Hands-On: The A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold ‘Lumen’ – Lange’s Most Expensive Serially Produced Watch
There was very little doubt that A. Lange & Söhne would do something big for the 25th Anniversary of the Datograph. This year, 2024, is a year of big anniversaries for the brand. Twenty-five years of the Datograph, 30 years of the restarted brand (and the Lange 1), and the 100th birthday of the late Walter Lange – all of these are worth celebrating. But, as someone senior at the brand told me, the 25th Anniversary was “bigger than 30,” and the Datograph was the obvious choice. And yet, when I first saw a preview of the cornerstone piece Lange would later release at Watches & Wonders, I was still surprised.
The two releases from Watches & Wonders 2024, the Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen” and Datograph “Up/Down” in white gold with blue dial.
From the back side – upside down but still looking great.
When it was introduced in 1999, the original Datograph caused a seismic shift in the watch world. The mix of modern technology used to create and manufacture such a beautifully complex flyback chronograph movement, combined with the best hand-finishing the brand could achieve, created something nearly perfect – at least from my modern perspective. Sure, it’s a bit thick and a bit heavy (especially in platinum), but it’s still a grail for me and many others.
Four Datographs, from oldest generation to newest release.
Even in the moment, it just struck a chord. As Philippe Dufour once told me, “I saw the watch and thought, ‘This is the best chronograph in the world. We will just have to wait and see what the Swiss can do to beat it.’ Well, it’s been 25 years, and I’m still waiting.”
Last year I was invited to a birthday party and wanted to wear an appropriate watch, so a friend kindly outfitted me with something special.
It was Dufour’s 75th birthday and he had just told me the story recounted above.
So, when it came to the anniversary release, I’m not sure what I was expecting from Lange. Twenty-five years seems like as good a time as any to say, “We’ve taken the bar of the ‘basic’ Datograph and raised it with a brand new movement,” which – if I were a betting man – would have been where I put my money. In some ways, what they did instead was the more obvious, outrageous, and obscenely incredible choice: take every “trick” that already existed in the Lange book and make the most expensive serially-produced watch in the brand’s history. The result was the Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold Lumen – DPT Lumen for short. Fifty pieces. $620,000. Talk about making a splash.
I’ve talked about this before, but I view a watch like this as completely divorced from engaging with the price in any meaningful way. It’s so much, in fact, that it caused me and a few other folks to laugh when we heard the price. And while I’m not saying that the customers who put money down (50% deposit, I’ve been told) didn’t have to think twice about buying this, I don’t believe they’re really comparison shopping a watch like this the same way I would be with a Tudor. I also don’t know what the comparable options are on the market. Can you think of another modern perpetual calendar tourbillon watch with a flyback chronograph? I can’t.
I do think it’s worth mentioning that this is $332,200 more than the white-gold, salmon-dial DPT that came out two years ago. That delta doesn’t make sense to me, despite the additional features you get with the new Lumen. But I think of this as a very binary two-part decision: you either want to buy this specific watch or you don’t; you either have the money, or you don’t. I definitely can’t afford, but these were always the kind of watches I loved to read about – aspirational, wild, and the pinnacle for many collectors. So, for context and kicks, here’s a look at the three more expensive (publicly known) Langes ever produced.
The A. Lange & Söhne Grand Complication from our coverage in 2013.
The first and most obvious watch that is technically Lange’s most expensive piece is its Grand Complication from 2013. That watch clocked in at a whopping $2.6 million at the time of release, double the price of Patek’s then-most-expensive watch, the Sky Moon Tourbillon, and 50mm in diameter with an over 20mm thick rose-gold case. Inside that case was a 40mm movement with a perpetual calendar with moonphase, a split-seconds chronograph with flying seconds, and a grande and petite sonnerie with minute repeater. But this watch was made in only two prototypes and six numbered examples, made on request for customers.
The Tourbograph with diamonds. Photo: courtesy SJX
The next two are unique pieces. In 2009, one customer purchased a Tourbograph “Pour le Mérite” pièce unique made for the retailer Dubail, with 201 baguette diamonds set into a diamond case and diamond-set bracelet to go with. Thanks to SJX, there are photos of this watch as well, which clocked in at €1,200,000. Then, another pièce unique was auctioned off in 2018, an A. Lange & Söhne 1815 “Homage To Walter Lange” in steel that sold for $852,525 all in. Oh, then there’s also a rumored gem-set Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon pièce unique out there that cost north of $800,000.
The new Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen” feels far more like a modern Lange in a lot of ways – a modern, refined aesthetic, a bit more going on with the dial, and a movement that accomplishes much of the best of the other two, and in some ways more. What do you get with the new release instead of a pièce unique? As I mentioned before, Lange pulled out basically every other stop. Let’s start with the two most obvious (at least in daylight).
The new King (for more than one person, at least).
Normally, the case material is just a mention in the broader story but with Lange’s proprietary Honeygold, it’s a main feature. The alloy shifts from pink to white, is used only in extremely special cases going back to 2010’s “165 Years – Homage to F. A. Lange” anniversary edition. In that case, the watches were the Tourbograph “Pour le Mérite,” the Lange 1 Tourbillon, and the 1815 Moon Phase. In 2011, the brand launched the Richard Lange Tourbillon “Pour le Mérite” Handwerkskunst in the metal. There are more, but most recently, it was also the material used the Zeitwerk “Lumen” in 2021. Until that point, “Lumen” models were made in platinum – plenty nice, and all, but not as special in Lange circles as Honeygold.
