A. Lange & Söhne - RETROSPECTIVE: 2000 - 2020 Geneva Sunday, November 8, 2020 | Phillips

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  • Manufacturer: A. Lange & Söhne
    Year: 2009
    Reference No: 403.041F
    Movement No: 72'724
    Case No: 17'6707
    Model Name: Datograph "Yellowjacket"
    Material: 18K yellow gold
    Calibre: Manual, cal. L951.1, 40 jewels
    Bracelet/Strap: Leather
    Clasp/Buckle: 18k yellow gold A. Lange & Söhne deployant clasp
    Dimensions: 39mm Diameter
    Signed: Case, dial, movement and deployant clasp signed
    Accessories: Accompanied by A. Lange & Söhne original guarantee dated January 3rd 2009 signed by Wixon Jewelers, outer box, leather folio, fitted presentation box, hang tag, and product literature.

  • Catalogue Essay

    Introduced in 1999, the A. Lange & Söhne Datograph was conceived in a time where very few horological developments on chronograph movements were taking place. The unusual and yet elegant placement of the chronograph’s sub registers at 4:00 and 8:00, rather than 3:00 and 9:00, as well as the applied yellow gold Roman numerals at two, six and ten give to the dial balance and elegance.

    When conceiving watch, the then director of production Reinhard Meis and Günter Blümlein started with imagining the dial first, arranging the sub-dials and the outsize date. When launched, the newly conceived calibre L951.1 raised the bar for every watchmaker out there, independent, or not, and marked the begging of a new era.

    Originally launched in platinum and followed by pink gold a few years later, the present Datograph in yellow gold is as elusive as it is mysterious. It is believed that around 2007 at the SIHH in Geneva, A. Lange and Söhne representatives where «testing» the Yellowjacket (dubbed as such due to the color resemblance to a wasp found in Europe and North America) to understand how the market would react.

    The watch was offered to the public but never appeared in the brand’s catalogue. It is believed that 30 were even made until the model was discontinued in 2009.

    In very pleasing condition, the present Datograph in yellow gold presents a perfect opportunity to obtain one of Lange’s rarest and most elusive timepieces

  • Artist Biography

    A. Lange & Söhne

    German • 1845

    Originally founded in 1845 by Ferdinand Adolph Lange in Glashütte, Dresden, Germany, the firm established an entire watchmaking culture and industry in Glashütte. The brand quickly became Germany's finest watchmaker, first creating dependable, easy-to-repair watches before going on to produce some of the world's finest complicated pocket watches, including Grande Sonnerie watches, tourbillon watches and Grande Complications.

    On the final day of World War II, their factories were destroyed by Russian bombers, and in 1948 the brand was confiscated by the Soviet Union. Following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990, Ferdinand's great grandson Walter Lange re-established the brand with the objective to once again produce top-quality luxury watches. Now part of the Richemont Group, its original vintage and modern creations are highly coveted by collectors. Key models from the modern era include the Lange 1, Pour Le Mérite Tourbillon and the Zeitwerk.

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Ref. 403.041F
A very rare and attractive yellow gold chronograph wristwatch with presentation box and guarantee

2009
39mm Diameter
Case, dial, movement and deployant clasp signed

Estimate
CHF45,000 - 90,000 
€41,700-83,400
$49,000-98,100

Sold for CHF176,400

Contact Specialist

Alexandre Ghotbi
Head of Watches, Continental Europe and the Middle East

41 79 637 1724
aghotbi@phillips.com

 

Thomas Perazzi

Head of Watches, Asia
+852 2318 2031

WatchesHK@phillips.com

RETROSPECTIVE: 2000 - 2020

Geneva Auction 8 November 2020