The fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 marked the beginning of a new era for A. Lange & Söhne. German reunification opened the door for the successful re-establishment of the company and with it came the rebirth of Saxon fine watchmaking. On 3 November 2014, the company is commemorating this historic connection with an extraordinary temporary* art event at the Berlin East Side Gallery in celebration of the 25th anniversary.

Street artist Jakub Hortig used spray paint to create a large picture of the LANGE 1, which has long since become a symbol of the brand's comeback and the return of the Saxon watch industry. What is special about it is that instead of the usual 25, the Lange outsize date displays a 9 as a reference to 9 November 1989.

The time is set at 6.53 pm, the time at which SED politburo member Günter Schabowski announced at that defining press conference that GDR citizens were free to travel with immediate effect. The announcement led to a stampede on the border crossings, bringing down the wall that same night.

Dresden-based graffiti artist Jakub Hortig was born in 1983 in Louny, in what is now the Czech Republic. The skilled goldsmith and jeweller has been working as a finisseur for A. Lange & Söhne since 2007. He discovered the art of graffiti at the age of 13. His first mural art was painted in his grandfather's garage. His street art themes include words painted with a brush and designs that make use of stencils. Hortig sees his art as an important way to offset his work with the watchmaker's loupe, which requires great concentration.

The East Side Gallery on Mühlenstraße in Berlin-Friedrichshain is arguably the best-known – and at a length of 1.3 km also one of the largest – open-air galleries in the world. In spring 1990, 118 artists from 21 countries had already begun to paint this stretch of the wall.

* The East Side Gallery is a protected monument. Therefore, the graffiti could not be sprayed straight on the wall. Instead, a canvas was used which was removed after the event.