Short answer
A. Lange & Söhne does not make a Lange 2. The catalog holds Lange 1, Grand Lange 1, Little Lange 1, Lange 1 Time Zone, Lange 1 Moon Phase and Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar. The number 405.031 uses the same three-digit, dot, three-digit shape as real Lange references such as 101.021 and 191.032. Public Lange catalog pages do not list 405.031 as a Lange 1 reference. Search results for the full phrase point to replica listings. Treat the number as unverified.
What "first copy" means
First copy is trade language for a replica. Sellers use it for watches built to look like a named model at a fraction of the real price. The Lange 1 is the model copied most often. The dial reads from a distance: off-center time, outsize date, subsidiary seconds, power reserve scale marked Auf and Ab.
Copies of this model sell in three bands.
- Quartz: $40 to $90. Battery movement. The seconds hand ticks once per second.
- Entry automatic: $120 to $280. Sea-Gull or Miyota movement. Plain rotor and bridges behind a sapphire back.
- High tier copies: $350 to $900. Decorated bridges, an engraved plate over the balance, closer case size.
No copy uses a Lange caliber. Lange movements are built in Glashütte, Germany. Copy makers buy third-party movements and add cosmetic plates.
Checks on the watch
- Outsize date. A real Lange 1 uses two date discs, one for tens and one for units, driven by a cross-jump mechanism. Both flip at midnight. Cheap copies use one disc behind a mask, and the change can land minutes or hours off.
- Balance cock. Hand-engraved on genuine Lange watches. Each one differs. Machine engraving repeats the same pattern on every watch.
- Gold chatons. Real watches have polished gold rings set around jewel bearings, held by blued screws. Copies paint brass or plate it gold.
- Three-quarter plate. Genuine parts are untreated German silver with Glashütte ribbing. Copies use plated brass or steel.
- Dial. Genuine Lange 1 dials are solid silver. Copy dials are brass with a printed grain.
- Case size. The Lange 1 measures 38.5 mm across and about 10 mm thick. Many copies run 12 mm or thicker.
- Numbers. The caseback carries the reference number. The movement carries the serial. Ask the seller for photos of both.
Prices
A Lange 1 in gold sells at retail above $40,000. Used examples move at auction in the $25,000 to $40,000 range, set by metal, dial and year. Copies sell for $40 to $900. A copy has no resale market. Lange will not service it. Lange parts do not fit it.
Legal notes for US buyers
US law bars import of goods that carry a counterfeit trademark. Customs and Border Protection can seize a shipment and destroy it. The buyer gets no refund from the carrier or the maker. A watch with a Lange name on the dial and a third-party movement falls under that rule.
Bottom line
"Lange 2" is not a real model. The reference 405.031 is not confirmed in Lange's public catalog. If you want a first copy Lange 1, judge it as a copy: movement type, case size, dial material, date function. If you want a real one, buy from a dealer with papers and expect five figures.