A. Lange & Söhne

Part 2: the Concorso d'Eleganza and the Villa Sola Cabiati

 

The second day was the most important one since it was the day of the Concorso! The Concorso takes place every year at the Villa d'Este which is located closer to Como than Tremezzo. So we needed to take the boat to the South of the lake to reach the Villa d'Este.

Leaving the Grand Hotel:




Obviously, the cruise gave us the opportunity to enjoy the delightful scenery and some of the most impressive villas. These villas have very famous owners and I can easily understand why they took the decision to buy them!

The Lange One Timezone in a more casual context... and it remains perfect!

We were approaching the Villa d'Este! I was wearing the Saxonia Annual Calendar:

Even from the boat, we could feel the effervescence around the Concorso! Something special was about to start...

When I put my first foot on land, I discovered the traditional Villa d'Este Coat of Arms!




Wilhelm Schmid and his spouse were welcoming the guests:



Lange & Söhne organized a cocktail to launch the day at the Concorso:





The main message from Wilhelm Schmid was very simple: please enjoy! So we did!




Lange & Söhne set up a comprehensive presence inside the Villa d'Este with several displays and a room fully dedicated to the traditional watchmaking art from Saxony with a watchmaker working on his workbench. The best way to make the visitors understand why the Lange watches are so special and the key characteristics of high horology timepieces.













Then  I rushed to discover the cars of the 2016 edition of the Concorso!

Actually, the Consorso gathered several prizes:

On Saturday at the Villa d'Este:

The best of show by public referendum (and of course, we could vote)
The most sensitive restoration by the Jury
The most elegant Rolls-Royce by the Jury
The best iconic car by the Jury
The best interior design by the Jury
The best preserved pre-war car by the Jury
The best preserved post-war car by the Jury
The most exciting design by the Jury
The car driven from farthest away

On Sunday, some other prizes were awarded at the Villa Erba and the Concorso ended back to the Villa d'Este with the Best of Show by the Jury prize... and this prize was carefully followed by the Lange team since the owner of the winning car of this category would get the Lange One Timezone specifically designed for the event (with Como replacing Berlin on the dial and an engraved hunter case-back).

It was maybe a coincidence but the first car which caught my eye was this gorgeous BMW 503:

A 1958 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I:

The engine of one of the Bentley of the Concorso:

A Dual-Ghia from 1957:

This Ferrari 275 GTB/4 belonged to Steve McQueen and Guy Williams (Zorro)! The other Ferrari (the 365 GT/4 Berlinetta Boxer) on the back was purchased by Clint Eastwood in 1977.

Several categories of vehicles were represented at the Concorso. This Ford Escort RS 1600 won a rally in Africa:

Here comes the engine of the Bugatti 57 SC Atalante:

Some historic concept cars and prototypes were also set up around the Villa d'Este. I appreciated a lot the contrast between the classic cars and the more contemporary ones.

From time to time, I was forgetting the cars just to have a look on the lake, on the pool:

The BMC Cooper S of Stefano Macaluso:

A Lancia Aurelia B52 from 1953:

This Ferrari 250 Europa was for me one of the most surprising cars of the Concorso.

The iconic Ferrari Testarossa:

Maybe we can fly with this Porsche 550 RS from 1955?

I don't want to kill the suspens but this Maserati A6 GCS was the winner of the Best of Show by the Jury category.

A Ferrari 225 S from 1952:

One of my fav cars of the Concorso was this Fiat 8V Supersonic. An outstanding car which gives the feeling to be a true arrow on the road. Look at the bumpers!

A Jaguar C-type from 1952:

The McQueen & Eastwood Ferrari again:

The perfect shape of the cars:

The Bugatti 57 SC Atalante:

This Lancia Astura Serie II won the Best of Show by public referendum. A well deserved prize!

A Bentley 4 1/4 Litre from 1937:

Don't forget that we are at the Concorso d'Eleganza!

The jury at work. Each detail counts!

I took the opportunity of a short break to shoot the Sax-o-Mat movement of the Saxonia Annual Calendar... after all, we were talking about beautiful engines?




I've always been in love with Facel Vega. So I couldn't resist when I saw this beautiful Facel II:

Mr Ion Tiriac himself and his Rolls-Royce!

One of the Jury members was my friend Johann Philip Rathgen! Good job JP! and the Lange One Timezone looks great on your wrist!

Having the opportunity to observe all these beauties parked around the Villa d'Este is a fantastic show. But we often say that a watch has to be worn. It is the same with a car: it has to be driven! So the parade in front of the public and the jury was obviously the key moment of the event. We could enjoy not only the curves... but also the noises of the engines! 

The parade of the winner!

The futuristic Lamborghini Athon driven with elegance and style! Look at the bag! It perfectly matches the car!

When the parade was over, I took some last pictures by the lake and the pool of two versions of the Lange One Timezone:

And half hour later, we were back to the Grand Hotel Tremezzo.

I'm not a big specialist of classic cars but I can tell you that I enjoyed a lot the set of the 2016 edition of the Concorso. My vote went to the Fiat Supersonic and I still have the BMW 503 and the Facel Vega in my mind...

The day was not over!

The evening cocktail and the dinner were organized by Lange & Söhne at the Villa Sola Cabiati. I didn't know this Villa and I didn't regret to discover it!

The Villa was located in Tremezzo:

The Villa Sola Cabiati:

Happy like a 3 years old kid!

The traditional Spritz!

A newcomer! The Saxonia Moonphase is one of the 2016 novelties and I could shoot some pictures in the Villa gardens:

Wilhelm Schmid welcomed the guests after some arias sung by a young soprano:

Another beautiful surprise was the ability to wear the Zeitwerk Minute Repeater:

The dinner was delicious and a true homage to the Italian cuisine:

This was a very original Tiramisu!

The beauty of the Villa Sola Cabiati:

The day of the Concorso was over but we knew that another amazing day would come!

Please discover it in the last part of my report:
www.watchprosite.com

Fr.Xavier
This message has been edited by foversta on 2016-05-30 14:10:35