A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Up/Down Watch Review
The A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Up/Down, a highly desirable watch from Saxony, first appeared in 2012 and remains a popular choice for Lange devotees. When it was launched, the model was a mild evolution of the iconic Datograph, a trailblazing watch first released in 1999. At Watches & Wonders 2024, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Datograph, the German marque released a limited edition Up/Down reference, housed in an 18-carat white gold case and blessed with a becoming blue dial.
Image – A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Up/Down Ref. 405.028
A. Lange & Söhne Watch Review
Back in 1994, just four years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Walter Lange rekindled his family’s firm, unveiling four models, namely the Lange 1, Saxonia, Tourbillon ‘Pour le Mérite’ and the Arkade. Just five years later (1999), the German marque released the inaugural Datograph which represented a bold move on the part of the German Manufactory.
Today, ‘Datograph’, a name containing three seductive syllables, is known to all self-respecting watch aficionados. But why has this chronograph acquired its now legendary status? Allow me to elaborate.
After the ‘quartz crisis’
While the air in post-DDR, unified Germany was imbued with optimism, the Swiss watch industry was still battered and bruised after suffering the ill effects of the so-called ‘quartz crisis’. Indeed, having witnessed factory closures and redundancies, veterans of the watch industry saw little reason for hope.
Image – A. Lange & Söhne relaunch in 1994
One of the consequences of this period of horological gloom was that brands were reticent to invest in making wholly new movements. At this time, third party movements or ébauches were the order of the day. However, in 1999, just five years after Herr Lange unveiled his inaugural collection, with colleagues Günter Blümlein and Hartmut Knothe looking on, the German brand released the Datograph.
A. Lange & Söhne Datograph (1999)
The original Datograph of 1999 featured an in-house developed and produced chronograph movement, the Calibre L951.5. From the outset, it was designed to seduce and many watch aficionados and collectors soon fell under its spell. The hand-wound movement, comprising 405 components, incorporated lots of exquisite details, including a three-quarter plate, a column wheel and a horizontal coupling. Formed of untreated German silver, the movement finishing was extraordinary. Refinements included thermally blued screws, Glashütte ribbing, hand bevelling, a hand-engraved balance cock, gold chatons, perlage, mirror-polishing, etc.
Image – Günter Blümlein and Walter Lange present the Datograph at Baselworld 1999
The A. Lange & Söhne Datograph combined the brand’s beloved outsize date display with a flyback chronograph.
When timing elapsed periods in quick succession, the wearer of a regular chronograph needs to nimbly press the pushpieces to stop, reset and restart the chronograph mechanism. The owner of a flyback chronograph merely needs to press the pushpiece at 4 o’clock and all three switching steps are performed within the blink of an eye.
The small seconds hand, positioned at 8 o’clock, was equipped with a stop seconds function, ideal when synchronising the Datograph with a reference clock/watch. Endowed with two counters, the dial proved harmonious and beautifully proportioned. The minute counter, located at 4 o’clock, featured a hand that jumped precisely, advancing in discrete steps, courtesy of a wonderfully engineered mechanism. A tachymeter scale, fringing the dial, allowed the wearer to calculate the speed of an object over a known distance.
A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Up/Down (2012)
As previously stated, the A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Up/Down was launched in 2012. A wholly new model at the time, it succeeded the Datograph, incorporating a number of changes including a new movement, the Calibre L951.6 (comprising 451 components). The Datograph Up/Down was marginally bigger than its predecessor, measuring 41 mm in diameter, and a tad thicker at 13.1 mm, but remained eminently wearable and tastefully understated.
Image – A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Up/Down Ref. 405.031
The A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Up/Down offered the same inventory of functions as the Datograph as well as an additional complication, a power-reserve indicator, located at 6 o’clock. Consistent with Lange’s seemly design ethos, the power-reserve indicator proved discreet yet legible. Most importantly, the arrival of the 2012 model did not undermine the desirability of its 1999 antecedent.
‘Subtle’ is an adjective that could easily be applied to many design features found on Lange’s products. Indeed, there is nothing outré or unduly conspicuous with any Lange reference. Moreover, there is a welcome philosophy of ‘evolution’, rather than ‘revolution’. This does not mean Lange rests on its laurels. Quite the opposite, it revisits existing calibres and seeks to improve them. Already near perfection, the laws of diminishing returns clearly limit the degree of advancement up for grabs, but it doesn’t stop the great minds in Glashütte trying.
Image – A. Lange & Söhne Calibre L951.6
With the advent of the new Calibre L951.6, the brand increased the power reserve, raising it from 36 hours (Datograph) to 60 hours. This was a huge achievement for a watch that was only slightly larger.
A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Up/Down Ref. 405.028
This week, at Watches & Wonders 2024, Lange, in a celebratory mood, marked the 25th anniversary of the iconic Datograph with the release of a limited edition reference, the A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Up/Down in white gold with a bewitching blue dial. This latest model (Ref. 405.028), joins the two existing references, one with a black dial/platinum case (Ref. 405.035) and a second with a black dial/pink gold case (Ref. 405.031), affording Langephiles additional choice; who doesn’t like additional choice?
The A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Up/Down Ref. 405.028 is a beautiful iteration of the model first unveiled in 2012, a watch that was inspired by the Datograph, a horological tour de force that burst onto the watch scene 25 years ago. An exceptional watch from the outset, the Datograph should be celebrated.
Image – A. Lange & Söhne Calibre L951.6, pictured within the rear of the Ref. 405.028
In my opinion, an endearing quality of Lange is the styling of its products always remains consistent. There is no flitting from one style to another. Contrast the Ref. 405.028 with the Datograph of the 90s and you will see the differences are reassuringly small.
True luxury should have an innate longevity; not just a capacity to survive regular use, but also the ability to proffer eye-appeal for decades to come. The Datograph still looks superb and I suspect the latest Datograph Up/Down (Ref. 405.028) will follow in its footsteps. Clearly, A. Lange & Söhne understand the meaning of true luxury.
Further reading
https://www.alange-soehne.com/
Technical specification
- Model: A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Up/Down
- Reference: 405.028
- Case: 18-carat white gold, diameter 41.0 mm, height 13.1 mm, sapphire crystal to the front and exhibition 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
- Strap: blue hand-stitched alligator leather strap with 18-carat white gold prong buckle
- Price on application
- Limited Edition: 125 pieces