A lang and sohne datagraph 45 series#

Beginning with the outer tachymeter and minute scale, it is made from German silver and the whole thing is coated with Lange’s special luminous compound. As mentioned, this is the Lumen version and it becomes an entirely different watch as a result. What makes this interesting, is how exactly, this layout is executed. It has a pusher at 10 o’clock acting as a quick-set for the date, an outer stepped tachymeter and minute scale, two sub registers featuring the running seconds and minute counter, a power reserve indicator at 6 o’clock and the signature oversized date in a framed double aperture at 12 o’clock. Housed in a 41mm platinum case, it begins with the classic Datograph layout. While it is nothing new, the Lumen watches are always so beautiful and well executed that it is worth writing about. The Datograph is, in fact, the fourth watch to be released in a Lumen version, with the previous models being the Grande Lange 1, the Grande Lange 1 Moonphase and the Zeitwerk, which you can see here.

A lang and sohne datagraph 45 series#

The Lumen series is basically Lange’s creative take on improving legibility and uses a whole host of luminous coated surfaces to achieve this. Lange & Söhne has produced the Datograph for nearly two decades now, what we are looking at is a rework of the original classic and it has been given the manufacture’s Lumen treatment. That means a lot coming from one of the greatest watchmakers of our generation. Just look at the classic hand engraved Lange balance cock!Īs a testament to the Datograph’s quality above the rest, Philippe Dufour owns one himself and calls it the nicest chronograph ever made. It has to be the most architecturally beautiful chronograph ever produced and the finishing is the best in the industry. What is so crazy about this movement though, is just how beautiful it is.

It has been tweaked slightly over the years, with updates to the power reserve up to 60 hours and an Up/Down power reserve indicator, but other than that it has largely remained the same. It features a manually wound in-house Calibre L951.7 with a flyback function.

When talking about the Datograph, you can’t not talk about the movement. This is largely because chronographs are expensive to produce these days, and to produce an in-house chronograph is no easy feat. Mind you, up until recently Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin were using Lemania based ebauches while Audemars Piguet still uses an outsourced base F. With the architecturally beautiful and complicated movement, all finished expertly by hand, it was the first in-house chronograph of our time. Introduced in 1999, this model has been hailed by many as perhaps the greatest chronograph of the modern era. While there are more striking designs from the manufacture such as the Lange 1 with its asymmetrical layout or the Zeitwerk with its ingenious digital display, in the context of when it was produced and the sheer quality of this timepiece, the Datograph comes in first for me. Lange & Sohne’s most important and iconic piece in their line-up. Let me begin by saying, that the Datograph would have to be A.