Car shows are in full swing worldwide as lockdown restrictions ease, with Pebble Beach taking place last month and Salon Privé wrapping up a few weeks ago. One that’s still on the schedule is the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este at the start of October, who have been longstanding partners with A. Lange & Söhne. The watchmaker awards a bespoke wristwatch to the Best of Show winner each year and this year it’s a unique salmon version of the 1815 Chronograph.
In terms of its design, they’re not really pushing the boat far from the existing 1815 models. It has the same 39.5mm diameter case, albeit bearing an additional engraved cuvette denoting the history of the car show and acknowledging the year that the watch was awarded. For this model, the case has been rendered in white gold to contrast with the dial.
Speaking of which, the dial is where this unique version differs from the rest. The use of pink gold gives a gorgeous salmon colour that pairs lovely with the brown subdials, which is a departure from the tone-on-tone colouration of the previous silver and black dials. To keep things nice and legible the gold hour and minute hands are rhodium plated, as are the steel flyback chronograph hand, small seconds and 30-minute counter hands.
Inside, and visible through the display caseback under the cuvette, is the L951.5 movement. It’s a manual calibre that was first introduced in 2010 and still holds up today. It has a great 60-hour power reserve and is accurate up to one-fifth of a second, which is solid, although you will find modern chronograph movements that can go to one-tenth of a second such as in the Zenith Chronomaster Sport.
However, raw specs are not what this watch is about. This is about representing the best of show at the Concorso, the perfect combination of aesthetics and mechanical ability in harmony. And that’s what this watch is. Unfortunately, being a unique piece reserved for the winner of the show, there’s no chance of getting your hands on it. Unless you happen to be a participant at the Concorso, in which case fancy letting us take a ride in your car?
Price & Specs:
Model: A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Chronograph
Reference: 414.049
Case/Dial: 39.5mm diameter x 11.9mm height, 18-carat white gold case, 18-carat pink gold dial with brown subsidiary dials
Movement: Lange manufacture calibre L951.5, manual winding, 34 jewels, 306 parts, 4 screwed gold chatons
Frequency: 18,000 vph (2 Hz)
Power reserve: 60h
Functions: Hours, minutes, subsidiary seconds with stop seconds, flyback chronograph with precisely jumping minute counter, pulsimeter scale
Strap: Dark brown hand-stitched leather
Price/availability: Not for sale, reserved exclusively for the winner in the “Best of Show” category at Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este
More details at A. Lange & Söhne.
