A. Lange & Söhne’s Watches and Wonders Launches Honour the Datograph’s Pioneering Spirit

The Datograph, originally launched in 1999, was A. Lange & Söhne’s first chronograph, and served as a platform for the brand to showcase some of its most advanced watchmaking. The pioneering Datograph range currently includes 13 innovative models with a chronograph function, and for Watches and Wonders 2024, A. Lange & Söhne reveals two stunning Datograph models to celebrate the range’s 25th anniversary. While one is a limited-edition Datograph Up/Down model, the other is an ingenious Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon that glows in the dark. GMT India takes a closer look at both.

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Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen” - Ref. 740.055FE

When first introduced in 2016, the Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon—featuring the three eponymous complications—caused quite the stir, leaving an indelible mark in the world of precision watchmaking. While perfecting each of the three complications warrants a high degree of technical excellence, ensuring flawless interaction among the three and devising an easy-to-read face posed a formidable challenge that A. Lange & Söhne successfully turned into a resounding triumph. Just revealed at Watches and Wonders, the Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen” exhibits that same technical finesse and houses it all in a 41.5mm case crafted from Honeygold: the brand’s patented gold material whose warm tone sits somewhere between rose gold and yellow gold.

The standout feature is the timepiece’s semi-transparent dial and the luminous coating that accord a captivating glow to the displays and functions on the symmetrical dial. The hour and minute hands are inlaid with a luminous compound while the chrono seconds hand is completely coated. The compound makes the inscription on the dial ring with the minute scale and tachymeter scale light up too. The darker the surroundings, the more prominent the luminous elements appear. The outsize date display immediately draws attention too; it lights up as well, making for a fascinating visual show when the date switches at midnight.

The movement powering the trail-brazing chronograph is the evolved manufacture calibre L952.4. Consisting of 684 parts and assembled twice, the movement is fitted with a freely-oscillating Lange balance spring and a Lange balance wheel, contributing to the power reserve of 50 hours. Limited to 50 pieces, the bold new light-up-in-the-dark Datograph is a shining example of A. Lange & Söhne’s ability to combine watchmaking artistry with ease of use. A truly befitting way to celebrate 25 years of the iconic Datograph.

Datograph Up/Down - Ref. 405.028

To celebrate 25 years of the Datograph, A. Lange & Söhne has also unveiled a special limited-edition Datograph Up/Down timepiece in 18ct white gold with a blue dial. The lucid dial configuration as seen on previous Up/Down models has a pleasing visual harmony. The twin date aperture that appears beneath 12 o’clock marks the tip of an equilateral triangle. The subsidiary dials for the small seconds at 9 o’clock and for the precisely jumping minute counter at 3 o’clock are positioned below the horizontal centre axis of the dial, forming the base of the triangle.

Available in blue for the first time with rhodié-coloured subsidiary dials, luminous hands and baton hour markers, the watch highlights a crisp contrast that further enhances the readability. The manually wound calibre L951.6 (with a power reserve of 60 hours) is what remains at the heart the timepiece, combining a column-wheel chronograph with a flyback function, a precisely jumping minute counter and the typical Lange outsize date. The sapphire-crystal caseback allows the wearer to admire the workings of the minute-counter mechanism and the column wheel, which controls the start and stop sequences.

With a diameter of 41mm and height of 13.1mm, the dimensions of this new version remain unchanged. In addition to this iteration in white gold with a blue dial limited to 125 pieces, the Datograph Up/Down is also still available in a platinum/black and pink-gold/black case/dial combination.

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