“If you build it, they will come.” It’s the age-old quote about watchmaking, wrapped somewhat curiously in a sentimental movie about baseball, if I’m interpreting things right. A. Lange & Söhne is finally having its overdue moment among collectors for doing what it’s always done: making beautiful, mechanically impressive watches with a more traditional, high-touch approach. Sticking with the baseball analogy, it’s the Milwaukee Brewers playing old-school small ball and getting into the World Series. Nostalgia hits hard, and the one constant through all the years, Ray, has been watchmaking—or something like that.
And yet, when you get down to it, something has been missing from the Lange lineup—a gap for true deep-cut collectors who begged for a certain something that disappeared from the catalog in the late 2000s. People yearned for bracelets, with the word Wellendorff hanging in the air long after the brand ended its partnership with the Pforzheim jewelry maker. When the Lange-loving Hodinkee team saw the new Datograph Perpetual on bracelet, in all its heavy glory, it was an impressive culmination of past and present. “It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again.”
“Wellendorff” Bracelets and the Secondary Market
I was recently reminded that my first experience with an A. Lange & Söhne was one on a Wellendorff bracelet. I was attending a local RedBar meet-up when a noted collector of the brand walked up wearing a Datograph Perpetual in platinum on an imposing bracelet. I told him I had never seen one in person, so the collector (whom I had never met) took the watch off his wrist, handed it to me, and promptly walked away. I was floored on multiple levels, and the experience has obviously left an impact.
The Lange market has gotten so intense that in the few days between writing this and publishing it, any secondary market prices I quote could rise substantially, and I wouldn’t be surprised. Instead of turning this into a treatise on the state of the market (or its legitimacy), I’ll just say that, unsurprisingly, the market has finally woken up to the rarity and attractiveness of braceleted Lange. Then it went on a bender and has been awake at levels that are just insane and untenable (in my opinion).
An A. Lange & Söhne Ref. 110.030 Lange 1 Soirée on a Wellendorff bracelet. This style bracelet has also been seen on Datographs that weren’t born with the bracelet. Photo courtesy Phillips.
Lange bracelets have become synonymous with the Pforzheim, Germany-based brand Wellendorff, which was so historically prolific in producing Lange’s bracelets that they became known simply as “Wellendorff bracelets.” These bracelets came in a number of styles, and not all bracelets found on certain watches are correct for that watch (let alone born with that watch, even if they are the correct style). That’s why this release matters: it’s a bit of fan service, and no one can ever doubt its veracity.
The actual rarity of Wellendorff bracelets isn’t known—any quoted numbers coming from anyone but Lange should basically be discounted—but they’re certainly rare and certainly attractive (not to steal auction house language). But you have to know exactly what you’re getting.
A legitimate, true-to-reference 453.135, a hyper-rare thing to see. Photo courtesy of European Watch Co.
A warning: this is the best information I could gather from multiple sources, though not directly from Lange, so I’m happy to correct any errors if people find them. That said, here’s what I believe to be true.
There are three correct types of bracelets you’ll see on a Datograph: what I’d call straight-link, with a Gay Frères beads-of-rice-style straight bar end-link; what one collector called “square link,” and a bracelet with a flare to the links that I call a “dog-bone” bracelet. Each has seven links; the first two styles feature four rounded links interspersed with three squared links, while the third has a different pattern. However, you’ll also sometimes see “wave” bracelets on some watches as well.
An illustration of a 453.135 and 453.035, as shown by WatchesBySJX in their story about early Datographs.
Based on my research (and information from collectors), any wavy bracelet should be discounted as fitted to the watch later. These bracelets were made and fitted to Langematics, but the case shape and dimensions made it easy to take off a less profitable watch and turn it into a “sexier” chronograph on a bracelet. You’ll note one thoughtful collector said his watch was “plus Wellendorff” instead of “with Wellendorff” to show it was an add-on (oh, an add-on to a particularly rare Datograph as well).
A Datograph with a wave-type bracelet. Hairspring, listed the watch, clearly stated that non-soldered bracelets can’t be guaranteed without paperwork, but these style bracelets reportedly never came on Datographs originally. Photo courtesy Hairspring.
