Answer
A replica Saxonia 380.022 is a counterfeit of a hand-wound A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia. Copies use a 38.5 mm to 39 mm case, a gold-plated steel body, sapphire crystal, and a third-party movement. Prices run from $180 to $600. None of them carry the L941.1 caliber, the hand-engraved balance cock, or Glashütte ribbing on the three-quarter plate. Importing or selling one in the United States is a federal offense.
The Genuine Reference
A. Lange & Söhne builds the Saxonia line in Glashütte, Germany. Reference 380.022 sits in that line. Lange publishes the case metal, case diameter, dial finish, and caliber per reference. Confirm those values against a Lange service record before you compare a copy to an original. Specs changed across production runs. Case metal and dial variant for a specific serial number come from the maker, not from a forum post. The caseback carries a reference number and a movement number. A watchmaker can verify both.
What Sellers List
Listings for a replica 380.022 repeat a small set of parts.
- Case: 316L or 904L steel with gold plating or PVD coating
- Diameter: 38.5 mm to 39 mm, thickness 9 mm to 10 mm
- Crystal: sapphire with an anti-reflective coating on the front
- Movement: Miyota 9015, Seagull ST1812, or a generic hand-wind
- Dial: printed silver or white, applied markers, printed signature
- Strap: embossed leather, 20 mm lugs
Movement Differences
The Lange L941.1 runs at 21,600 vibrations per hour, or 3 Hz, with a power reserve near 45 hours. A Miyota 9015 runs at 28,800 vibrations per hour, which makes the seconds hand sweep faster. A timing app on a phone counts the beats. Lange finishes the three-quarter plate with Glashütte ribbing, blued screws, and a balance cock engraved by hand. A copy at $300 uses a plain bridge. The L941.1 is a hand-wind caliber, so no rotor appears through the caseback. A copy can match that layout on paper. The finishing is the part a copy does not reproduce.
Finish and Weight
Gold is denser than steel. If the reference is a gold case, it weighs more than a plated steel copy of the same size. Plating wears through at the lugs and crown after months of wear. Laser engraving leaves a shallow cut at a constant depth. Hand engraving leaves a cut with variable depth. A 10x loupe shows the difference in under a minute.
Price Bands
Low: $180 to $250 buys a plated case and a Seagull movement. Mid: $300 to $450 buys 904L steel, closer dial printing, and a Miyota 9015. High: $500 to $700 buys a custom dial and a decorated movement, still short of Lange finishing. Used genuine Saxonia references list in the thousands of dollars on the secondary market. A $400 copy does not hold that resale value, and auction houses reject them.
Legal Status in the United States
Counterfeit watches infringe trademarks. 18 U.S.C. § 2320 covers trafficking in counterfeit goods. A first offense carries up to 10 years in prison and a $2,000,000 fine for an individual. U.S. Customs and Border Protection seizes counterfeit shipments under 19 U.S.C. § 1526 and destroys them. The buyer loses the goods and the payment. Card networks flag replica vendors, so many sellers ask for wire transfer or crypto. Those methods carry no chargeback.
Check Before You Buy
- Ask for a caseback photo that shows the reference and movement numbers.
- Ask for a timing machine printout. A 21,600 vph caliber reads 3 Hz.
- Count the jewels in the movement photo and compare to the maker spec.
- Measure the lug width. This case size uses 20 mm lugs.
- Inspect the balance cock engraving at 10x. Laser cuts look flat.
- Read the return policy. Most replica sellers ship final sale.