A. Lange & Söhne DATOGRAPH UP/DOWN ‘Hampton Court Edition’ Watch Review
At this year’s Concours of Elegance, A. Lange & Söhne unveiled the DATOGRAPH UP/DOWN ‘Hampton Court Edition’. This unique watch will be auctioned in Geneva on 9 November with all proceeds being donated to The King’s Trust, a charity that improves the lives of ‘disadvantaged young people in the UK’. Angus Davies begins by looking at the German marque’s fondness for classic cars before exploring the refined specification of this one-of-a-kind expression of fine watchmaking.
A. Lange & Söhne x classic cars
For several years, the prestigious German brand, A. Lange & Söhne has chosen to align itself to the world of classic cars. These über-refined, petrol-powered thoroughbreds, some over 100 years old, were crafted by hand in a pre-robotic age. They were not mass produced in a modern-day sense, but painstakingly created. Each phase of their construction was the product of an unwavering desire to achieve excellence.
The styling of these cars was not homogenised in a wind tunnel, but instead was the product of creativity and design flair. Moreover, the finest examples of period motoring were not cynically ‘lifed’, destined to fail at a predetermined time in the future, rather they were designed and built to last, conferring eternal ownership delight. Likewise, the choice of materials used was not influenced by the motion of an accountant’s pencil but driven by quality. Quite simply, these classic cars were made in an era when perfection and longevity were the overriding objectives, an ethos that resonates with A. Lange & Söhne, the present-day maker of ultra-refined timepieces for discerning individuals.
Image – Audrain Newport Concours d’Elegance
A. Lange & Söhne DATOGRAPH UP/DOWN ‘Hampton Court Edition’ – introduction
This appreciation for mechanical virtue and a respect for enduring relationships has seen A. Lange & Söhne regularly support classic automobile competitions around the globe, including Concorso d’Eleganze Villa d’Este on the shores of Lake Como and Audrain Newport Concours d’Elegance on the sunkissed coast of Rhode Island. Moreover, since 2018, the Saxony-based firm has sponsored the Concours of Elegance, hosted in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace, the former baroque home of Henry VIII.
Image – Audrain Newport Concours d’Elegance
To coincide with this latter UK-based event, the Glashütte-based Manufactory has created a unique watch, the DATOGRAPH UP/DOWN ‘Hampton Court Edition’. This reference will be auctioned on 9 November 2024 in Geneva by ‘the renowned auction house Philips in Association with Bacs & Russo’. All the proceeds from the sale will be donated to The King’s Trust, the UK-based charity formerly known as ‘The Prince’s Trust’.
Founded in 1976, when His Majesty King Charles III, was His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, the King’s Trust has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of ‘disadvantaged young people in the UK’. In September 2020, the charity reported it had supported one million young people.
Image – Concours of Elegance, hosted in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace
Although the name ‘DATOGRAPH’ will be familiar to many watch aficionados, this creation is unique and has been specially crafted for the charity auction.
A. Lange & Söhne DATOGRAPH UP/DOWN ‘Hampton Court Edition’ – dial
The epidermis of the dial is dressed in grey and punctuated with two snailed counters that are executed in a stealthy shade of black. The hour and minute hands are formed of rhodiumed gold and lined with luminescent treatment, ensuring they remain readable, even in dim light.
A pillar-box red central chronograph seconds hand collaborates with a neat track that fringes the central dial area, indicating the elapsed seconds in eminently clear form. Beyond this track, a stepped circlet plays host to a tachymeter scale, allowing the wearer to ascertain the speed of an object over a known distance eg a car covering a measured mile.
In the dial’s upper hemisphere resides Lange’s outsize date, inspired by the Five-Minute Clock housed within Semperoper Dresden (the city’s famous opera house). Two black discs, marked with white numerals, work in harmony, lucidly imparting meaning.
A succinct power-reserve indicator is positioned at 6 o’clock, supplanting the customary hour marker, reminding the wearer when the requires topping up.
A. Lange & Söhne DATOGRAPH UP/DOWN ‘Hampton Court Edition’ – case
Housed in an 18-carat white gold case, measuring 41 mm in diameter, the DATOGRAPH UP/DOWN ‘Hampton Court Edition’ looks very different from many of its Lange siblings. While most watches that emanate from the Manufactory in Glashütte are supplied on hand-stitched alligator leather straps, this unique piece comes on an intricately formed 7-rows bracelet formed of 18-carat white gold.
An engraved hinged cuvette, gracing the dorsal area of the case, is yet another distinguishing feature of this watch. Seldom seen elsewhere, its design evokes thoughts of a pocket watch, underscoring the classical theme. Bearing the inscriptions, ‘Concours of Elegance’ and ‘Hampton Court Palace 2024’, the text imbues this watch with an enduring association with the classic car pageant.
At 10 o’clock, a pushpiece advances the outsize date mechanism, obviating the need for touching the crown. It is a user-friendly system and delivers a smile-inducing click with each press. Two further pushpieces grace the right flank of the case: start/stop (2 o’clock) and reset to zero (4 o’clock). However, unlike a ‘conventional’ chronograph, the DATOGRAPH UP/DOWN ‘Hampton Court Edition’ is equipped with a flyback mechanism. When the chronograph is operating, the wearer can press the pushpiece at 4 o’clock and in one single action the timing sequence will stop, reset and start anew. By combining these three phases into one simple action, the wearer can easily measure consecutive events without the need for extreme digit dancing.
Interestingly, the flyback mechanism can trace its origins to aviation when pilots navigated with maps and timed intervals with their watches. The complication is ideally suited to classic car enthusiasts who may wish to record lap times in quick succession or participate in a regularity race.
