BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
If you follow the social media channels of Saxon watchmaker A. Lange & Söhne, you may have noticed over the years that they’re unlikely partners of Concours events. I say unlikely because while A. Lange & Söhne is highly luxurious and makes expensive watches, and the brand doesn’t have any tie-ins to motoring at all. Concours, as put by Jeremy Clarkson during an episode of Top Gear, is like Crufts but for cars. Crufts, for those not in the know, is the largest and most prestigious dog show around and displays the hard work of caring for, grooming and presenting dogs. At a Concours event, motor cars are expected to be in the finest condition possible if they are competing for a prize. However, it can still be a fun adventure for any petrolhead even if you’re not presenting anything.
Ten years ago, A.Lange & Söhne partnered with Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, a Concours event on the shores of the beautiful Lake Como in Italy. Four years after this, A. Lange & Söhne partnered up with Concours of Elegance, held annually at Hampton Court Palance just outside of London, UK, not to be confused with Salon Privé, held at Blenheim Palace in the UK, which also has a Concours event. The Concours will be held between the 2nd and 4th of September.
For 2022’s iteration of Concours of Elegance A. Lange & Söhne has created a unique piece based on the 1815 Chronograph, which will be auctioned off in aid of the Prince’s Trust in November. Prince’s Trust was founded in the 1970s by Charles, Prince of Wales, and its aim is to help young people aged between 11 and 30 who are unemployed, struggling at school, or at risk of social exclusion. The watch will be auctioned on the 6th of November, 2022.
In the meantime, we get to appreciate it for what it is, a prime example of German craftsmanship. It’s based on the regular 1815 Chronograph with a white gold case that measures 39.5mm in diameter. To make it stand out from the rest of the range, A. Lange & Söhne has equipped the black dial (solid silver) with sandstone-coloured indices and text. These allow it to stand out enough without scrawling ‘SPECIAL EDITION’ all over the place like some brands seem to do. The silver lancet hands and subdials also provide a pleasing contrast to the warmth of the markings.
Around the back and under a uniquely decorated hunter-style caseback (which took days to engrave according to A. Lange & Söhne) is the manually-wound calibre L.951.50. It has a 60-hour power reserve and beat rate of 2.5Hz, plus a column wheel chronograph with a lateral clutch which displays the art of the chronograph in use. Plenty of blued screws provide contrast with the German silver components.
The non-unique versions of this watch have a price-on-request tag on the website, but we’ll let you know what this sells for when it goes under the hammer.
Visit A. Lange & Söhne here.
