'2022 Concorso D’Eleganza Villa D’Este' 414.049 A. Lange & Sôhne 1815 Chronograph

Here’s something almost wrong: a Lange where the wearing view is more beautiful than the caseback. 414.049 is reference not likely to ring any bells, and that’s because it’s a piece unique. Lange have a long tradition of sponsoring automotive concours, specifically Villa d’Este. They don’t necessarily indulge in one-offs often, which makes what we’re about to cover rather unique. The Lange-Concourso d’Eleganza partnership makes sense, and not just because Lange CEO Wilhelm Schmid previously worked high up in BMW. Lange is about precision, quality, and beauty, everything these events celebrate. Wilhelm saw this clearly. And, as a result, what I consider to be the most beautiful of piece unique Lange chronographs was created in 2022 for the Villa D’Este concours. And it’s coming up for sale.

This is an 1815 Chronograph with a few small changes that sum to a huge punch. The dial is salmon, which is traditionally the Swiss custom order aesthetic. It’s fairly rare to see Lange touch on Swiss aesthetics, but here they gave it their own twist. The subdials are a coffee brown, which sounds like it shouldn’t work. But look at it. Then, the caseback has its own hunter back with a celebratory engraving. Supposedly, that engraving took 9 days of hand labor. Under it, it’s a traditional L951.0. I’m rarely one to comment on aesthetics, that’s opinion. But, as a design professional friend of mine often says, ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder . . .but everyone knows a 10 when they see one.’

There has been one other concours Lange chronograph to sell publicly, the Hampton court from last year. That was estimated 100-200K CHF, but actually hammered at fairly wild 825K. The gentleman who won this did so with a 1937 Bugatti 57 S. The weight of this historic event and that motorcar seem to me a little more substantial. However, the prior result was for charity and this upcoming one isn’t. In short: no one is writing off this example. So, really, there is no precedent. I don’t know where this utterly gorgeous prize will hammer, but I’m certain it will make bringing that Bugatti down to Lake Como worthwhile.

This example looks barely worn, which wouldn't be a surprise given its origin. It's the first of its kind for sale, with the full kit, good luck all.