The former three styles are the correct ones. First-generation Datographs born on bracelets all carried a new reference number. The earliest watches, in platinum, have a reference that starts with 453 instead of 403. For a first-generation, “Meter” dial platinum Datograph, the straight-link style seems to be the earliest bracelet offered, and it was removable from the case. These are incredibly rare to find in the correct configuration (far rarer than the other style), and if you’re buying a watch in this configuration, it should 100% carry the reference number 453.135.
A correct Datograph 403.432 with a “dog-bone” bracelet. Photo courtesy European Watch Co.
The square link version was also found on platinum models and featured a bracelet soldered into the lugs; this was the ref. 453.035. You can note that the links are shorter where the watch meets the case. You can tell the difference between white gold and platinum by the three squared-off links: platinum has brushed mid links, while white gold bracelets are fully polished.
A Tourbillon Pour le Mèrite on bracelet. Photo courtesy Christie’s.
However, straight-link style bracelets could be found on other watches. Now, these often appear on pieces they weren’t born on, a fact some people don’t disclose, but it can still double or triple the price. If you’re concerned about originality and value on what have become top-dollar pieces, the paperwork should support the configuration, or show that any bracelet was bought separately directly from Lange.
Lastly, there’s the dog-bone-style bracelet, introduced in 2006 alongside the Datograph Perpetual. In essence, it’s a seven-link design with a distinctive flare at the end of each link, and the watches don’t share the same alternating bead-block-bead pattern. You can also tell removable bracelets from soldered ones because the end links sit farther from the case. Thanks to @ALangeJourney and a photo by James Kong (@waitlisted), you can see the difference. You can also see that while resizing the square-link bracelet, some blocks were inverted.
These later bracelets weren’t soldered, and the reference numbers for watches with these bracelets changed, making the bracelet an option on more first-generation Datographs. Examples include the 403.435 in platinum and 403.432 in rose gold. In fact, these bracelet styles appear in all four metals—white, rose, and yellow gold, and platinum—but yellow gold is the rarest and appears only on the “Yellowjacket”.
It’s incredibly confusing, admittedly, but even more so when you see the prices they’re asking for watches with these bracelets, or bracelets alone. What was an already expensive (and nearly impossible to find) proposition two years ago—maybe $80,000 or $90,000 for a platinum Wellendorff—has more than doubled, and a buyer could expect to pay $200,000. A first-generation platinum Datograph with that bracelet was recently listed at $445,000 and had the 403.035 reference (which is not the reference number for a watch with a bracelet). If it had the square links, a prominent collector imagined the price would be closer to $550,000.
In no way are we talking about value propositions and affordable prices, but compare that to the watch Lange just released, which is technically superior and has an improved style of bracelet, and this new watch seems like as much a steal as any $300,000 watch could be versus the market.
“If I’d asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, ‘A faster horse!”’ — The Hands-On Impression
Think about it. All that interest in a bracelet made by someone else, and if you had asked collectors what they wanted, they’d have told Lange to run that playbookagain. But instead, they gave it a bit of extra oomph.
I promise I’ll get off the bracelet topic in a minute—but in fairness, it’s basically the key topic here—but when I asked one of the world’s biggest collectors of Lange about the history of Wellendorff bracelets, he said—and I’m paraphrasing—”this has nothing to do with Wellendorff. It’s a part of the lineage of the Odysseus.” Which is actually true.
The recent Datograph Perpetual release and the Odysseus Chronograph from 2023.
The brushed surfaces and chamfers take on a different shape but the idea is the same, for a reason.
Here the bracelet is more delicate, but part of that is because the brand didn’t expand the bracelet beyond the edge of the lugs.
Compare it to Lange’s only other recent bracelet-equipped chronograph. Yes, there was the Odysseus Chronograph. But let’s not forget the Hampton Court Concours d’Elegance unique piece from two years ago, and you can see the difference. That watch featured a seven-row bracelet, with fully polished links of different sizes in the dog-bone style.
The Datograph Hampton Court, with the unusual bracelet style. This did not have the Richemont-patented link removal system.
The Limited Edition Datograph Perpetual has five links across, with the outer and middle links brushed on top and polished on the facets, and the alternating middle two fully polished. This is essentially the opposite polishing of the original Datograph bracelet and is fully rectangular in design. But that’s not the main difference.
