Craftsmanship in Every Detail: A. Lange & Söhne Unveils Datograph Handwerkskunst
2024 is a momentous year for A. Lange & Söhne, with many milestones to look back on. 30 years ago, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany’s most prestigious watch manufacture was revived by Walter Lange, the great-grandson of Ferdinand Adolph Lange, who had founded the company in 1845 and had laid the foundation for the industry in the impoverished town of Glashütte on the outskirts of Dresden. Since then, A. Lange & Söhne has established itself at the pinnacle of high horology, renowned for its precision watchmaking, commitment to innovation while respecting tradition, attention to detail, and meticulous craftsmanship.
Five years after presenting its first collection comprising of the Lange 1, the Arkade, the Saxonia and the Tourbillon Pour le Mérite in 1994, which was enthusiastically received, Lange surprised the watchmaking world with the Datograph, one of the first entirely in-house designed and manufactured chronograph calibers in decades. Combining innovative functions including a column-wheel chronograph with a flyback function, a precisely jumping minute counter and the typical Lange outsize date which is approximately three times larger than a common indication and was inspired by the famous 5-Minute Clock of Dresden’s Semperopera, with traditional watchmaking artistry and a very distinctive design, it has since then been a benchmark for the genre and a collectors’ as well as watchmakers’ favorite. These among them including the ingenious Philippe Dufour favorite.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of this chronograph icon, A. Lange & Söhne launched a new edition at this year’s Watches and Wonders: the Datograph Up/Down in white gold with a blue dial, limited to 125 pieces. One of the most talked-about pieces at the exhibition was also the Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen”, a high horological masterpiece with the three eponymous complications united in the brand’s genuine gold and a luminescent dial that puts its technical prowess in the spotlight even in the dark.
Datograph Handwerkskunst
These exceptional timepieces are now followed by the limited edition Datograph Handwerkskunst, which was presented at this year’s Watches and Wonders Shanghai. “Handwerkskunst” is the German expression for craftsmanship. While every Lange timepiece is characterized by meticulous handicraft and attention to detail, this exclusive series, first introduced in 2011, is literally the bees’ knees in terms of refinement, incorporating rare and challenging techniques such as tremblage, black polishing, and relief engraving. The endless hours that Lange’s master craftspeople invest in the decoration and finishing of each part result in an unparalleled level of dial design and a highly refined appearance.
The black rhodium-plated main dial and the rhodium-plated light gray totalizers feature an elaborate tremblage engraving that creates a three-dimensional texture with subtle reflections of light. In this technique, the engraver uses a specially designed lining burin to create a fine-grained surface. The challenge is not only to achieve a uniform texture on the smallest of surfaces, but also to preserve certain dial elements, such as the arched brand logo, the minute and second graduations, and the tachymeter scale. Together with the subsidiary dials, which are slightly offset downwards in the typical Datograph layout, and the aperture for the outsize date, they remain clearly visible with their sculpted contours of the relief engraving, contrasting sharply with the background. In a first step, the edges of the appliqués and Roman numerals are chamfered and the surfaces are decorated with a straight graining. In a second step, which requires great care, they are placed on the dial and stand out against the refined background. The hands are also meticulously chamfered.
Of course, the craftsmanship is also evident in every detail of the highly complex manufacture caliber L951.8, which can be seen through the exhibition case back. For example, the surfaces of the chronograph levers are black polished, a particularly time-consuming and rare technique that ensures that incident light is reflected in only one direction. From this perspective alone, the surface of the lever appears jet black, but from all other angles, it has a mirror-like shine. Inspired by historic pocket watches, the grained surface of the bridges on the German silver three-quarter plate is the design counterpart to the tremblage engraving on the dial.
