DATOGRAPH – 25 years of chronograph history
Since 1999, chronographs have been among the A. Lange & Söhne flagships. The prelude to this tradition was the multiple award-winning DATOGRAPH – with its singular combination of technical finesse and harmonious dial design, it is a benchmark in the art of short-time measurement to date, and a symbol of the innovative powers of the manufacture. A retrospective of the history of this prodigious timepiece.
Shortly before the transition to the new millennium, the DATOGRAPH launched at the Basel tradeshow by A. Lange & Söhne, gave watchmaking new impetus. This masterpiece, developed under the auspices of Günter Blümlein, the visionary entrepreneur and strategist, was the first A. Lange & Söhne chronograph after the renaissance of the brand in 1990 and placed the manufacture at the cutting edge: with the ability of chronographs to measure the duration of events with an accuracy of a fraction of a second, they were once again among the most coveted watch models. Additionally, for the first time, the L951.1 calibre was equipped with the typical Lange outsize date.
Following the successful launch of the first collection in October 1994, the development of a chronograph calibre was right at the top of the Glashütte manufacture’s priority list ‒ after all, watches with a chronograph function boasted a long-standing tradition at A. Lange & Söhne. As early as 1868, the founder of Saxon precision watchmaking Ferdinand Adolph Lange introduced his first chronograph, equipped with a noteworthy technical advancement: it had one single button for starting and stopping the chronograph hand as well as resetting it to zero. And the newly developed DATOGRAPH calibre L951.1 was intended to do the innovative ambition of the manufacture justice.
Functionality and design at its best
With its classic column-wheel transmission, precisely jumping minute counter and flyback function, the DATOGRAPH showcases refined functionality: it is an impressive example of Walter Lange’s guiding principle “to build watches that are among the world’s best”. Since the re-establishment, the manufacture has set its own benchmarks with currently 72 movements developed and crafted in-house. Right from the start, in 1999, the DATOGRAPH was a particularly lucid expression of this aspiration. The Lange engineers succeeded in endowing the watch with a one-of-a-kind face: the typical Lange outsize date, the two light-coloured subsidiary dials for the small seconds and the minute counter were moved downwards slightly to form an equilateral triangle; they contrast crisply with the black dial. The characteristic appearance corresponds with Günter Blümlein’s vision: “From the beginning, it was important for us to create watches whose sleek, classic appearance is an expression of supreme modernity.”
Anthony de Haas, Director of Product Development elucidates: “With its combination of functionality and design, perfectly balanced down to the smallest details, the DATOGRAPH holds its ground as a reference for a consummate chronograph, even 25 years after its debut. When looking at the dial, and in particular through the sapphire-crystal caseback that showcases the micromechanical orchestration of all significant sequences and functions in all their beauty, it quickly becomes apparent why the DATOGRAPH is not only the dream come true of many watch aficionados but also of watchmakers.”
A diverse portfolio of high-end manufacture chronographs
Since the widely acclaimed premiere of the DATOGRAPH, the watch manufacture consistently expanded its expertise in the field of chronograph construction and, to date, developed a total of 13 trail-blazing models with a chronograph function. With the DOUBLE SPLIT launched in 2004, A. Lange & Söhne built a chronograph equipped with a double rattrapante ‒ a first in the history of precision watchmaking. The second minute counter extended the range of intermediate measurements from 60 seconds to 30 minutes. The TRIPLE SPLIT, which made its debut in 2018, represents the current pinnacle in the development of the sophisticated rattrapante function. Thanks to the addition of a third hand pair, the span of intermediate measurements can be extended to a maximum of twelve hours. Both timepieces are currently still unique in the realm of precision watchmaking. Launched in 2023, the ODYSSEUS CHRONOGRAPH is the result of a different innovative concept devised by the manufacture. It is endowed with the first self-winding chronograph movement by Lange. Its groundbreaking and dynamic function that resets the chronograph hands to zero once again exemplifies that A. Lange & Söhne follows its very own path in advancing fine watchmaking.
The presentation of further DATOGRAPH models during the past 25 years is testimony to this ambition as well. Horological highlights include the DATOGRAPH PERPETUAL launched in 2006 ‒ it combines a flyback chronograph with a perpetual calendar. This distinctive watch displays the date, day of week, month, leap year and the moon phase: it also boasts a day/night indication. In 2012, A. Lange & Söhne raised the technical performance to a new level: the DATOGRAPH UP/DOWN impresses with an increased power reserve of 60 hours, a power-reserve indicator at 6 o’clock and an oscillation system developed in-house.
Two new family members
At Watches and Wonders 2024, A. Lange & Söhne introduces two new members of the DATOGRAPH family. Twelve years after its launch, the DATOGRAPH UP/DOWN is now available in a third version: alongside the platinum and pink-gold models with a black dial, the watch now appears in a new guise, featuring a white-gold case with a blue dial, limited to 125 pieces. Owing to the exclusive and distinctive hue, this timepiece stands out with its striking appearance.
The DATOGRAPH PERPETUAL TOURBILLON HONEYGOLD “Lumen” also exhibits three eponymous complications in the dark – the outsize date, chronograph and the perpetual calendar. This is assured by the semi-transparent dial and the luminous coating, allowing the displays and functions to glow. Consisting of 684 parts and assembled twice, the evolved manufacture calibre L952.4 beats at the heart of the watch encased in 18-carat honey gold (HONEYGOLD®). In Geneva, A. Lange & Söhne presents this novelty in an XXL-version: standing five metres tall in the centre of the Saxon manufacture’s booth, the DATOGRAPH PERPETUAL TOURBILLON HONEYGOLD “Lumen” takes the stage as a giant watch. 50 times larger than the original, it provides in-depth insights into the world of the mechanical movement ‒ and impressively demonstrates what it is that defines a Lange “Lumen” model.
