A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Up/Down Baguette 405.835

Datograph Up/Down Baguette — 405.835

The Datograph arrived in 1999, only five years after A. Lange & Söhne's post-reunification relaunch, and its in-house caliber L951.1, unveiled at Basel that year, changed how the industry thought about chronographs. Philippe Dufour, who owns one himself in pink gold, called it “the best chronograph movement ever made”, and more than two decades on, it's still the reference most collectors measure everything else against.

In 2012 it was succeeded by the Datograph Up/Down: the Roman numerals disappeared, a power reserve indicator took their place, and the case grew from 39 x 12.8mm to 41 x 13.1mm. A better-proportioned watch, if you can sport 41mm, and a slightly less baroque one. It's a trade familiar to anyone who has followed Lange's design language over the last decade or so: less ornament, more restraint. Other examples are the Double Split, Datograph Perpetual, Saxonia, etc.

This is reference 405.835, the Up/Down in platinum with a black dial and a baguette-cut diamond bezel. It is a combination you won't find alongside the standard 405.035, 405.031 or the 405.028 anniversary piece in any reference table. Datograph rarely gets the jewelled treatment; it's Lange's most masculine chronograph, and dressing its bezel in baguette stones is a genuinely unusual sight. In fact, the real insiders know this from the earlier 403.xxx days too. Indeed, there have been times Lange just went completely berserk on diamonds, and somehow this contrast with Datograph and baguette diamonds makes the most sense.

The series 405.835 was made in 2017 and distributed to a few retailers and boutiques. These were not popular pieces, so production stayed extremely scarce, though no limitation is engraved on the case back. My intel is that around 20 pieces were made.

This example went to a dear friend and a great collector who trusted me the most while I was embarking on my solo journey — for which I'll forever be grateful. It came full set and in excellent condition.

Now sold at Langepedia.com.