The hand engraving on the balance cock, a signature of the manufacture, is the most distinctive design element. Here, we see a filigree vine pattern. Unlike a conventional Lange engraving, in which the pattern is cut into the material, this decoration is relief-engraved. Floral motifs have a long tradition at Lange, as they adorned the first precision pocket watches dating back to the company’s early years in the 19th century. This caliber is therefore a significant example of the manufacture’s technical expertise in chronograph construction as well as its artistic craftsmanship.
“With the Datrograph, our engineers created a manufacture chronograph as early as 25 years ago that unites highly sophisticated functions with a balanced dial design. In the Datograph Handwerkskunst, the artisanal perfection is raised to an even higher level. Be it at a glance at the dial or through the sapphire-crystal caseback – every perspective reveals fascinating details that are testament to the outstanding prowess of our engravers and finishers. Manually executed with the highest degree of precision, the decorations and finishing exhibit aesthetics that no machine in the whole world could possibly achieve.”
Anthony de Haas, Director Product Development
The Datograph Handwerkskunst features a yellow-gold case with a diameter of 41mm and a height of 13.1mm. Given the extraordinary amount of artisanal work involved, this masterpiece is limited to only 25 watches worldwide and will be exclusively sold at Lange boutiques. Pricing is available by request.
Datograph Up/Down “Hampton Court Edition”
There is even more exciting news regarding the Datograph: In addition to the Handwerkskunst edition, Lange has created a unique piece that will be auctioned in November by Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo in Geneva. The proceeds of the Datograph UP/Down “Hampton Court Edition” will go to the British charity The Prince’s Trust. Born from the partnership with the British Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court, it combines a white gold case, a gray dial with black subdials, and an engraved hinged case. The striking color combination emphasizes the harmonious dial configuration, while the luminescent gold hour and minute hands perfectly match the case material and contrast sharply with the gray background–as does the red chrono seconds hand in the center, which adds a distinctive color accent.
Beneath the engraved, hinged case back, one can admire the 451-part hand-wound L951.6 caliber, lavishly finished and twice assembled in typical Lange fashion. The exhibition case back provides a glimpse of the precisely orchestrated switching sequences, such as the minute-counter mechanism and the column wheel. It also reveals the beauty of the high level of finissage and the virtuoso composition of aesthetic details, combined with the technical complexity of the movement. Other elements include the bridges in untreated German silver, the hand-engraved balance cock with a whiplash precision index adjuster, and four screwed gold chatons.
A new edition of Walter Lange’s biography
In honor of Walter Lange (1924-2017) who would have turned 100 this year, the company also released an updated edition of his biography, “Als die Zeit nach Hause kam,“ first published in 2004. In “When Time Came Home”, Walter Lange, who has received many honors for his services for the watch industry in Saxony, including Honorary Citizenship of the Town of Glashütte in 1995, the Saxon Order of Merit in 1998, and finally the Federal Cross of Merit, 1st Class, in 2015, describes the most important stages of his eventful life: from his sheltered childhood in Glashütte and Dresden to his apprenticeship as a watchmaker in Austria, his traumatic experiences during the war, the expropriation of the family business in the socialist GDR, and his escape to West Germany. He also recalls the exciting new beginnings in Glashütte after 1990, which brought the historic brand back to the forefront of international precision watchmaking.
The new edition has been expanded to include a foreword by Lange CEO Wilhelm Schmid and an extensive fourth chapter in which author Gisbert L. Brunner shares his experiences and encounters with Walter Lange. Gisbert, a respected journalist, industry expert, and watch collector, had known Walter Lange since 1976 and met with him regularly, especially since 1990. The new edition of Walter Lange’s biography includes the memories of Lange’s CEO Wilhelm Schmid, who describes Walter Lange as the “beating heart of our manufacture”, where his spirit can still be felt today. Benjamin Lange, Walter Lange’s son, also speaks about his father. A new cover and an additional picture section illustrating the fourth chapter complete the new edition. The biography is being published by Econ-Verlag. Pricing is marked a €28 or approximately $31 when converted to USD.
To learn more, visit A. Lange & Söhne, here.