Flip the bracelet over, and you’ll see that Lange has employed the same Richemont-patented link system originally engineered by IWC Schaffhausen and later adapted for the Odysseus. Just like with the Odysseus, they’ve elevated the finishing with hand-chamfering. Now you can use a toothpick or the provided tool, press the buttons set into the outer links, and remove the links fully, all done relatively easily. The pins are hidden when you look at the edge of the bracelet.
Yes, the watch lacks the push-button micro-adjust of the Odysseus—invented by the supplier Brogioli and used by other brands, even ones outside Richemont—but the butterfly-style two-button deployant makes more sense on a watch like this. It also lacks any kind of quick-change option. And yes, if you’re a fan of the more delicate seven-row style, this is a visual downgrade, but otherwise, you can’t see it as anything but a proper, technical upgrade.
Then there are the diamond indices. I love diamond indices, especially baguettes, and rather than reiterate why diamonds aren’t just a modern trend, I’ll direct you to my most recent article in defense of the subject. The diamonds work as well as you’d expect on a Datograph’s black dial. Heck, they work well on the bezel too, when Lange does it. When I called the watch “almost perfect,” I meant this. For my taste, the diamonds, where they aren’t blocked by the subdials and the date window (specifically at 1, 2, 10, and 11), could have been a bit longer to better balance the empty space on the dial.
The rest of the watch is as good as it gets for Lange, though in line with past releases. There’s nothing new under the hood, per se, and one client told me that while this will be used as a “reward” piece that will be heavily fought over by VIPs, they also saw this as a way to extend the lifespan of the second generation of Datograph Perpetual, which launched in 2015. It’s possible that we won’t see the trickle-down of the instantaneous jumping calendar and higher power reserve found in the Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon for a bit longer, unless this is a final send-off to the old caliber.
That means the watch still has a relatively weak power reserve, especially for a manually wound caliber, at only 36 hours. Unlike the Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon (DPT), the watch lacks an instantaneously jumping calendar function, which Patek Philippe heralded during the recent launch of the ref. 5978P in Milan.
However, it does have the instantaneous-jumping minute counter that underlies all Datograph family movements, as well as the city-like depth of architecture and beautiful finishing that is arguably the best, or among the best, at the highest tiers of watchmaking at this scale—certainly the best chronograph finishing, I’d say. I’d expect the DPT’s calendar and power-reserve improvements to trickle down to the DP in a future generation.
The hand engraving on the balance cock never gets old, but it’s even more impressive after seeing it done on a recent trip to Glashütte.
It’s hard to argue that the DPT Lumen release from 2024 isn’t still the ultimate evolution of the Datographs. Perpetual Calendar, Lumen, Honeygold. Check, check, check. That watch retailed at $620,000 and was equally as limited as today’s release. It also had a more singularly modern aesthetic. The limited edition DP Diamonds straddles the line between old and new.
Unfortunately, I didn’t travel to Glashütte with a scale, so I wasn’t prepared for the heft of a new watch on a platinum bracelet. Like the DPT Lumen, the new DP Diamonds is an imposing watch in its own right, both visually and in its heft on the wrist. At 41mm by 13.5mm, it’s already a bit thicker than a Patek ref. 5270R, which itself had its own bracelet but lacked the finishes that you get with Lange, bracelet and otherwise. And there’s certainly no way that you’ll ever forget you’ve got the watch on your wrist.
The only debate among collectors I’ve spoken with is largely around the change from a 7-row to 5-row bracelet, which changes the look. Some like the aesthetic, as it feels “stronger” and more imposing. Others miss the elegance. I can see the argument either way, but I don’t think anyone would actually turn the watch down on that basis.
At around $300,000, I certainly got a bit of sticker shock when I first heard the number. But after speaking with clients, it seems those in a position to buy, and who would be offered a piece like this, agree it seems quite fair. In fact, I haven’t really heard actual invested collectors buzzing this way about a new release from a brand outside the independent space in quite a while. It has everything that most collectors think of when it comes to Lange, in a way we haven’t had in a while. What remains to be seen is whether A. Lange & Söhne will take the rabid demand as a cue to make more chronograph bracelets in the future. “If you build it, they will come. … Ohhhhhhhh, people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come.”
For more on the new A. Lange & Söhne Datograph, visit the brand’s website.
