Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este

May 21 2022

A. Lange & Söhne at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2022

MRSTATELESS A. LANGE & SÖHNE, NEWS Cars and Motorsport, Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 0

A. Lange & Söhne will once again be present at the Concorso d’Eleganza, where the most beautiful classic cars will be shown on the grounds of the Villa d’Este on the shores of Lake Como from 20 to 22 May 2022. The Saxon watch manufactory has been a partner of this prestigious classic car competition since 2012. Lange CEO Wilhelm Schmid will again award this year’s winner of the Best of Show category with a unique timepiece. Just like the historic rarities on wheels, the one-of-a-kind 1815 CHRONOGRAPH in white gold is an expression of perfection, elegance, and the highest level of mechanical sophistication.

The classic cars are hand-picked, the number of participants limited and the backdrop simply breathtaking: the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este is steeped in history and one of the most exclusive events for classic cars and motorbikes. The event, which attracts fans and collectors from across the world every year, dates back to 1929 when one of the first car shows, the Coppa d’Oro Villa d’Este, took place in picturesque Cernobbio in northern Italy. Back then, it was new cars that were in the spotlight, but today the car show sparkles with a unique variety of historic treasures that reflect the technical achievements of the past century and invite us all to take a trip into the past.

A Class of Its Own

A particular attraction of the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este is also the venue itself: once the summer residence of an Italian cardinal, the manor house is situated in magnificent parkland right on the banks of Lake Como. Converted into a luxury hotel in 1873, the Villa d’Este will be celebrating its 150th season in 2022. A. Lange & Söhne is also celebrating a milestone: this year marks the tenth time that the traditional Glashütte manufactory will be a partner of the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.

Following the parade on Sunday, Lange CEO Wilhelm Schmid will hand over a unique timepiece to the winner of the Best of Show category. This year, the award known since 2012 as the Como Edition will be a special edition of the 1815 CHRONOGRAPH in white gold that expresses the manufactory’s appreciation of the car owner’s commitment and the several hundred hours that have been invested in its restoration and maintenance. With a complex chronograph mechanism, the one-of-a-kind piece pays tribute to the historical link between motorsport and timekeeping. As with every Lange watch, the 306 parts of the calibre have been finished with the greatest care by masters of their craft. The movement is also assembled twice to meet the highest of expectations. It takes nine days just to engrave the Concorso crest relief onto the solid gold hinged cuvette – a decoration which is painstakingly brought to life by hand – millimetre by millimetre.

A Fascinating Liaison

“Classic cars are more than just a means of transport,” says Wilhelm Schmid. “The more you familiarise yourself with the intricacies of the drive, bodywork and history, the stronger your personal relationship to the car becomes. This is also true of a Lange watch, which is not worn just to tell the time.” As he says, it is the craftsmanship, aesthetics, heritage, and the quest for innovation that link classic cars with classic watches. “With its unique atmosphere, the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este brings that passion for technology and the exceptional to life”, adds the Lange CEO. “This is why we’re so pleased to be here with like-minded people to share our enthusiasm for the elegance of mechanics.”

1815 Chronograph

New winner’s watch for the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este

A special model of the 1815 CHRONOGRAPH is the award that for the first time awaits this year’s owner of the most attractive car at the tradition-steeped competition for classic automobiles. The unique piece in 18-carat white gold with a solid pink-gold dial and a hand-engraved hinged cuvette is reserved for the “Best of Show” winner.

Since 2012, A. Lange & Söhne has been a partner of the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, which this year will be held on Lake Como from 20 to 22 May. Every year, Lange CEO Wilhelm Schmid has presented the owner of the competition’s most elegant vehicle with a LANGE 1 TIME ZONE “Como Edition”. Each of these watches is a unique piece, as the hand-engraved hinged cuvette refers to the event: The “CONCORSO D’ELEGANZA VILLA D’ESTE” signature frames the coat of arms as well as the founding year 1929 and the current event year. They bridge the span from the first Concorso d’Eleganza to the present. This exceptional watch is not for sale. It is reserved exclusively for the winner in the “Best of Show” category.

In 2021, for the first time, this timepiece is an 18-carat white-gold edition of the 1815 CHRONOGRAPH with a pink-gold dial and a hand-engraved hinged cuvette.

The selection of this watch, one of the most beautiful column-wheel-controlled flyback chronographs, as the new trophy is a reminiscence of the historic link between motorsport and time measurement.

The 1815 CHRONOGRAPH in the 39.5-millimetre white-gold case melds classic design with mechanical ingenuity. With its Arabic numerals and the railway-track minute scale, the dial-in pink gold recalls A. Lange & Söhne’s legendary pocket watches. The brown subsidiary dials for the seconds and the minute counter contrast well against the bright background. The black rhodium gold hands for the hours and minutes, that match the case, and the steel chronograph hand, the subsidiary seconds hand and the minute counter hand, which are also rhodium, ensure good legibility as well. A dark-brown strap made of hand-stitched leather with a prong buckle in white gold rounds out the colour concept.

The Winner of the “Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2022”

Thus, one of the highlights of the classic automobile competition was the presentation of the winning watch by Lange CEO Wilhelm Schmid to Andrew Pisker.

The winner was the favourite of the jury and the audience with his Bugatti 57 S from the year 1937 and was visibly delighted with the specially made model of the 1815 CHRONOGRAPH in white gold with a solid pink-gold dial and hand-engraved hinged cuvette.

The prize, donated by A. Lange & Söhne, is intended as recognition for the time and effort the owner has invested in preserving his automotive work of art for posterity.

Also, in the anniversary year of the partnership, classic cars and watches are ambassadors of elegance and mechanical ingenuity for Lange CEO Wilhelm Schmid. “The Concorso is a celebration of beauty, which is not only reflected in the shiny surfaces of the cars but also when you look under the hood. It´s a similar kind of beauty that can be found in our timepieces,” he notes. “It makes me proud that this close connection has grown into a strong partnership that has already lasted ten years.”