A. Lange & Söhne

At the 1999 Basel Fair, A. Lange & Söhne introduced a watch which caused an industry wide revolution, bringing about changes that can still be felt today. Despite being the brand’s first chronograph offering since its resurrection, the Datograph was an instant hit and outshone many chronographs from already established brands such as Patek Philippe.

Several factors contributed to the Datograph’s status as a revolutionary icon. During the Basel Fair in a master stroke in marketing, a huge 10:1 display model of the Datograph welcomed visitors into the A. Lange & Söhne showroom, with the now mythical calibre L951.1 on full display to all who gazed upon it. It made the watch a star from day one, and industry voices recall the first time that they walked into the showroom and saw the model to this day. Indeed, it would go on to become considered one of the most beautifully designed and decorated movements ever created, praised by none other than Philippe Dufour, who wears one on a daily basis. 

Taking five years to design, the flyback chronograph movement of the watch was made specifically to be as complicated and intricate as possible, made more difficult to create due to the design team taking an uncompromising 'dial first' approach, where the dial was created first and the movement had to be engineered around it. The resulting movement was a true marvel to look at, often described as a little city. To balance the subdials which are situated below the midpoint of the dial, the iconic big date from the Lange 1 was carried over and placed directly beneath 12 o’clock. 

At that point in time, no other brand had gone to such lengths in chronograph production. In comparison, Patek Philippe had just released reference 5070 one year prior and was still using a Lemania movement. The Datograph ushered in an age where in-house, complicated design and a focus on movement finishing were made priorities. The watch acted as a major catalyst for the well known industry trend of in-house production, and indeed in the following years after release, big industry players, including Patek Philippe, had all adopted A. Lange & Söhne’s philosophy.