Datograph Lumen version: the answer
The Datograph Lumen is a limited edition of the A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Up/Down. Reference 405.034. Platinum 950 case, 41 mm wide and 13.1 mm thick. Made in 200 pieces. Introduced in 2016. Manual wind chronograph with 60 hours of power reserve. The dial is sapphire with a black coating, and the outsize date glows in the dark.
What the Lumen name changes
Lange uses Lumen for watches with dials that pass light. A brass dial blocks light. A coated sapphire dial lets a small amount through the openings. The Zeitwerk Lumen came in 2010 in 100 pieces. The Grand Lange 1 Lumen came in 2013 in 200 pieces. The Datograph Lumen is the third model in that line.
Three parts carry the change. The dial is a sapphire disc with an opaque black coating, and sections of the coating are left clear. The hands and hour markers carry luminous compound. The outsize date is the main point: the digits on the two date discs carry luminous compound, so the date reads with no light source. Lange does not publish a full list of luminous elements, and press images are the main record of the dial detail.
Datograph Lumen Lookalike: The Ultimate Guide to Swiss Replica Watches
Reference data
- Reference: 405.034
- Case: platinum 950, 41.0 mm by 13.1 mm
- Movement: L951 family, manual wind
- Power reserve: 60 hours
- Frequency: 18,000 vph (2.5 Hz)
- Chronograph: column wheel, horizontal clutch, minute counter that jumps in one step
- Displays: outsize date at 12, small seconds at 9, 30-minute counter at 3, power reserve at 6
- Production: 200 pieces, 2016
Some sources list the caliber as L951.6, others as L951.7. Check the papers and the movement number on a specific watch. The run is platinum only. There is no pink gold or white gold Lumen Datograph.
Price is not fixed. The 200 pieces left retail in 2016. Auction listings appear a few times a year, and results change with condition, box and papers.
Replica versions and what they miss
Replica Datograph Lumen watches exist. Four checks separate them from the original.
- Date glow. The original date digits light up. On most replicas the date discs are opaque, and the digits are printed with paint that does not charge.
- Dial material. The original dial is sapphire with a black coating. Replicas use printed mineral glass or plastic with a pattern that copies the look but not the depth.
- Movement. The original is manual wind with a column wheel and no rotor. Many replicas use an automatic movement with a hidden rotor, or a quartz movement.
- Case weight and thickness. Platinum is dense. A 41 mm platinum case weighs more than steel or gold. Measure the thickness. 13.1 mm is the reference figure.
The caseback on the 200-piece run carries a limitation number. Engraving is easy to copy. A number on the back proves nothing on its own.
Second check: the outsize date
Lange's outsize date is two discs, tens and units, that jump at midnight in one motion. On a replica the discs drag or move one at a time. This is a mechanical test. It needs no tools, and it takes one night.