Answer first

Reference 201.021 does not appear in A. Lange & Söhne reference lists. The Lange 1 in yellow gold with a champagne dial is cataloged as 101.021. Listings for a "replica Lange 1 201.021" use a seller code, not a Lange reference. The genuine watch is a 38.5 mm hand-wound piece with an outsize date and a 72-hour power reserve. Replicas sell for about $150 to $900 and use movements from Seagull, Miyota, or Asian 2824 clones. Importing a counterfeit watch into the United States is prohibited, and U.S. Customs can seize it.

The reference number

Lange 1 references sit in the 101.xxx range. Reference 101.021 is the yellow gold case with a champagne dial. Other 101.xxx numbers cover other metal and dial combinations. I cannot verify any Lange 1 with the number 201.021 from Lange catalogs or auction archives. The number in a replica listing has no link to a factory record, and no watchmaker outside Glashütte holds a Lange reference registry.

Genuine specs (101.021)

  • Case: 38.5 mm, 18k yellow gold, sapphire crystal front and back
  • Dial: champagne, solid silver, applied gold markers
  • Movement: L901.0, hand wound, 72-hour power reserve, twin mainspring barrels, three-quarter plate in untreated German silver
  • Layout: off-center hours and minutes at left, small seconds at 5, outsize date at 1, power reserve at 3
  • Retail: about $40,000. Secondary market for yellow gold examples: about $28,000 to $38,000

What replica sellers ship

Most Lange 1 replicas come from workshops in southern China. Movements are a Seagull ST17 or ST18, a Miyota 9015, or a decorated Asian 2824 clone. Case metal is 316L steel or brass with gold plating. Plating runs 3 to 5 microns, and it wears through at the lugs and caseback edges.

  • $150 to $250: mineral glass, printed dial, thin plating
  • $300 to $500: sapphire front, stamped caseback text, "Swiss movement" claims with no proof
  • $600 to $900: sapphire front and back, decorated bridges, engraved balance cock

No replica reproduces the L901.0. Lange makes that caliber in-house and does not sell it to third parties. The part count and the finishing steps cannot be copied at these prices.

Checkpoints

  • Outsize date: on the genuine watch both digits sit in one window on one plane and cross-jump at midnight. On replicas the two digits sit at different depths, and the jump happens in steps.
  • Balance cock: hand engraved on the genuine movement. Stamped or laser etched on replicas.
  • Chatons: gold chatons held by blued screws on the genuine movement. Plated rings or none on replicas.
  • Weight: 18k gold is denser than steel. A plated steel case feels lighter in the hand than the same case in gold.
  • Hallmarks: the genuine caseback carries gold hallmarks, a case number, and a serial number that repeats on the movement.
  • Font: caseback engraving on the genuine watch is cut, not printed, and the character shapes match Lange house type.

Legal status in the United States

18 U.S.C. § 2320 makes trafficking in counterfeit goods a federal crime. A first offense carries up to 10 years in prison and a fine. Trademark owners can file civil suits under 15 U.S.C. § 1117, with statutory damages that reach $2,000,000 per counterfeit mark per type of goods when the use is willful. U.S. Customs and Border Protection can seize and destroy counterfeit watch shipments, and the agency states that a single item in personal baggage is subject to seizure. Possession alone is not the federal crime under § 2320. Import, sale, and distribution are.

Open questions

Lange does not publish yearly production totals, so supply figures in replica listings cannot be checked. Lange does not authorize any third-party factory to make its watches. Factory names used in the replica trade are seller labels, not registered manufacturers. Claims of Swiss assembly on a Lange replica cannot be verified against any independent record.