Introducing the A. Lange & Sohne Odysseus Chronograph
In 2019, A. Lange & Sohne introduced the Odysseus line of watches into its catalogue. It was the first steel sport watch the brand ever produced, and it was received with open arms and plenty of excitement. The German top execution horology house has created some of the most beautiful, complicated, and innovate wristwatches in common memory. Today, Lange has unveiled the next step in it’s Odysseus collection with an all new, ultra high-end chronograph in it’s Odysseus case.
THE BASICS:
Brand : A. Lange & Sohne
Model : Odysseus Chronograph
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Case Size : 42.5mm x 14.2mm
Water Resistance : 120m
Movement : Lange L156.1 Datomatic
Movement Specs: Automatic, 50-Hour Power Reserve, 4-Hz, 52 jewels
Strap Options : Integrated Steel Bracelet
The Juice:
The Odysseus Chronograph feels like a natural evolution of the Odysseus line. There are people who say that even the original 3-hand Odysseus case was built for having Chronograph pushers in mind because it also included pushers to adjust the large date windows (which, on the Chronograph is now a function of the crown). In this, it’s a sleek curvature of the pusher that melds nicely with the case as opposed to say, a jarring large pusher of a typical chronograph.
And speaking of Chronographs that do things a little differently, you’ll notice that there is no minute counter register, while the 6 o’clock subdial is the actual seconds counter. So where does the Chronograph count the minutes? With an elongated lozenge hand that sits behind the second hand at 12 o’clock when the Chronograph isn’t active. To give an idea, the pushers activate the chronograph like a regular movement, but instead of a subdial counting the minutes, the Odysseus utilizes a “Central Minute Counter” that counts the minutes at the middle of the dial. It’s pretty slick and allows for the large analog date windows to not through off the symmetry of the dial.
Inside the Odysseus Chronograph is an all new caliber L156.1 Datomatic. It features a 50 hour power reserve, and is compromised of 516 parts - Basically, it’s super complicated. And to add to the entire impressive nature of the watch itself, each part of the movement is hand-decorated, regardless of whether it can be seen or not. This does thicken up the watch a bit compared to some of it’s direct competition, but we’d argue that won’t much matter to a Lange collector.
Let’s be honest here; This is A. Lange & Sohne we’re talking about. And they don’t miss. The Odysseus Chronograph may be a new favorite of mine when it comes to the brand, and I can’t help but find it one of the more charming sport watches on the market. It’s definitely been well received during Watches & Wonders this year, and from a brand that typically specializes in ultra-complicated dress watches in some regard, we can promptly say that if this is Lange’s penchant for sport watches, they’re in for quite a bit of success.
How much is the A. Lange & Sohne Odysseus Chronograph?
The brand hasn't exactly released pricing for this watch just yet, they just claim it's "To Be Determined". We will update this article once pricing has been released. You can read more about this watch at A. Lange & Sohne's website.