‘Hampton Court’ 405.047 A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Up/Down

405.047 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. That’s probably why what I consider to be the most beautiful Lange of all time was a piece unique created for the 2021 Villa d’Este (pictured first because I love it most). Now, another has been made for the Hampton Court Palace Concours just outside London. And it’s magnificent.

This is in many ways a take on the 25th Anniversary Dato Up/Down, and in many ways not. This time around, there’s a date window. Rather unusually, it’s been given the Darth treatment. This is set against a grey dial and contrast red seconds hand. There is not a single other red element on the dial, lending quite a bit of drama to the chronograph. Two other elements far outweigh the dial though. First, this is a hunter or hinged caseback, so there can be both a display of the L951.6 and commemorative engraving. The real place where the Hampton has an edge on the Villa d’Este one-off is between the lugs, where Lange’s magnificent bracelet does add a wealth of drama.

The Villa d’Este watch has never appeared at auction, which is great, because it was a gift for winning the event. The Hampton that we’re highlighting today was designed with auction in mind, but for a cause. It’s being sold to benefit The Prince’s Trust, which supports young people from disadvantaged communities to ‘live, learn, and earn’. So no matter how you square the aesthetics of a red chronograph hand, it’s a great watch in my book. There are really incalculably few one off Langes compared to Patek, VC, or AP, the Germans simply are more restrained. If anything, this is just a reminder to the world that they can absolutely crush a unique take on the Datograph when need be. And both watches are fantastic trophies which will be legends in years to come.

It’s a brand new watch, so there’s not much for me to comment on here. I quite like that this is a charity event rather than a prize for the grandest automobile. It’s coming up in under a month.