Quick summary
- A. Lange & Söhne honoured the 2026 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este Best of Show winner with a special prize watch.
- The timepiece is a unique Lange 1 Time Zone Como Edition, tailored to the Lake Como concours with event-specific details.
- The watch is not a commercial release, making it a one-off object tied directly to the winning car’s concours history.
A. Lange & Söhne has continued one of the more charming traditions in modern concours culture by presenting a unique watch to the Best of Show winner at the 2026 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.
The Glashütte manufacture’s prize was a Lange 1 Time Zone Como Edition, a one-off interpretation of its travel-time watch created specifically for the Lake Como event.
A concours prize with real collector weight
The Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este is not short on trophies, but Lange’s contribution sits in a different category.
Rather than a ceremonial plaque or display object, the Best of Show owner receives a fully fledged high-end mechanical watch that becomes part of the winning car’s story.
That connection matters because concours provenance is built through details.
A top award at Villa d’Este already carries serious prestige, and a unique Lange made for the occasion adds a personal mechanical memento to the achievement.
The Lange 1 Time Zone makes sense for Lake Como
The Lange 1 Time Zone is a fitting choice for an international concours, where cars and owners arrive from across continents for a weekend on the western shore of Lake Como.
Its dial architecture keeps the familiar off-centre Lange 1 layout, while adding a second time display and a city ring that turns the watch into a practical traveller’s companion.
For the Como Edition, the model’s travel theme is given an event-specific twist.
The watch is distinguished by details connected to the concours, including a special reference to Como that separates it from regular production Lange 1 Time Zone models.
Glashütte craft meets coachbuilt elegance
The pairing of A. Lange & Söhne and Villa d’Este works because both worlds reward restraint, proportion and the quality of execution over spectacle.
On the lawn, that might mean the curve of a hand-formed fender or the correctness of a restored interior.
On the wrist, Lange expresses the same attitude through hand-finished bridges, sharp German silver movement architecture and the quiet precision of its dial design.
The Lange 1 Time Zone is also one of the brand’s most legible complicated watches, which helps it avoid feeling like a purely symbolic prize.
Key details of the A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Time Zone Como Edition
| Model | A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Time Zone Como Edition |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Unique prize watch for the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este Best of Show winner |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, small seconds, outsize date, second time zone, day and night indicators, power-reserve display |
| Movement | Manually wound Lange manufacture calibre from the Lange 1 Time Zone family |
| Power reserve | Approximately 72 hours |
| Special detail | Como-specific execution created for the Lake Como concours |
| Availability | One-off prize piece, not a regular-production model |
For watch collectors, the appeal is obvious.
This is a Lange tied to a singular moment rather than a boutique allocation, and that makes it unusually personal in an industry where rarity is often manufactured by numbers alone.
For car collectors, it’s the kind of object that extends the life of a concours victory beyond the weekend itself.
Long after the lawn is cleared and the cars are loaded for home, the watch remains a wearable record of a Best of Show win at one of the most beautiful automotive gatherings in the world.
FAQ
What watch did A. Lange & Söhne present at the 2026 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este?
A. Lange & Söhne presented a unique Lange 1 Time Zone Como Edition to the Best of Show winner.
Can collectors buy the Lange 1 Time Zone Como Edition?
No. The Como Edition is a one-off prize watch created for the Villa d’Este Best of Show winner, not a regular retail model.
Why is the Lange 1 Time Zone used for this concours prize?
Its dual-time function and city-ring concept suit the international character of the event, while the Lange 1 design language gives it a strong connection to the brand’s modern identity.
Where is the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este held?
The event takes place at Villa d’Este on Lake Como in Italy, one of the most important settings for historic and coachbuilt automobiles.
