When A. Lange & Söhne developed the Datograph in the 1990s, the objective was to create an innovative, highly precise chronograph that combined sports appeal and clarity of style to an icon of modernity. Nearly twenty years after the original’s debut in 1999, the manufactory is now presenting the Datograph Up/Down “Lumen”, a timepiece that expresses stringent clarity by day and becomes a luminous guide at night.
The concept is based on a sapphire-crystal dial with a patented, semi-transparent coating. It filters out visible light and all but conceals the inner workings of the watch. But in bright surroundings, it candidly reveals the mechanism of the Lange outsize date as well as the hand-decorated plate. At the same time, the coating is permeable to energy-rich UV light that charges the luminous pigments on the displays. So it is precisely legible and operable even in the dark. The darker the surroundings, the brighter the indications glow in a green hue that the human eye perceives as very agreeable.
Because of its lucid dial architecture, the first Datograph in 1999 quickly became a prized collectible among design purists. Now, the family welcomes the Datograph Up/Down “Lumen” as a further collectors’ timepiece. It is also A. Lange & Söhne’s fourth “Lumen” model. This small series was launched in 2010 with the Zeitwerk Luminous. It was followed in 2013 by the Grand Lange 1 “Lumen” and in 2016 by the Grand Lange 1 Moon Phase “Lumen”.
All of them are limited-edition watches cased in platinum. The Datograph Up/Down “Lumen” edition consists of only 200 pieces.