A. Lange & Söhne Calibre L951.6
Quietly ticking within its luxurious housing at 18,000 vph, the Calibre L951.6 is a horological tour de force. Crafted without compromise, this hand-wound movement, comprising 451 components, brims with refinements that distinguish it as special. Allow me to elaborate.
Column-wheel and horizontal coupling
This arrangement, widely considered a classical approach, allows the wearer to view the chronograph mechanism engaging/disengaging when the pusher at 2 o’clock is pressed. This glorious mechanical performance is highly prized by watch aficionados and is a rare sight, not found with modern-day vertical couplings. This inevitably leads one to ask why vertical couplings now appear de rigueur. The answer lies in the behaviour of the central chronograph seconds hand.
On some chronographs fitted with a horizontal coupling, the central chronograph seconds hand, once actuated, can appear to stutter just prior to commencing its smooth arcing march. In contrast, with a vertical coupling, the chronograph is always in mesh, eliminating any faltering. However, the notably acclaimed watchmakers and technical engineers based at the German marque’s HQ have managed to deliver said mechanical visual performance as well as stutter-free actuation of the chronograph. It is this horological virtuosity that has seen the brand attract many watch aficionados to the doors of its boutiques over the years.
Variable inertia balance
The Calibre L951.6 is equipped with a ‘variable inertia balance’. With the ubiquitous ‘index regulated balance’, the rate is adjusted by altering the effective length of the balance spring. However, with a variable inertia balance, the length of the balance spring remains constant and the rate is altered by adjusting inertia weights positioned near the rim of the balance wheel. This latter means of regulation confers several advantages.
Firstly, a variable inertia balance can be regulated more precisely. Secondly, it is less prone to positional influence. Thirdly, if the watch is subjected to a shock, it is less likely to require remedial regulation. While it is more time-consuming to regulate a watch equipped with variable-inertia balance, A. Lange & Söhne has repeatedly shown it never shies from work in its unwavering quest for perfection.
Enhancing isochronism
An interesting refinement found on the balance of this movement relates to the design and position of the inertia weights. Instead of traditional timing screws, the balance features weights (aka ‘masselottes’), positioned on the interior rim of the balance wheel. This approach mitigates air turbulence (when the balance wheel oscillates back and forth), thereby augmenting isochronism.
The terminal curve of the balance spring is bent by hand. By reducing the curvature of the outer coil, the spring ‘develops or ‘breathes’ more concentrically, again aiding isochronism.
German silver
Most watch companies make movement mainplates, three-quarter plates, bridges or cocks from brass. These are subsequently rhodium-plated to mitigate the risk of corrosion. A. Lange & Söhne prefers to use untreated German silver (maillechort), an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc. This material is harder, hence more difficult to work with, but will retain a blemish free appearance for many years to come.
Finishing
Whenever the German company’s products are discussed, conversations inevitably turn to finishing. The brand is known to imbue its watches with an extraordinary level of finishing, seldom seen in today’s watch industry. Anglage, perlage, mirror-polishing and thermally blued screws abound, each the product of an artisan’s skill and patience. A hand-engraved balance cocks rounds out the specification, serving as a further demonstration of the Manufactory’s notable in-house expertise.
A. Lange & Söhne DATOGRAPH UP/DOWN ‘Hampton Court Edition’ – closing remarks
Paradoxically, each watch that leaves the Manufactory in Saxony is made without any concessions to time. I’ve toured the company’s facilities on several occasions and have noted a refreshing absence of wall charts referring to ‘yields’ and ‘efficiencies’. Furthermore, there are no clip-board wielding ‘time and motion’ types trying to shave-off a few milliseconds here and there. Quite simply, perfection is the overriding obsession.
For example, the various levers relating to the chronograph mechanism will be checked, adjusted, lubricated, again and again. The vertical play that a pivot has in a jewel-hole, often termed ‘endshake’, is carefully adjusted to ensure smooth operation of the gear train. This latter task doesn’t take place on a production line using automated methods, but instead is performed at a bench by one watchmaker, working in isolation.
Don’t misconstrue, A. Lange & Söhne does not dwell in the past. It has not ignored modern technologies such as CNC machines but has only adopted such methods when these have conferred advancement for the benefit of its clients.
In the most part, the Manufactory continues to craft watches using similar methods to Ferdinand A. Lange back in 1845, when he operated from a small workshop with 15 apprentices. Perhaps it’s for this reason that A. Lange & Söhne has an appreciation for the era when the wings of cars were ‘rolled’ by hand, metal was shaped with the deft use of a hammer and engines were assembled by one person, one component at a time.
The A. Lange & Söhne DATOGRAPH UP/DOWN ‘Hampton Court Edition’ pays tribute to this glorious period in motoring history while raising vital funds for a worthy cause.
Further reading
https://www.alange-soehne.com/
Technical specification
- Model: A. Lange & Söhne DATOGRAPH UP/DOWN ‘Hampton Court Edition’
- Reference: 405.047
- Case: 18-carat white gold, diameter 41.0 mm, height 13.1 mm, sapphire crystal to the front and engraved hinged cuvette (caseback)
- Functions: hours, minutes, subsidiary seconds with stop seconds, flyback chronograph with precisely jumping minute counter, power-reserve indicator, outsize date
- Movement: Lange manufacture calibre L951.6, hand-wound movement, frequency 18,000 vph (2.5 Hz), contains 46 jewels, power reserve 60 hours when fully wound, 451 components
- Bracelet: 18-carat white gold bracelet
- Piece Unique