The 1815 Up/Down 244.028 is one of two limited editions A. Lange & Söhne presented in September 2026 at the Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace, each made in 300 numbered pieces. In White Gold with a Blue dial, it brings the Up/Down back to a 37.5 mm case, more compact than the 39 mm size of the regular model introduced in 2013 and closer to the scale of the pocket watches that inspired the 1815 family. Its indicator, marked AUF for up and AB for down, recalls patent no. 9349, granted to A. Lange & Söhne in 1879 for a device in pocket watches that showed whether the movement was wound or unwound. That patent, developed by Richard and Emil Lange, sons of the founder Ferdinand Adolph Lange, used a compact differential that allowed their pocket watches to remain slim, and the modern movement follows the same principle. The 244.028 therefore connects the watch on the wrist with one of the earliest inventions of the Lange family, while giving the model a cooler, more contemporary colour than the Silver dials it has worn for most of its history.
The White Gold case measures 37.5 mm in diameter and 8.7 mm in height. Its bezel is concave and brightly polished, its flanks are satin-brushed horizontally, and the lugs curve sharply downward to hug the wrist, while the fluted crown offers a sure grip for daily winding. The dial combines a silver base with a deep Blue finish and keeps the recessed central area that distinguishes the 1815 Up/Down. White Arabic numerals are pad-printed around it, and a white railway-track minute scale runs along the edge, marked with small dots at each hour and triple dots at the quarters. Two snailed subdials in a silver colour sit symmetrically in the lower half of the dial and stand out clearly against the Blue. At 8 o'clock, the AUF/AB indicator is framed by a black segmented track and marked with a double red segment at AB, signalling that the watch needs winding. At 4 o'clock, the small seconds carries its own railway-track pattern. Both subdials use blued steel hands, while the hours and minutes are shown by lancet hands in White Gold, matched to the case. A blue alligator strap and White Gold prong buckle continue the colour of the dial down to the wrist.
The Up/Down indicator depends on a planetary differential integrated directly into the hand-wound movement rather than stacked on top of it, the same space-saving idea that allowed Lange's nineteenth-century pocket watches to stay thin and the reason this watch is only 8.7 mm high. Winding the crown drives the indicator toward AUF; as the mainspring releases its energy over the course of three days, the hand moves back toward AB and into the red segment. The movement runs for 72 hours when fully wound, long enough for a weekend off the wrist, and a stop-seconds function halts the balance when the crown is pulled so the time can be set to the second. Composed of 245 parts, it is decorated to the standard Lange applies to all its movements: German silver for the three-quarter plate, which carries Glashütte ribbing, winding wheels with a solarised finish, seven gold chatons held by blued screws, and a balance cock engraved by hand. It is assembled twice, once for adjustment and again after it has been cleaned and decorated, and all of this can be admired through the sapphire caseback.
The Up/Down has been part of the 1815 family since its early years. The first generation, in a 35.9 mm case, was produced until 2008, and the 2013 revival enlarged the case to 39 mm, stretched the running time to three days and dressed every version, whether Yellow, White or Rose Gold, in a Silver dial. The AUF/AB notation spread across the collection, appearing on the Lange 1 and the Datograph Up/Down among others, and it became one of the manufacture's most recognisable signatures. The 2026 editions give the modern Up/Down a Blue dial, a colour its regular versions never wore, and their 37.5 mm cases respond to the same demand for more compact watches that led Lange to introduce a 34 mm 1815 in 2025. Presenting them at Hampton Court Palace, alongside a concours of classic automobiles, underlined their character as objects of craft and heritage rather than technical showpieces. Of the two, the White Gold 244.028 is the cooler interpretation, its blue strap and White Gold hands forming a single, consistent colour scheme.
With 300 numbered pieces, the 244.028 is a limited version of one of the most practical watches in the 1815 family, and its more compact case makes it particularly attractive to collectors who find 39 mm slightly large for a dress watch. It appeals to those who appreciate Lange's history, since the AUF/AB indicator connects directly to a patent granted in 1879, and to collectors who want a Blue-dialled 1815 with a complication rather than the time-only 34 mm model. The White Gold case, Blue dial and blue strap give it a contemporary, understated character that suits business dress as naturally as a weekend jacket. For owners of the Silver-dialled 1815 Up/Down, it offers a distinctly different mood on the same movement; for collectors beginning with A. Lange & Söhne, it is a limited edition that combines the manufacture's heritage, finishing and practicality in one discreet watch. The symmetrical dial, with its red warning segment and snailed subdials, rewards the owner each morning when the crown is wound.
