Angelus proves that an old dog can still learn new tricks. With this new release, they’ve taken a vintage-inspired design and given it a special twist.
Releasing your star models a few days before Watches and Wonders 2024 is a gambit. On a surface level, it has a reasonable reward – you get to build hype for your brand before it gets lost in the crowd. But the risk of being swiftly forgotten about in the following wave of glitz and glamour is palpable. Not if you’re Angelus, and this new release proves it.
So why, out of all the spectacular releases seen/yet to be seen, should we care about the new Instrument de Vitesse from the La Joux Perret company? From a surface level, it’s a simple three-hander, taking inspiration from dashboards of the GT cars of yore. But as the saying goes, “Beware the old man in a profession where men die young.”
Disclaimer: Watchmaking is hardly the life-or-death stakes the quote suggests. However, Angelus has been around for over a century, so they know exactly what they are doing, and appearances can ultimately be deceiving. Ever the innovators of the ‘sleeper hit’, the Instrument de Vitesse is equipped with a manual wind chronograph movement. “But how?” You may be asking yourself. “There aren’t any subdials or pushers!” And yes, you would be half correct. There are no subdials, but what may seem like a well-built but ordinary-looking Angelus timepiece is, in reality, a mono-pusher chronograph. As the name suggests, the watch includes just one button to control the chronograph function – start, stop and reset – ingeniously hidden inside the hollowed-out crown!
You may have already figured out that the absence of other subdials means you can only time one-minute intervals. That’s where the tachymeter comes in – using the array of numbers printed on the periphery, you can accurately measure the speed of a moving object, like a car, from one point to the other. I’ll break down how you do this in three easy steps:
- Start the chronograph as soon as the moving object passes a starting point
- Stop the chronograph when the object has travelled a predetermined distance (such as 1000m/1km, hence the ‘BASE 1000 UNITS’)
- Observe which number your chronograph hand is pointing to, and that determines the speed.
It’s a hard concept to get your head around at first, but if I got there in the end, so can you! But realistically, tachymeters take a heaping dollop of mental gymnastics that my feeble young mind does not have, so I’ll stick to timing my steaks, thanks.
All this mechanical goodness couldn’t be possible without the in-house A5000 movement. Allowing for the functionality of a chronograph without the busyness of subdials is a feat rooted in heritage, but is no easier to implement, let alone build from scratch. However, Angelus’ knowledge of watchmaking is vast and deep, so the creation of this new calibre, in conjunction with the resources they have at hand, almost felt like an inevitability.
Of course, the design helps to bring everything together. The simplistic, unassuming dial with Arabic numerals – available in Ivory White or Ebony Black – and the 39mm case profile all aid in masking the Instrument de Vitesse’s true purpose. It’s a piece built for a true connoisseur, those who don’t wish to make a surface-level statement with their timepieces. However, they’re intimately familiar with every aspect of their watch and understand how to capture attention effortlessly… at the push of a button.
Final Thoughts
This release, for full transparency, almost slipped under my radar. I love vintage and heritage-inspired watches, as it shows that the brand is paying attention to what makes their watches or their ideals great. The Angelus Instrument de Vitesse had my curiosity at first glance, but upon knowing its party trick, it caught my attention. Monopusher chronographs aren’t exactly dime a dozen in the horological world anymore, and most commercial brands like to stick to what’s trending to stay popular. Angelus knows that, yet they still defy the norm, pushing the limits of their craftsmen – and mainstream popularity – to the limit. They prioritize craftsmanship and tradition over commercial appeal, and in the sea of generic, overhyped releases, it’s a breath of fresh air. Thus, the Angelus Instrument de Vitesse speaks volumes above the crowd, defiantly stating, “If we’ve caught your eye, then we’ve already won.“
References: Instrument De Vitesse: Ivory White (0CHBS.I01A.V010S) Ebony Black (0CHBS.B01A.V010S)
Specifications
- Case Material: Stainless steel
- Dimensions 39mm diameter, 9.27mm thickness
- Dial: Ivory White or Ebony Black with Blue/Red or Gilt/Red accents
- Movement: In-house manual wind A5000 chronograph movement
- Beat Rate: 3Hz/21,600bph
- Power Reserve: 42h
- Water Resistance: 30m(3bar)
- Crystal: Box sapphire, anti-reflective coating on both sides
- Strap: Midnight Blue nubuck or Caramel calfskin, stainless steel pin buckle
