By Jovan Krstevski
I am quite excited for this review of the new A. Lange & Söhne LANGE 1 TIME ZONE ‘Como Edition’ since it basically highlights the greatest show ever made, “Back to the Future.” Well, you may very well contest me on that but anyways, we are here for the watch and of course a little bit of the inspiration behind such a marvelous creation. To the less informed, the prestigious German watchmaker A. Lange & Söhne created the unique LANGE 1 TIME ZONE ‘Como Edition’ in partnership with the Concorso d’Eleganza 2016. The annual competition happens at Lake Como from the 20th to the 22nd of May. On display are the greatest classic automobiles and futuristic concept cars ever to be engineered in the planet especially denoting this year’s unique motto which is “Back to the future – the journey continues.” And of course, the watch we are talking about here is absolutely free at least for the winner of the said show.
The watch is simply elegant and prestigious plus the fact that it is very much the rarest of its kind since it gets built just for one purpose, as a timely memento for the “Best Show” winner. The winner of the competition whoever they are must be so damn lucky to hold one of these rare items but of course the reality is just different, there is a team behind every winner so who really wears it is none of our concern. So much for my blurbs, what is really special here?
The LANGE 1 TIME ZONE ‘Como Edition’ sports a hand-engraved hinged dust cover in white gold on the movement side. This magnificent engraving tells a lot of story about the watch. Of course, it pays homage to the kickass competition and we can see the best show’s name clearly inscribed on the watch. The 18k white gold case may sound very impressive but this is just one of its unique features. The watch sports many prestigious characters such as a solid silver dial. The dial looks very impressive and clean in my opinion. The hands are also made of rhodium gold and time here is off centered to the left.
Meanwhile back to the case, the watch also sports a beautifully engraved cuvette caseback. The elaborate decorations of the watch are made possible using untreated German silver, talk about free hand engraving at its best.
There is no doubt that the LANGE 1 TIME ZONE ‘Como Edition’ is made for the winner. Its convenient home and zone-time indications will mostly please the cosmopolites. The legibility is remarkable thanks to the pure silver dial. The watch also boasts of extreme quality and precision since it gets assembled twice successfully clearing any imperfections.
The watch is powered by the German manually wound Lange in-house caliber L031.1 sporting 54 jewels, 21,600 vph and a power reserve of 3 days. The movement features four screwed gold chatons, a lever escapement, a shock-resistant screw balance, plus a whiplash precision index adjuster with patented beat adjustment mechanism.
Moreover, the watch also comes with black hand-stitched alligator leather strap sporting an 18k white gold buckle. Remember though that this watch is not for sale, although it is absolutely free for the winner of the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. For more info, please visit alange-soehne.com
JOVAN KRSTEVSKI – FOUNDER, PROPRIETOR & EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Jovan Krstevski has been collecting watches every since his father bought him an Omega Seamaster back when he was just a teenager. He launched Watchgeek back in 2011, which is now known as WristReview and is one of the most widely read watch blogs on the Web. He quotes ’WristReview is a site to help people find, explore, discover and enjoy wristwatches.’ Besides WristReview, he also writes for a number of publications. Read his articles here
