In last year’s Baselworld, Angelus made a comeback into the horological scene with the provocative U10 Tourbillon Lumiere. It was an interesting watch that features an intriguing design, and coupled with an equally incredible jumping second mechanism. This year, they announce the U20 Ultra-Skeleton Tourbillon and the U30 Tourbillon Rattrapante.
Well, many of us were impressed, but some critics in the industry thought that the U10 was probably just another “one-hit wonder”. But Angelus is proving them wrong. This year, they are releasing two interesting pieces this year: the U20 Ultra-Skeleton Tourbillon, and the U30 Tourbillon Rattrapante. We will be focusing on the former for this article.
First and foremost, the U20 Ultra-Skeleton Tourbillon is another contemporary timepiece from Angelus. This one, incidentally, is built with supercars in mind. This means that it is completely devoid of anything that is unnecessary, and it focuses highly on structural optimization. Think of it as a watch equivalent of the Ferrari F40 or a Porsche 911 GT3RS, where everything is stripped to its bare minimal.
One of the recurring themes of the U20 is transparency, and it is actually pretty obvious when one takes a glance at the timepiece. The watch, as its name suggests, features a skeletonized watch face. This, together with the sapphire crystal on both the front and back of the timepiece, allows the movement to bask in full glory. What is even more interesting is that the movement is fitted with a sapphire crystal main plate. This allows every component to be exposed, and it makes it feel as though the movement is floating inside the watch case.
The Caliber A-250 that was fitted onto the U20 Ultra-Skeleton Tourbillon. A rather intriguing movement indeed.
On the subject of movements, the U20 is fitted with Angelus’ Caliber A-250. This is a manual-winding movement that features a one-minute flying tourbillon, with a power reserve of approximately 90 hours. Notably, the movement is as technically adept as it looks. Two major highlights of the Caliber A-250 would be the satin-finished bridges that were made from blued titanium, as well as its sapphire crystal main plate that is crafted and polished from a single solid block of sapphire.
The attention to detail in the movement is amazing. There are several touches that were set in place, such as the milling of the rim of the balance wheel and six-spoke designed gear wheels, to increase the efficiency and performance of the movement. On top of that, the movement is decorated with various forms of finishing, such as hand-chamfering, hand-polishing, as well as satin-polishing. The combination of these various elements makes the U20 a rather aesthetically stunning timepiece indeed.
The U20 Ultra-Skeleton Tourbillon, from the back.
The 42mm timepiece is fitted with a NPT-carbon fiber and titanium case. It has, notably, omitted the bezel and instead replaced it with a large domed sapphire crystal to allow one to get a better view of the movement. It is also paired with a stealth black alligator leather strap, with a titanium pin buckle.
Finally, only 18 examples of the U20 Ultra-Skeleton Tourbillon will be produced. Do check out Angelus’ website here for more information.