You can see in photos that the material can take on a lot of hues. In one shooting setup, the watch was sitting on a warmer-colored surface, and it picked up that color. On a cooler material, like the blue surface, portions almost fade to white. The case itself measures 41.5mm in diameter by 14.5mm, 1.4mm thicker than the Datograph Up/Down, which is actually remarkable to me, considering how much more complex the movement inside is.
One last note about the case before moving to the movement. The case on the DPT has a raised flange on the caseback, which slopes up to the display caseback. That seems to slim the watch a bit visually and on the wrist, it seems to make the mid-case sit a bit higher so the watch is more balanced.
If it wasn’t for the whole “Lumen” thing, the movement would be the start. And credit to Lange, this is a new movement for the DPT – the hand-wound caliber L952.4 with 50 hours of power reserve. This isn’t the same as the L952.2 in the other current DPT models in the lineup. The movement maintains nearly all the same functions (flyback chronograph, large date at 12 o’clock, perpetual calendar, and tourbillon) but sheds the power reserve indicator on the DPT and in doing so, has 45 fewer parts. That simplifies the luminous display that would have been too crowded otherwise.
These modifications aren’t as simple as pulling out the power reserve section of the gear train and leaving it there. The movement has been reworked much more substantially, though it might be hard to tell at a glance. The movement also has added parts necessary to support the sapphire dial. But everything is still the best of what you could hope for from a Lange. A movement like this – this size with these tight tolerances – would be impossible to envision without modern technical aids, but results in that mass of bridges and levers that creates a wild depth that I’ve come to dream about in a watch. Every time I see a Lange chronograph, I hold it – movement side up – at eye level and tilt it so I can feel like the watch is 10 feet deep. The experience isn’t quite the same here as it is with the Triple Split, but it’s still something fantastic.
Looking even closer, the watch also has the brand’s hand finishing all over. Technically, the watch has 57 jewels, but one of those is a diamond end stone capping the tourbillon pivot. While the movement doesn’t have the same patina that the German silver will take on over time, it’s also not harshly white, which gives it a bit of extra character. The inclusion of the tourbillon adds complexity, but it also takes away a small bit of the area that gives the movement the visual depth. It’s still quite remarkable to look at, though.
Now to the moment (or the feature) that you all were waiting for: the light show, which – if I’m being honest – is probably what most non-buyers go crazy for (though I’m sure the owners won’t scoff at it either). Through that smoked sapphire dial, Lange shows off a copious amount of lume on and under the dial.
A bit of backstory for the “Lumen” series. According to Anthony de Haas, A. Lange & Söhne Product Development Director, the idea came one night while he was struggling to read the time on his Zeitwerk, which had no lume. Long story short, the result was the 2010 Zeitwerk “Luminous.” Three years later, the “Lumen” name would make its first appearance with the Grand Lange 1. Next to get the treatment was the Grand Lange 1 Moonphase in 2016 and Datograph Up/Down in 2018. Most recently was the Zeitwerk Lumen in Honeygold, which begs the question: is this the sign of a new era of Honeygold “Lumen”?
The external track maintains that same base 1000 meter tachymeter scale of the DPT for the flyback chronograph, this time lit up with lume underneath the white text. At 12 o’clock you can see the outsized date display clearly through the aperture in the dial (surrounded in Honeygold to match the indices). The other numbers are visible but not distracting because they’re diffused by the sapphire. The hands have luminous inserts, and the entire chronograph hand is coated in lume.
Compared to the Datograph Up/Down “Lumen” from 2018, the watch doesn’t feel that much harder to read, but for some reason the date seems to shine through a little more. Everything essential you’d want to see at a glance is visible, and with a closer look, you can see the rest of the info given by the DPT.
The subdials still display running seconds, day of the week, and day/night at eight o’clock, while the elapsed chronograph minutes, month, and leap year indication are at four o’clock. It’s a pretty compact way to show all that information and well organized in terms of most to least important display being largest to smallest. Oh, you can’t forget the luminous moonphase.
The luminous feature is fantastic, but I really love the fact that this is so legible in the light despite being transparent enough to see the dial underneath. It’s something not many brands get right with skeletonized or semi-skeletonized dials and seems to have at least somewhat inspired Patek’s recent 5316/50P-001. For good reason too. With a bluish smoked sapphire contrasting against the creamy white subdials and other accents, it’s one of the most attractive and legible takes yet on a semi-skeletonized watch.
People often say that Lange’s movements are so beautiful they’d wear the watch upside down if they could. With the Lumen, you get a bit of that experience. As for the rest of the wearability – does it really matter? It’s far more wearable than the 50mm Grand Complication, so that’s certainly a start. But while there’s a lot of heft between the complex movement and the gold case, it really is a surprisingly wearable option.
And yet, just like price, that’s all kind of beside the point. This is Lange doing what they do best for the sake of it, celebrating a big moment in its history with one of the best watches from their catalog, and then offering it to clients. If you’re a collector looking down at this watch on your wrist, I’m guessing the size, weight, and price are all the furthest things from your mind.
A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen,” Reference 740.055FE; 41.5mm diameter by 14.5mm thick 18k Honeygold case, with 30m water resistance. Smoked semi-transparent dial made of sapphire crystal, 18k Honeygold hands and indices; Perpetual calendar with moonphase, hours, minutes, seconds, flyback chronograph, and tourbillon. Luminous material in and under the dial. L952.4 manually-wound movement with 684 parts features and 50 hours of power reserve. Dark brown alligator strap. Limited to 50 pieces. Price: $620,000.
Special thanks to James Kong for his assistance with the lume photos
Hodinkee
