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A. LANGE & SÖHNE Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen”. 25 years... Attention Watch Porn!
WatchAdvisorMay 3, 2024
25 years after the launch of the DATOGRAPH, A. Lange & Söhne introduced a lustrous new interpretation: the DATOGRAPH PERPETUAL TOURBILLON HONEYGOLD “Lumen”. At Watches and Wonders 2024, the timepiece combining a flyback chronograph with a precise jumping minute counter, perpetual calendar and tourbillon with a stop-seconds mechanism has been presented ‒ for the first time in Lange-exclusive honey gold (HONEYGOLD®) and as a “Lumen” version, limited to 50 watches. Price: 620.000.- Euro including VAT.
DATOGRAPH designates a flyback chronograph with the typical Lange outsize date. The flyback mechanism allows quick consecutive time measurements because the three switching steps stop, reset to zero and start are executed with one single push of a button. The minute counter assures unambiguous readings of stopped times: it jumps to the next increment at the precise moment when the chrono seconds hand completes the 60th second. The functionality of the chronograph is complemented with a tachymeter scale for determining average speeds; it is located on the outer circumference of the dial made of coated sapphire crystal.
PERPETUAL refers to the perpetual calendar with its instantaneously switching displays. With a view to long-term time measurement, it is based on the Gregorian calendar and takes into account the different durations of the months, including leap-year deviations. Due to its stunning mechanical precision, the forward-looking moon-phase display will only deviate from the true lunation by a single day after 122.6 years. The rapid-correction button at 10 o’clock can be used to simultaneously advance all displays by one day. Three correctors on the flank of the case make it possible to separately adjust the moon-phase display, the day of the week, the month and the leap year.
TOURBILLON refers to the one-minute tourbillon with a stop-seconds mechanism; it offsets the influence of gravity on the going train. Once a minute, it rotates the rate-governing components ‒ balance, lever and escape wheel ‒ inside a filigreed cage about its own axis around the stationary fourth wheel. The highly aesthetic and horologically intricate device substantially improves rate accuracy of mechanical timepieces. 200 years after the tourbillon was invented, A. Lange & Söhne presented its stop-seconds mechanism in 2008, taking a huge step towards optimising this device. It made it possible to stop the tourbillon at will and set the watch to one-second accuracy for the very first time, regardless of the angular position of the balance or the orientation of the tourbillon cage. When the crown is pulled, a lever mechanism releases the stop lever, which guides the arresting spring in the direction of the balance. The contact pressure of the spring instantly stops both the balance and the tourbillon cage. When the crown is pushed home, the balance and tourbillon are released, and the watch instantly starts running again.
Not only does the DATOGRAPH PERPETUAL TOURBILLON HONEYGOLD “Lumen” distinguish itself thanks to its ingenuous mechanisms but also because of the lucid arrangement of the displays, translating technical finesse into an exceptional design language. Comprising an equilateral triangle formed by the Lange outsize date in a framed twin aperture beneath 12 o’clock and the two subsidiary dials, the dial architecture is a well-organised model of clarity, despite the abundance of displays. The subsidiary seconds dial, the day of the week and the day/night indicator are located on the left-hand side, while the precise jumping minute counter, the month and the leap year can be found on the right. The moon-phase display at 6 o’clock is harmoniously embedded in the ensemble.
The DATOGRAPH PERPETUAL TOURBILLON HONEYGOLD “Lumen” also reveals its radiant personality in the dark ‒ thanks to the semi-transparent dial and the luminous coating that make the displays and functions glow. The darker the surroundings, the more prominent the luminous elements appear. The hour and minute hands are inlaid with a luminous compound, while the chrono seconds hand is completely coated. The hands of the subsidiary seconds, month, day of the week and minute counter move above luminous subsidiary dials. The subjacent luminous compound causes the inscription on the circumferential dial ring with the minute scale and tachymeter scale to glow. The luminous outsize date, a distinctive highlight, first featured in the GRAND LANGE 1 “Lumen” in 2013, rendering the ingenious disc mechanism visible. Guaranteeing that the outsize date display also glows just after the daily switching sequence, presented a considerable challenge.
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