A. Lange & Söhne’s production director Tino Bobe delves into one of the finest modern chronographs of the modern era
Call it fate, but stories of A. Lange & Söhne’s Datograph and the brand’s production director, Tino Bobe, will forever be entwined. “Of course, I remember the birth of the Datograph,” says Bobe. “It was in 1999, the year that I joined Lange.”
A portmanteau of ‘date’ and ‘chronograph’, the Datograph was a chronograph with a ‘flyback’ function that allowed the user to instantly restart the chronograph timer. It was also only the second complication that A. Lange & Söhne introduced, after the Pour Le Merite Tourbillon, which debuted during the brand’s relaunch in 1994.
“It was early days then, but it was also very clear that the Datograph was among the first steps taken to build Lange’s watchmaking expertise,” says Bobe of the brand’s first chronograph watch.
Fittingly, the Datograph wasn’t just any chronograph. With the watch, A. Lange & Söhne became the first company to introduce a proprietary chronograph movement since the 1980s. Conceived and produced entirely in-house by A. Lange & Söhne, the watch stood out from the rest of the competition, a majority of which at that time relied on third-party components to make their watches.
As a consequence of A. Lange & Söhne’s “full autonomy and freedom to create”, the Datograph was also technically and aesthetically unique. One can identify the Datograph simply by looking at its dial. The left and right subdials sit lower than regular chronographs—slightly under the crown, instead of in the middle of the dial. And at 12 o’clock, there’s the outsized twin date display, a trademark of the brand.
“The moment any connoisseur sees the watch, he knows that he is looking at something that isn’t typical. At the watch fair when the Datograph was launched, I could feel the enthusiastic reaction. It was positive and a really encouraging thing for us to see,” recalls Bobe.
Catalyst for change
Perusing A. Lange & Söhne’s catalogue today, it becomes clear that the Datograph is a fertile source of inspiration. The watch has been reworked many times, whether to house more high-performance movements or to include top- drawer complications. It was also the catalyst for advanced chronographs such as the Double Split and Triple Split, both featuring one-of-a-kind mechanisms that can measure astounding levels of elapsed split time.
“The watch allowed Lange to develop other complementary competencies. This isn’t just about introducing more complex types of chronographs, but also technologies like our own hairspring production, which we debuted in the Double Split in 2004,” says Bobe.
To mark the Datograph’s 25th anniversary, A. Lange & Söhne is presenting two facets of the exceptional watch. The new Datograph Up/Down pays homage to the collection’s milestone upgrade from 2012. This year’s version, which is housed in a 41mm 18k white gold case with an elegant blue dial, and limited to 125 pieces, runs on the same architecturally gorgeous hand-wound movement. Beating at a frequency of 18,000 vibrations per hour—similar to old-school pocket watches— it is, however, fortified by innovative features, including instantaneous chronograph flyback reset and precise minute jumping counter.
The second model, the Datograph Perpetual Honeygold Lumen, exudes a technical spirit and presence. Its flyback chronograph feature is joined by two heavyweight complications: a one- minute tourbillon that can be stopped, so that the watch can be set with greater accuracy, and a perpetual calendar that automatically computes and displays all the durations of the days, weeks and months.
To accentuate the watch’s beautiful and complex inner workings, A. Lange & Söhne exposes its 684-part movement via an open-worked dial underneath a translucent grey sapphire crystal. Most of all, this is a timepiece that looks its best in the dark. Limited to just 50 pieces, the watch glows with a brilliant green glow when the lights are low, thanks to a luminous coating that sheathes the hands, chronograph subdials, date discs and tachymeter scale.
Given the Datograph’s esteem and desirability, it wouldn’t be far off the mark to coin it an icon. Bobe, though, will have none of it. “The term is a bit dangerous,” he says. “It’s a bit too loud for Lange and it suggests that we can relax with the watch. That’s far from what we are doing with the Datograph.”
This story first appeared in the August 2024 issue. Purchase it as a print or digital copy, or consider subscribing to us here
