The new A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen” is the latest chapter in one of the watchmaker’s most popular collections.
We all remember that first digital watch we were given, probably as a birthday gift, probably from a loving grandmother. These blissfully simplistic timekeepers became our constant companions and, when darkness came, lit up the night with their innovative lamps and backlights. The newest addition for A. Lange & Söhne continues that illumination, albeit in a throughly adult presentation.
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Limited to just 50 pieces and arriving 25 years after the launch of the original Datograph, this lustrous new interpretation combined a flyback chronograph with a precise jumping minute counter, perpetual calendar and tourbillon with a stop-seconds mechanism, all presented in Lange-exclusive honey gold and as a “Lumen” version.
The watch’s flyback mechanism allows quick consecutive time measurements, with the three switching steps – stop, reset to zero and start – 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. In addition, the functionality of the chronograph is complemented with a tachymeter scale for determining average speeds and is located on the outer circumference of a dial made of coated sapphire crystal.
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With a view to long-term time measurement, the timepiece’s perpetual calendar 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 while 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.
Finally, the one-minute tourbillon with a stop-seconds mechanism 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.
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The new timepiece also distinguishes itself thanks to 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.
What really stands the new addition apart is how its beauty shines when the lights are off thanks to the semi-transparent dial and the luminous coating which make the displays and functions glow. The darker the surroundings, the more prominent the luminous elements appear. In addition, 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 while the same luminous compound causes the inscription on the circumferential dial ring with the minute scale and tachymeter scale to glow.
The evolved manufacture calibre L952.4 beats at the heart of the new 41.5 mm Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen”, offering a power reserve of 50 hours. Its bridges made of untreated German silver, polished gold chatons and blued screws can be admired through the sapphire-crystal caseback.
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