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Big Personality: A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Up/Down “Lumen” Ref. 405.034

The A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Up/Down is point blank, one of the best chronographs ever made. Not only is the watch itself a big deal, but it helped make A. Lange & Söhne a big deal. When they introduced their in-house chronograph movement, they had only relaunched nine years earlier.

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To put this achievement in perspective, Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, and Audemars Piguet didn’t produce an in-house chronograph for over 150 years of operation. After A. Lange & Söhne released the Datograph, it took another seven years for Patek Philippe to introduce an in-house chronograph. Vacheron and AP took another 16 and 20 years respectively to create their own in-house equivalents. Sufficient to say building an in-house chronograph is extremely difficult, making one as beautiful as the movement in the Datograph can only be done by A. Lange & Söhne. This is why the Datograph is such a celebrated and collectible timepiece. 

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With a watch that has been touted as possibly one of the best chronographs ever made, one doesn’t need to update it often, but when A. Lange & Söhne does, it’s meaningful—released in 2010 the A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Up/Down “Lumen” ref. 405.034 is both very different and very similar to a standard Datograph Up/Down. This is the fourth watch to be given the “Lumen” treatment, and I think it gives this piece a Dr. Jeckyll/Mr. Hyde quality. In daylight, the Datograph is a beautiful watch, and while the trademark big date window stands out, it is an otherwise traditionally designed timepiece. Unless you were to inspect the watch at close range, you would likely think there was nothing different about it. 

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Then the sun goes down. Gone is the buttoned-up Dr. Jeckyll of daytime and in his place a green, ominous, glowing Mr. Hyde. As A. Lange & Söhne puts it, this is the chronograph that never sleeps. Every functional display element on this watch is fully lumed. The hour, minutes, and seconds hands obviously, but also the two sub-dials, power reserve indicator, big date window, and the entire rehaut tachymeter scale. If one needed to they would have no issues precisely timing something in total darkness. Even the Date wheel—which spends most of its life underneath the dial—is always fully luminous.

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This is achieved by using what A. Lange & Söhne calls a smoked sapphire crystal for the dial. The smokey sapphire is clear enough to let light through but dark enough that the components underneath don’t distract from the top-side read-outs. So while the date numerals are waiting for their big moment in the large window at twelve, they can fully charge their lume. This avoids the date switching over at midnight with no charge leaving it invisible. 

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While the lume drastically changes the appearance of the watch at night, it also adds useful functionality and a touch of flair to an otherwise known quantity. With the Datograph Up/Down “Lumen” you still get all the classic Datograph features that make the watch great. It’s still powered by the caliber L951.7 manually wound chronograph with flyback functionality and 60 hours power reserve. The date pusher is as always at ten o’clock with the chronograph pushers at two and four, and the case is a very wearable 41mm in diameter and 13.4mm thick. It’s 100% Datograph, just more edgy and hip. 

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The “Lumen” update makes this watch appealing to me in a way that the standard Datograph isn’t. I think a lot of people can relate to the contrasts we have within us, sometimes we’re reserved and professional, and other times boisterous and loud. While this is a broadly appealing watch, collectors’ desire for it is further stoked by its rarity. With an MSRP of $100,500 and only 200 ever produced, it’s an extremely scarce variant of an icon that will surely become more collectible as time goes on. To quote Ferris Bueller, “It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.”

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