A 30th anniversary is no small thing for a brand. For some perspective, only 25% of new companies even survive for 15 years. As such, it’s rightly a cause for celebration. This year, A. Lange & Söhne is celebrating two anniversaries, the 25th anniversary of the Datograph, and the 30th anniversary of the brand being relaunched. For the Datograph, we saw four exceptional and highly exclusive pieces. At Watches & Wonders, they launched the elegant Datograph Up/Down Limited Edition in white gold with a blue dial, as well as the über Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Honeygold “Lumen.”

That duo was followed up by the recently announced Datograph Handwerkskunst and Datograph Up/Down “Hampton Court Edition.” The Handwerkskunst is an über watch of a different nature than the “Lumen,” demonstrating the brand’s dedication to handcraft and the artistry of watchmaking. Anthony de Haas, Director of Development, described the process of creating the dial, which consists of an “outer ring, the main carriage dial, and then the sub-dials, all four out of solid yellow gold. We take a milling machine and take away all the material, except for the numerals and the letters and the text, so they are in relief.”

The process then goes to an engraver, who meticulously applies “tremblage,” creating the uniform stippled texture across all surfaces. This task is made even more difficult as the engraver must navigate all of the engraved details, such as the arching logo. To get the unique coloring, Mr. De Haas explained that they “…put the ring and the carriage dial in black rhodium bath, so everything becomes dark gray. And the two sub-dials in the normal rhodium bath. So you have a color difference.” From there, the components are put on a lathe, which is gently turned by hand as very fine sandpaper is used to remove the plating at the highest points, revealing the yellow gold beneath.

The movement gets special treatment for a final touch of craft. The caliber L951.8 is unique to this watch. However, based on the L951.6 from the Datograph Up/Down, it gets a new designation as the power reserve has been removed. Furthermore, the style of decoration has changed. The wide Glashütte stripes are replaced with an even sandblasting, and the chronograph levers are black polished rather than brushed, adding to the complexity of finishing. Lastly, the balance cock features a vine filigree carved in relief, which is the opposite of their standard. Only 25 pieces of the Datograph Handwerkskunst will be produced, celebrating the anniversary.

The Datograph Up/Down “Hampton Court Edition” is a far simpler affair, but is a one-off to celebrate this year’s Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court, of which Lange is a sponsor, and it will be sold at auction, so the rarest of the four models. Featuring a white gold case, the dial is rendered in a sporty gray with black sub-dials and a red chronograph hand combination, speaking to the vintage cars showcased at the Concours of Elegance. It also features a hinged “hunter” case back and a bracelet, both rarities for the brand. The Datograph Up/Down “Hampton Court Edition” will be auctioned on November 9th by Phillips in Geneva, with all proceeds going to The Prince’s Trust charity.

With the four Datograph releases completed, the brand turns to the celebration of the 30th anniversary of its launch on October 24th, 1994. When Lange first debuted, they did so with four watches: the Arkade, Saxonia, Tourbillon “Pour le Mérite, and the Lange 1. With its distinct asymmetrical dial layout based on principles of the golden ratio, the Lange 1 has become the most iconic design in their catalog. As such, it’s the collection they chose to focus on for their 30th anniversary with the release of two new styles, each in two sizes.

The first is perhaps the more provocative: the Lange 1 in platinum with an onyx dial. This is the first Lange 1 to feature an onyx dial, though not the first Lange, as there was a Cabaret some years ago. The stone has a striking quality. The onyx has a depth and darkness that far exceeds the standard “oxi-de noir” black, which is found on black dial Lange 1s, Datographs, etc., making them look gray in comparison.

While the surface material is the primary difference, a notable unique detail is the light gray outlines around the hours, minutes, and seconds subdials. Typically stepped down and grained, onyx can’t be machined in this way, so a simple graphic solution was found to accentuate the subdials. Solid platinum hands and white-on-black date disks (which I learned are only used on platinum models) continue the formal, clean overall appearance.

As to why they chose onyx, Mr. de Haas said, “I’m a watchmaker. I repaired watches from other brands in the past. And in the 90’s and the 80’s there were watch brands that had a beautiful black lacquered dial which had a great depth, and they don’t seem to be making them anymore. I wanted to make something like that, so what can we do? .…And this is where we landed at. It’s very, very elegant. This is, for me, a kind of a tuxedo watch.”

The Lange 1 Onyx will be available in the classic 38.5mm case and the “little” Lange 1 in 36mm, limited to 300 and 150 pieces, respectively. Given its black dial and platinum case, the Lange 1 “Darth” is similar to this model, so I wonder if perhaps a logical nickname will be the “Darth Tuxedo.”

The other new style features a blue dial with a rose gold case. An uncommon pairing for Lange, it was previously used on the Saxonia Triple Split and Langematik Perpetual, thus a fairly inaccessible (even in Lange terms) combo. It’s a surprising combination as most of their blue dial watches have white metal cases, including a previous Lange 1, the 191.028, from 2017. There was also a blue dial with a yellow gold case from the late 90s, the 101.028. However, it is very rare (check out this article on Langepedia for more information).

It’s a striking pairing in the metal with an air of opulence. The contrast of the rosy, warm metal, which is also used for the dial furniture and hands, and the cool, medium blue almost shouldn’t work, yet it clearly does. The result is eyecatching and provocative. Definitely not the most subtle of Lange 1s. The Lange 1 Rose Gold Blue dial is also available in 38.5mm and 36mm versions, both limited to 150 pieces. A. Lange & Söhne