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Lot Essay
Never before seen at auction, Christie’s is very proud to present for the first time, this exceptional and important early pink gold Datograph Flyback with baguette diamond-set bezel. Although engraved on the caseback edge as number 9 of a limited edition of 20 pieces, no other example of this reference is at present known publicly.
This sublime watch is also important as an early ‘First Generation’ example of the Datograph and therefore an extreme rarity with diamond-set bezel. The First Generation Datograph made approximately from 1999 until the early 2000s is identified by the tachymeter scale on the outer edge of the dial which features the words “BASE 1000 METER”, on later models this was changed to “BASE 1000 METERS”.
The movement is the Lange in-house flyback chronograph caliber L951.1, considered by many to be one of the most beautiful movements of all time. The movement consists of 406 parts, the plates and bridges are made of untreated German silver and finished with circular graining and Glashütte ribbing. The balance bridge is manually engraved with a master’s personal free-hand technique, making each Datograph a one-of-a-kind timepiece.
One of the great technical achievements of the Datograph’s flyback chronograph is the instantaneous jump of the minute counter hand. In a standard chronograph mechanism, the minutes counter starts to move just before a minute elapses and only falls into place once the minute elapses. In contrast however, the L951.1 chronograph minute hand moves at the exact instant the minute elapses. Until the development of the L951.1, the instantaneous register hand mechanism had never been used in the confined dimensions of a wristwatch. This feature perfectly aligned with Lange’s ambition to increase precision.
Introduced at the Baselworld 1999, the Datograph Flyback is the world’s first chronograph based on the classic column-wheel principle with precise jumping minute counter and patented oversized date. It stops events with a duration up to 30 minutes with an accuracy of one-fifth of a second. The precise jumping minute counter allows easy reading of the stopped time. The flyback function allows the chronograph to be instantaneously reset to zero during an ongoing measurement by simply pressing the chronograph button. As soon as the button is released, a new timing cycle begins, hence eliminating the need to stop a measurement and reset the stop hand before starting a new timing. The patented oversized date in the twin gold-framed aperture ensures excellent legibility.
This sublime watch is also important as an early ‘First Generation’ example of the Datograph and therefore an extreme rarity with diamond-set bezel. The First Generation Datograph made approximately from 1999 until the early 2000s is identified by the tachymeter scale on the outer edge of the dial which features the words “BASE 1000 METER”, on later models this was changed to “BASE 1000 METERS”.
The movement is the Lange in-house flyback chronograph caliber L951.1, considered by many to be one of the most beautiful movements of all time. The movement consists of 406 parts, the plates and bridges are made of untreated German silver and finished with circular graining and Glashütte ribbing. The balance bridge is manually engraved with a master’s personal free-hand technique, making each Datograph a one-of-a-kind timepiece.
One of the great technical achievements of the Datograph’s flyback chronograph is the instantaneous jump of the minute counter hand. In a standard chronograph mechanism, the minutes counter starts to move just before a minute elapses and only falls into place once the minute elapses. In contrast however, the L951.1 chronograph minute hand moves at the exact instant the minute elapses. Until the development of the L951.1, the instantaneous register hand mechanism had never been used in the confined dimensions of a wristwatch. This feature perfectly aligned with Lange’s ambition to increase precision.
Introduced at the Baselworld 1999, the Datograph Flyback is the world’s first chronograph based on the classic column-wheel principle with precise jumping minute counter and patented oversized date. It stops events with a duration up to 30 minutes with an accuracy of one-fifth of a second. The precise jumping minute counter allows easy reading of the stopped time. The flyback function allows the chronograph to be instantaneously reset to zero during an ongoing measurement by simply pressing the chronograph button. As soon as the button is released, a new timing cycle begins, hence eliminating the need to stop a measurement and reset the stop hand before starting a new timing. The patented oversized date in the twin gold-framed aperture ensures excellent legibility.