Jewellery & Watch News
Swiss watchmaker Angelus reveals a brand-new collection called the Angelus La Fabrique, a line of vintage revivals inspired by Angelus watches from the past. The first watch to inaugurate the series is a limited edition of 200 pieces named the Angelus Chronographe Medical x Massena LAB watch, designed in collaboration with independent watchmaker Massena LAB. It’s rare monopusher chronograph movement and pulsometer and asthmometer scales bring back to life a “doctors” watch launched by Angelus during the 1960’s.
The original Angelus “doctors watch” watch from the 1960’s was designed with one mission in mind, to assist doctors monitor the vital signs of a patient during an examination. The dial was unique in that it had two scales, one a pulsometer which allowed you to measure pulse and the second an asthmometer for measuring the respiratory rate. It was an unconventional watch, particular for its display which to make room for the scales pushed the minutes track and hour markers closer to the centre. The movement was also unique in that it was a manual winding monopusher chronograph movement and yet it only delivered a single chronograph hand for the one-minute measurement since this was all that was needed to measure a patient’s vitals.
All of the atypical features of the original Angelus “doctors watch” have are now revived in a new Angelus Chronographe Medical x Massena LAB Limited Edition watch created by both Angelus and Massena LAB. The design also marks the opening of a new Angelus collection, La Fabrique, which will go on to carry all future vintage tributes for the brand. William Massena, founder of Massena LAB speaking of the collaboration commented: “When talking to Bertrand Savary (President of Angelus), we discussed Angelus’ spectacular heritage. We hit on the idea of creating a capsule collection that would revive one of the most perfect tool chronographs of the 1960s.”
The case of the Angelus Chronographe Medical x Massena LAB watch remains pretty close to the original 1960’s design; there’s the same 316L stainless steel case with a slim bezel, polished surfaces, compact crown, chronograph pusher at 2 o’clock and box-shaped sapphire crystal glass. The case is sized up slightly for modern wrists, now measuring to 39mm in diameter with a slender height of only 9.22mm. There’s also a water resistance of 30 metres, an exhibition case back and a golden brown Novonappa leather strap with cream ecru stitching and a stainless steel pin buckle.
The Angelus Chronographe Medical x Massena LAB Limited Edition remains a “doctors watch” with its unique pulsometer and asthmometer scales on the dial. The pulsometer scale adorns the silvered opaline dial between 1 and 3 o’clock and is based on 10 beats. You can monitor your pulse by starting the chronograph and simply counting 10 beats before stopping the mechanism. The chronograph hand will then indicate the number of beats per minute. The pulsometer is cleverly colour coded with the numerals in green, black or red to correspond to the severity of the reading. Meanwhile, the asthmometer displays the respiratory rate per minute working on a basis of five breaths. Again, you’d start the chronograph and count five breaths before pressing the 2 o’clock pusher again. The chronograph hand will indicate the number of breaths per minute on the inner scale graduated from 40 to 10. The respiratory scale is adorned in red nestled on the inside of the minutes circle. The rest of the Angelus Chronographe Medical x Massena LAB watch’s dial is fairly traditional, electing rhodium-finish appliqué indexes and Arabic numerals and hour markers and hands set with green-emitting Super-LumiNova.
To power the Angelus Chronographe Medical x Massena LAB Limited Edition, the Swiss watch brand have developed a specific version of the A5000 calibre to uphold the same monopoussoir architecture as the original 1960’s watch. Running at 21,600vph and offering a 42 hour power reserve, the manual winding movement delivers central hands for the hours and minutes, a one-minute chronograph hand, a small seconds counter at 9 o’clock and a column wheel and a horizontal clutch mechanism. The high-end finishing of the movement can be enjoyed through the watch’s sapphire crystal case back.
If you’d like to learn more about the Angelus Chronographe Medical x Massena LAB watch and secure one of the 99 limited edition pieces for yourself, head over to the C W Sellors website here. Alternatively, get in touch with the team by calling 01335 453453 or send us a message at sales@cwsellors.com.
Specifications:
- Case Size: 39mm x 9.22mm
- Case Material: 316L stainless steel
- Bezel: Fixed
- Glass: Box-shaped sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating
- Crown: Non-screw locked
- Case Back: Exhibition
- Water Resistance: 30 metres
- Movement: Calibre A5000, in-house, manual winding with column-wheel and horizontal clutch monopusher chronograph mechanism
- Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, one-minute chronograph, pulsometer and asthmometer scales
- Power Reserve: 42 hours
- Jewels: 23
- Frequency: 21,600vph
- Dial: Domed, silvered opaline with medical scales, rhodium-finish applique indexes and numerals, Superluminova dauphine hands
- Strap: Golden brown Novonappa calfskin leather
- Buckle: Pin
- RRP: 15,100
- Limited: 99 pieces
- Reference: 0CHAS.A01A.V010S
