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Shortly before the transition to the new millennium, the A. LANGE & SÖHNE DATOGRAPH launched at the Basel trade show 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 A. Lange & Söhne Datograph calibre L951.1 was intended to do the innovative ambition of the manufacture justice.
With its classic column-wheel transmission, precisely jumping minute counter and flyback function, the A. Lange & Söhne 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 A. Lange & Söhne 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.”
Since the widely acclaimed premiere of the A. Lange & Söhne 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 A. Lange & Söhne 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.
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