A. Lange & Sohne Datograph 403.035. Luxury Watch Review

http://www.thewatchbox.com There are luxury watches that come, go, and vanish from the collective imagination of the enthusiast community. And then there are models like the A. Lange & Sohne Datograph, a seismic Saxon shockwave that rocked Swiss haute horlogerie to its core and captivated a world of collectors. The 1999 launch of the Datograph was a moment that redefined the watch industry on manifold levels. East German watchmaking, long considered a "feel good" story of plucky underdogs and capitalist resilience, suddenly vaulted to eye-level with Geneva's elite. Lange, then something of a well-kept connoisseur's secret, exploded into the mainstream consciousness. Naturally, Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin were sent scrambling to rethink their vaunted standards of fit, finish, and detail. Yes, the first Lange Datograph was *that* good. And it remains *that* good sixteen years after blitzing Basel. The 39mm platinum case and black dial remain as striking today as they did in the Millennium Bug era. Each studied flourish from the contrast of the polished and brushed facets to the immaculate polished lugs scintillates while enticing admirers to look even closer. A dial of jet-black punctuated by white gold indexes, hands, and the "outsize date" frames offers superb legibility and a face that hasn't aged a day since the late twentieth century. That many of these styles cues hail from the late nineteen century should serve to compound the lesson: Lange designed t