Cars & motorsport
Photo Report: Touring the Concours of Elegance Hampton Court Palace with A. Lange & Söhne’s CEO Wilhelm Schmid
A VIP experience at the Concours of Elegance with the German Maison.
By Cait Bazemore
Contributor
For A. Lange & Söhne enthusiasts who are also petrol heads, the Maison’s partnership with the Concours of Elegance series presents a unique opportunity to engage with the brand as if you were transported to the manufacture in Glashütte.
While there, VIP guests can go hands-on with the latest novelties, sit down for a one-on-one masterclass with the Maison’s Head of Complications, or take a tour of the grounds with the helm of the brand, CEO Wilhelm Schmid. At the recent Concours of Elegance Hampton Court Palace, I was fortunate enough to get the VIP treatment to give you an inside look – let’s dig in.
Starting the Engine
I arrived at the VIP tent, greeted by A. Lange & Söhne’s expert staff, seated at a shaded table in the private grass-lined patio, and offered small canapes and a drink of my choice while enjoying the scenery and idyllic weather.
As Mr. Schmid entertained a previous appointment of VIP guests, I made my way inside the VIP tent to explore.
I was immediately greeted by Patrick Ritschel, A. Lange & Söhne’s Head of Complications, and was invited to join him at his workbench.
Here, he worked on some of the Maison's exceptional in-house calibres.
Next up, I entered one of the private suites, perfectly recreated like one of A. Lange & Söhne’s exclusive boutiques, and I was able to try on the latest novelties released at the Concours event.
As you might know by now, I have a particular affection for enamel, but I was surprised to find how much I appreciated the new Richard Lange Jumping Seconds with a beautiful gold dial.
Then, it was my turn to sit down with Mr. Schmid himself and chat more about his passion for both cars and watches. I asked him a simple but playful question: If the new 1815 Tourbillon and Richard Lange Jumping Seconds were cars, which would they be? His answer: “Let me show you.”
This led us to begin a short tour around some of his favorite parts of the Concours, first leading me to some German cars, but I was surprised to learn these were not the models he felt embodied A. Lange & Söhne’s latest creations.
A Lap Around the Concours
For the 1815 Tourbillon, which is rendered in platinum with a superbly executed black enamel dial, Mr. Schmid took me to the 1924 Hispano-Suiza H6C “Boulogne” Short Chassis Salon, a car owned by one of his personal friends and a strong contender for Best in Show.
As you can see, the Hispano-Suiza is so clearly a mirror to the new 1815 Tourbillon – Mr. Schmid pointed out the “polishing, craftsmanship, and attention to the tiniest details just like Lange’s approach to a black enamel dial encased in platinum.”
Alternatively, for the Richard Lange Jumping Seconds, he pointed to a much younger 1993 Porsche 911 Singer Classic.
Mr. Schmid admitted, “The jumping seconds complication can often be a bit boring – the seconds are usually the smallest part on the dial – but here, it’s bigger and, all of a sudden, the focus. This is what Singer has done with this evolution of the Porsche 911.” He continued, “It offers the design language people think of with Porsche and makes it bigger and bolder.”
Crossing the Finish Line
Before Mr. Schmid went on to entertain other VIP guests and I set out to explore the rest of the event, he left me with one parting thought: “A watch in a safe and a car in a garage are not bringing you any joy – yes, you can simply look at these objects and they give you some bit of joy, but what is better than wearing it or driving it?”
For me, this is the takeaway from this exceptional event – an insight into the shared collector communities between watches and cars, objects that are meant to be used and enjoyed to the fullest.
(Photography by Cait Bazemore)