Important Collector's Wristwatches, P...

New York, Sep 24, 2003

LOT 256

A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte i. SA., "Datograph", No. 26260, case No. 136290, Ref. 403.035. Production of this reference started in 2000.Very fine and rare, platinum gentleman's wristwatch with square button fly-back chronograph, register, tachometer, oversized date and a platinum A. Lange & Söhne buckle. Accompanied by a leather fitted box and a certificate.

USD 30,000 - 40,000

EUR 27,000 - 36,000

Sold: USD 33,350

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 white gold Roman numerals, bâton indexes and luminous dots, auxiliary guilloché dials for the 60 second and 30 minute register, outer tachometer graduation, below 12 aperture for the oversized date. "Alpha" luminous white gold hands. M. Cal. L 951.1, Glashütte three-quarter plate, nickel silvr, "fausses côtes" decoration, 40 jewels including 4 in screw-mounted gold châtons, straight line lever escapement, monometallic balance adjusted to 5 positions, shock absorber, self-compensating Breguet balance spring, "Swan-neck" micrometer regulator, hand-engraved balance cock.Dial, case and movement signed.Diam. 38 mm.


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Grading System
Grade: AAA

Excellent

Case: 1

As new

Movement: 1

As new

Dial: 1-01

As new

HANDS Original

Notes

DatographhRight from the start the Datograph made a strong impression with watch enthusiasts and collectors worldwide when it debuted at the Basel fair in 2000.The excellent reputation A. Lange & Söhne had re-gained with their Lange 1 and Langematik watches carries on with the new chronograph: A fly-back function, the famous 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 oscillating aa speed of 18,000 vibrations/hour like in the famous Lange pocket watch chronographs. There are also more subtle features and qualities: A minute counter hand jumping precisely when the sweep-second hand passes the 60 seconds, adjusted by a switching lever, and a polished steel plate for the escape wheel jewel. Altogether the Datograph consists of 390 individual parts, all hand-finished to fit together precisely for reliable timekeeping and performance. Besides all the technical accomplishmentsand the high quality, it is also a quite beautiful timepiece.Fly-backor "Retour en vol" refers to the instantaneous fly-back feature of the chronograph sweep second hand. On a regular chronograph, this hand can only be reset to zero after it has been stopped by a push of the stop button. But a fly-back mechanism allows resetting the hand to zero whilst still in motion by a single push on the lower chronograph or reset button. Therefore the process of timing an event can be immediately resumed. This feature was especially useful in early aviation, allowing a pilotto safe time and to devote his full attention to flying.