A. Lange & Söhne unveils a new version of a masterpiece

• Lange celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Datograph Perpetual with a new edition. • It highlights a black dial adorned with baguette-cut diamond hour markers housed in a platinum case fitted with a platinum bracelet. • Its functions are driven by the manually wound Lange manufacture calibre L952.1. • It is a limited edition of 50 individually numbered pieces.

Kunaal Khemka

October 25, 2026

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What is the new Datograph Perpetual?

It celebrates the 20^th anniversary of the Datograph Perpetual, a grand complication wristwatch that A. Lange & Söhne (Lange) launched in 2006. Arriving 7 years after the launch of the seminal Datograph (1999), It was the first Lange wristwatch to combine a flyback chronograph and a perpetual calendar.

The new edition highlights a black dial with baguette-cut diamond hour markers housed in a 41 mm platinum case fitted with a platinum bracelet. It is powered by Lange manufacture calibre L952.1, the same movement inside the current catalogue reference.

What is its dial, case, and bracelet features?

Dial: Black dial with rhodié-coloured subdials made from 925 silver. The central hour and minute hands, day of the week hand (4 o’clock), month hand (8 o’clock) and leap year hand (5 o’clock) are made from 750 gold. The small seconds hand (8 o’clock) and 30-minute counter hand are made from blued steel. The central chronograph seconds hand is made from rhodiumed steel. The 11 baguette-cut diamond hour markers are hand-applied on the dial.

Case: Made from 950 platinum, measuring 41 mm (diameter) * 13.5 mm (thickness). The dial side and caseback feature synthetic sapphire crystals (Mohs hardness of 9).

Bracelet: 5-row integrated bracelet made from 950 platinum.

How many parts does the movement consist of?

556, along with 45 jewels and 4 screwed gold chatons! The Datograph Perpetual is powered by Lange manufacture calibre L952.1, a manually wound movement that drives the hours, minutes, and small seconds with a stop seconds function; the chronograph that includes the flyback central seconds and a “precisely jumping” 30-minute counter; the perpetual calendar that includes the outsize date, day of the week, month and leap year; the day and night indicator; and the moon-phase display.

It measures 32 mm (diameter) * 8 mm (height), beats at a luxurious frequency of 2.5 Hz or 18,000 VPH and delivers a power reserve of 36 hours.

What do we think?

As I write this article, I realise that Lange has just celebrated its 32^nd anniversary. Let us put the reborn Lange’s history in perspective: 32 years of several of the finest timepieces in the world. The brand was relaunched on 24^th October 1994, yet the date on the watches and photos was set to “25” to reflect the following day’s media publications.

The Datograph Perpetual has been an emblematic model in Lange’s catalogue for the past 20 years. Judging by the images, it is drop-dead gorgeous. I will not be surprised if the 50 pieces are already spoken for. The brand could make 100 or 150 of them and have no difficulty in finding suitable homes for them. However, as a small manufacture with an annual output of around 5000 watches, they have capacity constraints. Wilhelm Schmidt, the brand’s CEO, elaborated on this when I interviewed him in Geneva in April.

Just last month, Lange unveiled the third edition of the Triple Split, a limited edition of 100 pieces. Other models unveiled by them during and since Watches and Wonders Geneva include a new Saxonia Annual Calendar (two editions featuring a new movement and a reduced 36 mm case), Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar “Lumen” (the seventh model in the elusive Lumen series), Cabaret Tourbillon Honeygold® (discontinued in 2013 yet brought back in the brand’s proprietary Honeygold), and the 1815 UP/DOWN (two blue dial limited editions in a reduced 37.5 mm case). Crafting them and the other models across their 6 families, notwithstanding the brand’s well-known double assembly for all movements, is a lot of work.

20 years is a long time for a model and its movement to remain in the catalogue. Do recall that the Lange 1 was reintroduced as the second generation (refreshed dial and case and an all-new movement, the latter the brand’s 50^th) in 2015 after 21 years in the catalogue! I believe the new Datograph Perpetual is conveying two messages. A) It is a possible swansong for the model before its successor is unveiled with an all-new movement. B) It hints at the return of precious metal bracelets back to the catalogue.

We are now at the halfway point between the last Watches and Wonders Geneva and the next edition in 2027. I am eagerly anticipating what the brand will unveil.