Hands On: A. Lange & Söhne’s Saxonia Thin Onyx is German Formal

Well done and well priced.

One of the last launches of 2025 for A. Lange & Söhne, the Saxonia Thin Onyx is a riff on the brand’s most affordable and simplest watch. It’s only modestly different from the standard model – the dial is onyx stone while the case metal isn’t part of regular production – but the Saxonia Thin Onyx stands out.

The watch is almost the dictionary definition of a formal-wear timepiece: flat, two hands and minimal colour or embellishment, so much so it blends into conventional Western formal dress. In fact, this is one of the strongest offerings in the formal-dress-watch segment because it is stark, elegant, and priced well.

Initial thoughts

Lange tend towards the high end of the price spectrum simply because of the brand’s focus on complications and quality. And the brand has also raised retail prices significantly in the last few years. So an affordable-ish Lange that isn’t a run-of-the-mill watch is a good thing.

The Saxonia Thin Onyx is exactly that. While it is based on Lange’s entry-level dress watch, a fine but no frills timepiece, the onyx edition is different in look, feel, and materials.

It’s available in two metals not offered for the regular production – platinum and Honeygold – and the dial is of course onyx, a mineral stone used sparingly (so far) in limited editions. At 6.2 mm high, the case is half the thickness of a Datograph and sits flat against the wrist.

Though the case is 40 mm rather than the smaller size offered for the standard model, the onyx edition is still exceedingly elegant. I like the larger case size, especially here with the piano-black dial that might look too small in the smaller format.

This is an elegant, formal watch with a lot of polish – literally as the dial is mirrored. The look might be a little too formal for everyday wear, though it will be an easy watch to wear to the office or with long sleeves.

This aesthetic is unusual for Lange. While practically all of the brand’s watches possess a formal look, largely due to the German sensibilities in design, few of them are formal-dress watches since most are relatively complicated, thick, large, or all of the above.

Like the standard model, the Saxonia Thin Onyx is priced competitively. It holds its own in terms of quality against similarly priced competition; in fact it’s arguably a better value in some respects. One might argue this is a lot for a time-only watch, but in the context of today’s market the watch is priced well.

Also in its favour is the comparatively larger edition size by Lange standards, which improves availability. But it will remain special, since the absolute number is small by wider industry benchmarks.

Formal and fine

There’s no question the Saxonia Thin Onyx is a formal-dress watch. As a result, it is also simple with just hour and minute hands. This makes it the simplest Lange watch, but the high quality that defines the brand is still evident here.

The case and dial are typical Lange. The case sticks to the brand’s familiar design, but much, much slimmer than usual. It’s worth noting that despite the thinness, the case still feels robust, which is not always a given with extra-flat dress watches.

The Honeygold and platinum cases each have their own appeal, though the latter has a slight edge since the white metal feels more formal for me.

The dial is almost minimalist – a wide expanse of polished black onyx with solid gold baton indices along with the brand logo printed in white. The colour of the white print feels a little out of place though not distractingly so.

Turn the case over and the view is also simple – by Lange standards. The L093.1 movement has been condensed so it’s just 2.9 mm high, but it manages a decent 72-hour power reserve while incorporating the usual Lange hallmarks.

Amongst them are a trio of jewels in screwed gold chatons, a black polished steel cap for the escape wheel jewel, and hand-engraved balance cock with swan’s neck regulator. Most of these are anachronistic and unnecessary but they certainly are pretty.

With the (excessive) focus on movement decoration today, Lange is all the more notable for being able to pull off finishing of this quality for a competitive price compared to most of today’s hot independent watchmakers.