First launched in 1999, A. Lange & Söhne’s Datograph is widely regarded as one of the most finely crafted and beautiful chronograph wristwatches produced by any modern manufacture. It boasts an in-house manual movement, expertly finished throughout with Glashütte stripes and a signature hand-engraved balance cock. The full lexicon of movement finishing is unleashed on each component of a Lange wristwatch: black polishing, perlage, straight and circular graining, mirror polishing, chamfering, and anglage, amongst others.

Though the first generation Datograph was made available in other case metals and dial variants during its production period between 1999 and 2011, the early platinum case and black "meter" dial, as seen on the present watch, is the original Datograph that captured the admiration of so many collectors and connoisseurs when it first appeared at Baselworld in 1999.

Some of the most recognizable and authoritative voices in the watch industry cite the Datograph as one of their favorite timepieces, including revered independent watchmaker, Philippe Dufour. The Datograph was replaced in 2012 with the Datograph Up/Down, which increased the case size, changed the hour markers from Roman numerals to baton indexes, and most notably, added a power reserve indicator.