A. Lange & Sohne’s ticking works of art
Unique competitions deserve unique prizes and there can be nothing more exclusive than a work of art crafted by an haute horlogerie marque only once a year that is not for sale
A. Lange & Söhne has been sponsoring the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, an exclusive event that focuses on the beauty and elegance of classic automobiles, since 2012. The competition takes place each year in May at Lake Como. For the event, which evokes the Great Gatsby era, A. Lange & Söhne creates a unique timepiece: a one-of-a-kind model of the LANGE 1 TIME ZONE with the special designation “Como Edition”. This watch is not for sale. It is reserved for the winner in the “Best of Show” category.
With its convenient home- and zone-time indication, the LANGE 1 TIME ZONE is the perfect companion for cosmopolites. The clearly organised dial delivers a single-glance reading of the home time and the time in a second time zone. The second time zone is selected with a rotating city ring that encompasses all 24 time zones and can be comfortably advanced with a pusher. Elaborately hand-finished and assembled twice, the manufacture calibre has a power reserve of three days.
In comparison to the classic version, the Como Edition has two special features: Central European Time on the rotating city ring is represented not by Berlin as is usual, but by Como as a tribute to the event location. Additionally, the watch is endowed with a cuvette. In other words, the LANGE 1 TIME ZONE has a hand-engraved, hinged dust cover in white gold on the movement side.
Its free-hand engraving pays homage to the competition: the inscription “CONCORSO D’ELEGANZA VILLA D’ESTE” frames the coat of arms of the event and two calendar years. They trace the arc from the first Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in 1929 to the present, represented this year by 2016.
In the past five years, the LANGE 1 TIME ZONE “Como Edition” has been awarded to the owners of numerous exceptional automobiles. We bring you a synopsis of the most attractive pairings:
