A. Lange & Söhne presents the 1815 CHRONOGRAPH Hampton Court Edition, a unique piece in white gold to celebrate its partnership with the Concours of Elegance.

German luxury watch manufacture A. Lange & Söhne has been a partner of the Concours of Elegance since 2018. This year, it will take place from 2 to 4 September in the grounds of Hampton Court Palace on the outskirts of London. This high profile event showcases not only rare automobiles but also the exclusive mechanical timepieces crafted by A. Lange & Söhne.

During the Concours of Elegance 2022, A. Lange & Söhne will be unveiling a unique version of the 1815 CHRONOGRAPH with a hinged cuvette. This one-of-a-kind timepiece will be auctioned off for the benefit of The Prince’s Trust, a youth charity set up by HRH The Prince of Wales.

Introduced in 2004, the Lange 1815 CHRONOGRAPH blends classic design with progressive technology. In addition to artisanal perfection and refined details, its design offers optimised legibility. The dial with Arabic numerals, the railway-track minute scale, and the slightly shifted subsidiary dials are reminiscent of the of A. Lange & Söhne’s historic pocket watches.

The A. Lange & Söhne 1815 CHRONOGRAPH “Hampton Court Edition” stands out with a unique combination of features. For the first time, a white-gold case meets a black dial with sandstone-coloured numerals and scales. The tachometer scale on the peripheral emphasises the historic connection between motor sport and time measurement.

The rhodié-coloured subsidiary dials for the small seconds and the minute counter contrast well with the black dial. Good legibility is also assured by the rhodiumed case-matched gold hands for the hours and minutes as well as by the rhodiumed steel hands for the chrono seconds, the subsidiary seconds, and the minute counter.

The watch is fitted with a black hand-stitched alligator leather strap that is secured with a prong buckle in solid white gold.

The hinged cuvette, hand-engraved with the logo of the Concours of Elegance, conceals the Lange calibre L951.5 movement launched in 2010. It is assembled twice and features a column-wheel control, a precisely jumping minute counter, and a flyback function.

The manually wound calibre has a power reserve of 60 hours. A large cam-poised balance wheel driven by a freely oscillating hairspring crafted in-house assures excellent rate accuracy. With its frequency of 18,000 semi-oscillations per hour (2.5 hertz), the watch displays stopped times to an 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 open movement architecture. This highlights the details of the complex switching processes as well as the artistically hand-engraved balance cock with Lange’s iconic whiplash spring.

Thanks to its floral motif, this small but magnificently decorated part of the movement makes every Lange timepiece recognisable – the engraver’s personal signature also makes the 1815 CHRONOGRAPH a unique piece.

The exclusive timepiece will be auctioned off on 6 November 2022 by Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo at the Geneva Watch Auction XVI. The proceeds will be donated to The Prince’s Trust charity and used to give young people better prospects in life.

Technical details

Model: A. Lange & Söhne 1815 CHRONOGRAPH “Hampton Court Edition” Ref. 414.047

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
Diameter: 30.6 millimetres
Height: 6.1 millimetres
Jewels: 34
Screwed gold chatons: 4
Escapement: Lever escapement
Oscillation system: Shock-resistant cam-poised balance; balance spring manufactured in-house, frequency 18,000 semi-oscillations per hour, precision beat-adjustment system with lateral setscrew and whiplash spring
Power reserve: 60 hours when fully wound

Functions
Time indicated in hours, minutes, and subsidiary seconds with stop seconds; flyback chronograph with precisely jumping minute counter, tachometer scale

Operating elements
Crown for winding the watch and setting the time, two pushers for operating the chronograph

Case
18-carat white gold, hand-engraved hinged cuvette, with the Concours of Elegance logo on the outside, limited-edition engraving “Unique piece” on the inside
Diameter: 39.5 millimetres
Height: 11.8 millimetres
Crystal and caseback: Sapphire crystal (Mohs hardness 9)

Dial
Silver, black, subsidiary dials: rhodié-coloured; printed dial elements: sandstone-coloured
Hands and appliques
Hours and minutes: rhodiumed gold; chronograph hand, seconds hand, and minute counter hand: rhodiumed steel

Strap
Hand-stitched alligator leather, black
Prong buckle in 18-carat white gold

Limited edition
One piece for The Prince’s Trust charity auction