Important Collectors Wristwatches, P...
New York, Dec 07, 2005
LOT 298
"Datograph? A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte i. SA., "Datograph?, No. 44387, case No. 151993, Ref. 403.031. Production of the "Datograph? started in 2000. Very fine, 18K pink gold gentleman?s wristwatch with square button flyback chronograph, register, tachometer, oversized date and an 18K pink gold A. Lange & Söhne buckle. Accompanied by a fitted box and certificate.
USD 25,000 - 35,000
EUR 20,000 - 30,000
Sold: USD 27,600
C. Three-body, solid, polished and brushed, rounded bezel, transparent case back with 6 screws, push button on the band for the date correction, sapphire crystals. D. Black, made from solid silver, applied pink gold Roman numerals, bâton indexes and luminous dots, subsidiary ?guilloché? silver dials for the 60-second and 30-minute registers, outer tachometer graduation, below 12 aperture for the oversized date. Luminous pink gold "alpha" hands. M. Cal. L 951.1, Glashütte 3/4 plate, maillechort, ?fausses côtes? decoration, 40 jewels including 4 in screw-mounted gold châtons, straight line lever escapement, monometallic balance adjusted to 5 positions, shock-absorber, selfcompensating Breguet balance spring, "swan-neck" micrometer regulator, hand-engraved balance bridge. Dial, case and movement signed. Diam. 38 mm. Thickness 13 mm.
| Grading System | |
|---|---|
Grade: AAA |
Excellent |
Case: 2 |
Very good |
Movement: 1 |
As new |
Dial: 1-01 |
As new HANDS Original |
Notes
Right from the start the Datograph made a strong impression with watch enthusiasts and collectors worldwide, when the watch debuted at the Basel fair in 2000. The excellent reputation A. Lange & Söhne has gained with their Lange 1 and Langematik watches carries on with this chronograph: A fly-back function, the famous A. Lange oversized date, Glashütte 3/4 plate. All this in combination with features that seem to have disappeared in modern watch movement design: A column wheel mechanism to govern the chronograph functions, screwed gold châtons for several jewels, a separate bridge for the fourth and for the escape wheel, and a balance wheel oscillating at a speed of 18,000 vibrations/hour, like in the famous A. Lange pocket watch chronographs. But there are also more subtle features and qualities: An instantaneous minute counter hand jumping precisely when the sweep-seconds hand passes the 60 seconds, adjusted by a switching lever. Or a polished steel plate for the escape wheel jewel. As in all A. Lange & Söhne movements, the bridges and the plates are made from cross-laminated German silver, a material not very often used any more in movement production. It is a very rigid alloy consisting of copper, zinc, and nickel, which over time develops a light patina and it is easily distinguished from the brighter white rhodium-plated finish seen in other watch movements. Altogether the Datograph consists of 390 individual parts, all hand-finished to fit together precisely for reliable timekeeping and performance. In addition to all the technical accomplishments and the high quality, it is also quite a beautiful timepiece.