A special model of the A. Lange & Söhne 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.
For the first time this year, a unique special model of the 1815 CHRONOGRAPH in white gold with solid pink gold dial and hand-engraved hinged cuvette will be presented as a prize for best car in the competition. In addition to these visible special features, the watch also has several beautiful characteristics that are very rare in watchmaking, such as the double-assembled movement with a total of 306 individual parts, all of which are elaborately finished despite the fact that many of them are hidden from view. By choosing one of the most beautiful column-wheel-driven flyback chronographs as the new trophy, A. Lange & Söhne shows how you can inspire enthusiasm with superb mechanical craftsmanship, while also reminding us of the connection between motorsport and timekeeping that has evolved over the years.
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 1 to 3 October. 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 rhodiumed 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 rhodiumed, 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.
In use since 2010, the manually wound calibre L951.5 features column-wheel control, a snail for the precisely jumping minute counter, and a refined flyback function. It has a power reserve of 60 hours. A large cam-poised balance wheel driven by a freely oscillating hairspring crafted in-house assures superior rate accuracy. Because it beats at a frequency of 18,000 semi-oscillations per hour (2.5 hertz), the watch delivers readings of stopped times with the accuracy of one-fifth of a second. The sapphire-crystal caseback reveals the lavishly hand-finished chronograph mechanism. A subtly composed choice of different materials and surface decorations emphasises the three-dimensionality of the movement architecture. The open configuration allows the critical switching processes to be observed. The hand-engraved balance cock with the Langestyle whiplash spring is visible as well.
A. Lange & Söhne 1815 CHRONOGRAPH Technical Specifications
Ref. 414.049
Functions
- Time indicated in hours, minutes and subsidiary seconds with stop seconds;
- flyback chronograph with precisely jumping minute counter;
- pulsimeter scale
Movement
- Lange manufacture calibre L951.5, manually wound, crafted to the most exacting Lange quality standards, decorated and assembled by hand;
- precision-adjusted in five positions;
- plates and bridges made of untreated German silver;
- balance cock engraved by hand
- Movement parts: 306
- No. of jewels: 34
- Screwed gold chatons: 4
- Escapement: Lever escapement
- Oscillation system: Shock-resistant cam-poised balance; balance spring manufactured in-house, frequency of 18,000 semi-oscillations per hour, precision beat-adjustment system with lateral setscrew and whiplash spring
- Power reserve: 60 hours when fully wound
- Diameter: 30.6 millimetres; height: 6.1 millimetres
Operating elements
- Crown for winding the watch and setting the time, two pushers for operating the chronograph
Case
- Diameter: 39.5 millimetres; height: 11.9 millimetres
- Case 18-carat white gold; hinged cuvette, hand-engraved
- Glass and caseback: Sapphire crystal (Mohs hardness 9)
Dial
- 18-carat pink gold; subsidiary dials: brown
- Hands and appliques:
- Hours and minutes: rhodiumed gold;
- chronograph hand, seconds hand and minute counter: rhodiumed steel
Strap
- Hand-stitched leather, dark brown
Buckle
- 18-carat white-gold prong buckle
Limited edition 1 watch
About A. Lange & Söhne
Dresden watchmaker Ferdinand Adolph Lange laid the cornerstone of Saxony’s precision watchmaking industry when he established his manufactory in 1845. His precious pocket watches remain highly coveted among collectors all over the world. The company was expropriated after the Second World War, and the name A. Lange & Söhne nearly vanished.
But in 1990, Walter Lange, Ferdinand Adolph Lange’s great-grandson, ventured to start over again. Today, Lange crafts only a few thousand wristwatches, mainly in gold or platinum, per year. They are endowed exclusively with proprietary movements that are lavishly decorated and twice assembled by hand. With 67 manufacture calibres developed since 1990, A. Lange & Söhne has secured a top-tier position among the world’s finest watch brands. Its greatest successes include brand icons such as the LANGE 1, the first regularly produced wristwatch with an outsize date, and the ZEITWERK, with its precisely jumping numerals. Extraordinary complications such as the ZEITWERK MINUTE REPEATER, the TRIPLE SPLIT and the so far most complicated model, the GRAND COMPLICATION, introduced in 2013 in a limited edition of six, represent what the manufactory always strives for: to drive the traditional art of watchmaking to ever-new heights. The sporty yet elegant ODYSSEUS, introduced in 2019, marked the start of a new chapter for A. Lange & Söhne.
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