saying it is (I know GO very well, but I have not researched Lange that much), but some people refuse to compare even. I think this is just basic human psychology, and we are all prone to this disease (hence there are marketing people to exploit that).

The same goes for comparing Patek watches to other high-end brands. Or Rolex watches to other luxury brands. Since the former ones are more expensive than the comparison, they must be good.

FWIW, to me, GO panorama date functionality is way better than many other known big dates (VC Overseas, ALS, Breguet Marine etc). The discs being on the same level adds a lot to the aesthetics of the dial. The other multi-layer discs look kind of cheaply executed to me. And I really don't get why others won't follow GO in this aspect.
 
#24 ·
If both watches were priced the same, then people would have been divided here 50-50. But since one is way more expensive than the other, people feel uneasy saying GO in fact might be a better option. I am not saying it is (I know GO very well, but I have not researched Lange that much), but some people refuse to compare even. I think this is just basic human psychology, and we are all prone to this disease (hence there are marketing people to exploit that).

The same goes for comparing Patek watches to other high-end brands. Or Rolex watches to other luxury brands. Since the former ones are more expensive than the comparison, they must be good.

FWIW, to me, GO panorama date functionality is way better than many other known big dates (VC Overseas, ALS, Breguet Marine etc). The discs being on the same level adds a lot to the aesthetics of the dial. The other multi-layer discs look kind of cheaply executed to me. And I really don't get why others won't follow GO in this aspect.
Off Topic:
Maybe....I would think that most seasoned HEW buyers, as well as seasoned luxury goods consumers in general, would have long ago learned that price alone is hardly a good indicator of "goodness."

Red:
Even rationally considering the matter, the idea as you've expressed it implies that the GO would be a good watch if one were comparing it to, say, an Omega Deville, but when compared to the L1, it stops being good. Similarly, the L1 must be good until it's compared to a Kari V. or Maitres du Temps. That's absurd. It's either a good watch or it is not. I think you need to give the experienced collectors here more credit than you have.

All the best.
 
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#27 ·
Here is an interesting "value" questions. The L1 in white gold, which I chose over the GO PR for a myriad of personal reasons which may not apply to the OP, is (obviously) a precious metal cased watch. Does GO make the Panoreserve in gold? I believe they do. I know they make the Panomatic Lunar in precious metal for $23,900 and the steel version sells for around $12K which is a 50 percent premium. If the Lange 1 were made in stainless at a 50% price drop from 34000 to 17000 would you still choose the GO PR over the L1? Given the finishing difference, would a 5K price difference change your view of ALS vs. GO models?
 
#28 ·
Personally I would go for a PanoReserve. As mentioned before, I don't care much for Lange's choice of their brand logo on their dials + styles of their hour/minute hands. GO's hands, their brand logo on their dials, their double - g skeletonized rotor design, and the golden decoration on their balance bridge suits my taste better, although I agree Lange's deco on their bridge is more complex and has a higher level of finishing. But I simply like gold things better than silver things!

Heck, aside from the brand's level aside(meaning if they had same resale value or if I don't plan to resell them at all), if PanoReserve and Lange 1 were exact same price, I would still go for a PanoReserve. That said, same priced PanomaticLunar v.s. Lange 1 Moonphase would be a Lange. GO Senator and Lange Saxonia would be a Lange. GO Senator Moonphase and Saxonia would be a GO.

See, it all depends on the watch models, not necessarily their brands. GO PR v.s. Lange 1 is purely a question about personal tastes.
 
#29 ·
Not owning either one but having ogled over both on plenty of occasions, the Lange is in a different league when it comes to ultimate refinement and fine finishing. It is also a smaller and more delicate watch, more dressy and more refined. It's also four times the price of the GO.

I realize that having said that may convey the impression that the GO is ordinary and not very "high-end" in comparison: not true at all. It is also superb, highly refined, and magnificently put together. It is, perhaps, slightly more of an "everyday" watch, in the sense that it is not as delicate as the Lange, with the GO being slightly bigger and chunkier, and being made of steel instead of a a precious metal. The blued hands are also a bit sportier, though this is still a very elegant watch. The difference between both is in the order of small percentages and certainly not anywhere near commensurate with the four-times price difference. Remember the law of diminishing returns... That's very much what four times the price buys you: precious metals and diminishing returns.

Personally, if I had the funds to comfortably purchase a Lange, I'd want one, simply because these watches are truly special. That said, if I bought a GO (and I will someday), I would not regret not having a Lange instead. The GO would still be a treasured watch in my collection, and something I would gladly and regularly wear without a second thought.
 
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