To celebrate the 25th anniversary of its popular Datograph model, A. Lange & Sӧhne has created a new limited-edition version that is crafted from solid yellow gold and fitted with a tremblage-engraved dial. Since 2011, A. Lange & Sӧhne’s “Handwerkskunst” series has represented some of the German brand’s most exclusive and elaborately decorated offerings, and the latest addition to the collection presented this year at Watches & Wonders Shanghai 2024 is the A. Lange & Sӧhne Datograph Handwerkskunst, which will be produced as a limited edition of just 25 examples.
Crafted from 18k yellow gold (rather than the brand’s proprietary Honey Gold alloy), the case of the new A. Lange & Sӧhne Datograph Handwerkskunst (ref. 405.048F) measures 41mm in diameter by 13.1mm thick, and just like previous Datograph models, a signed winding crown flanked by a pair of chronograph pushers is located on the 3 o’clock side of the case, while an additional pusher that serves as a date corrector sits on the opposite side at the 10 o’clock position. Sapphire crystals are fitted to both the dial side of the watch and its screw-on display caseback, and water resistance for the new A. Lange & Sӧhne Datograph Handwerkskunst comes in at the same 30 meters offered by the rest of the brand’s Datograph collection.
Crafted from solid yellow gold with a black rhodium finish, the dial of the A. Lange & Sӧhne Datograph Handwerkskunst is adorned with an engraving technique known as “tremblage” that gives its surface a finely-grained frosted appearance. Additionally, unlike the brand’s standard Datograph Up/Down models that feature a power reserve indicator at 6 o’clock, the new Datograph Handwerkskunst omits this detail entirely to create a cleaner and more elegant display. To promote a better sense of balance with this new simplified layout, the chronograph sub-dials have been moved slightly lower, and Roman numeral hour markers appear at the 2, 6, and 10 o’clock locations to help occupy the increased negative space. Just as you would expect, A. Lange & Sӧhne’s signature Outsize date sits on the upper section of the dial below the 12 o’clock marker, and the applied yellow-gold hour markers feature brushed surfaces with mirror-polished bevels.
The pale gray rhodium sub-dials offer a subtle contrast against the black rhodium finish that adorns the rest of the A. Lange & Sӧhne Datograph Handwerkskunst’s dial, and rather than simply being printed on its surface, all of the various indexes and markings (including the tachymeter scale and numerals within the chronograph registers) appear as raised elements that slightly sit above the dial’s tremblage-engraved surface. While details such as the gold hour markers and the frame for the date window are separate components that are individually finished and applied to the surface of the dial, all of the other elements that would normally be printed are raised sections in solid gold that the engravers must painstakingly avoid when they apply the tremblage motif to the rest of the dial.
Powering the new A. Lange & Sӧhne Datograph Handwerkskunst is the brand’s manufacture Caliber L951.8 manual-wind chronograph movement, which consists of 426 components and runs at a frequency of 18,000vph (2.5 Hz) with a power reserve of approximately 60 hours, Just like other A. Lange & Sӧhne movements, the 43-jewel Cal. L951.8 uses untreated German silver for its plates and bridges, and it is immaculately finished with blued screws, black-polished chronograph levers, and jewels set in gold chatons. A hand-engraved balance cock is one of A. Lange & Sӧhne’s signature features, although rather than having its filigreed vine pattern engraved into the surface of the metal like the brand’s standard-production models, the balance cock on the Datograph Handwerkskunst has its engravings in relief to create a more ornate and intricate appearance.
Fitted to the lugs of the new A. Lange & Sӧhne Datograph Handwerkskunst is a brown alligator leather strap, which features gray contrast stitching running down its sides to complement the gray hues of its tremblage-engraved dial. Rather than being fitted with a traditional pin buckle, the strap for the Datograph Handwerkskunst is completed by a deployant-style folding clasp, which is crafted from 18k yellow gold to match the rest of its external components. Additionally, since the Datograph Handwerkskunst is being produced as a 25-piece limited edition to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the German brand’s Datograph model, each watch features an engraving of its individual limited-edition number out of 25 examples, which appears along the rim of its display caseback.
As usual, A. Lange & Sӧhne declines to provide pricing information for the new Datograph Handwerkskunst, although its retail price is more-or-less irrelevant since the 25 available examples will almost certainly be claimed shortly after its launch. With that in mind, given that the A. Lange & Sӧhne Datograph Handwerkskunst (ref. 405.048F) is a solid gold limited-edition chronograph with a hand-engraved dial, it is destined to be a rather expensive timepiece, and based on prices for the brand’s other models, you can virtually guarantee that it will cost six figures. While the Datograph Handwerkskunst is hardly A. Lange & Sӧhne’s most complex watch, its simplified display offers a more elegant layout than what exists among its siblings, and it will be interesting to see if this pared-back design makes another appearance on a standard-production Datograph model at some point in the future. For more information on the A. Lange & Sӧhne Datograph Handwerkskunst, please visit the brand’s website.
