A REPERTOIRE IN Green
With its historical references and contemporary construction, the Chronodate mixes different eras. The collection is a fusion between the historical Angelus brand – and its contribution to Swiss watchmaking heritage – and Angelus today: contemporary, technical and ultra-dynamic. The Chronodate complication was chosen to allude to the brand’s early successes, in 1935, when it helped pioneer double push-piece chronograph wristwatches.
Technical Specifications
Functions
Movement
- Jewels:
- 26
- Diameter:
- 30.00 mm
- Thickness:
- 7.90 mm
- Power reserve:
- 60 hours
- Frequency:
- 4 Hz/28,800 vph
Dial
Case
- Material:
- titanium and carbon composite
- Diameter:
- 42.5 mm
- Thickness:
- 14.25 mm
- Crystal:
- domed sapphire with an anti-reflective coating on both sides
- Back:
- sapphire crystal, with an anti-reflecting coating
- Water resistance:
- 3 bar (30 metres/100 feet)
Strap
- Material:
- titanium
- Buckle:
- folding clasp, titanium
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Gallery
A modern case
These new Chronodate references boast a 42.5 mm case that continues the neoretro spirit of these sporty chronographs. The movement is housed in a container machined from a carbon-fibre composite. The chronograph push-pieces, also made from carbon composite, are directly applied to this vessel. Lastly, a ring between the case middle and bezel is also made from this matte black material.
Around this container, Angelus has designed an attachment system consisting of an openworked cradle that brings the case middle and lugs into a single line, made from titanium. It also houses the bezel marked with 12 notches, which is also cut from these same metals.
A flexible structure
This modular superstructure was developed to play with multiple materials. It is made up of elements with taut, sloping and bevelled lines that adopt the same aesthetics as several other Angelus timepieces, such as its diving collection.
Their chamfered profiles, alternating right angles and curves, and the energy that emanates from them set the Chronodate’s sporty tone. The same is true of the crown, with a wide form that projects out from its guard and a central rubber strip that makes it easier to operate.
A dynamic movement
Inside the Chronodate collection is Angelus’s chronograph movement, the A-500 calibre. Its format displays the small seconds at 9 o’clock and the 30-minute chronograph counter at 3 o’clock. A hand-based date display circles around the edge of the dial to pay homage to the first Angelus Chronodate in 1942. Its red arrowhead sets the tone for the secondary indications; the markings on the chronograph push-pieces, the chronograph central seconds hand and the 30-minute counter hand are all finished with a touch of red lacquer.
Oscillating at a frequency of 4 Hz, the A-500 calibre incorporates a column wheel and a horizontal coupling clutch to keep a slim profile. It operates via a self-winding system with an oscillating weight shaped like a capital letter “A” above a star – Angelus’s emblem depicting a bell and its clapper. This rotor is in tungsten on the Chronodate Titanium and is fitted with a 5N red-gold counterweight on the Chronodate Gold. A reference to the early days of Angelus right at the heart of the mechanism.
Chronograph aesthetics
A chronograph was chosen to recall Angelus’s roots, since the brand was a firstrate manufacturer of these pieces from the 1930s onwards. The watches were small in diameter to cater to the tastes of the time. These modest dimensions made the counters appear particularly large and visible, so Angelus has naturally now chosen to give the Chronodate imposing counters that offer optimal readability.
The counters are set on a deep-black dial fittingly described as “velvet black” or on a subtle shade of “fern” green. All the dials are punctuated with large applied Arabic numerals with Super-LumiNova.
