New: Angelus Instrument de Vitesse

The Angelus Instrument de Vitesse represents a fascinating blend of vintage inspiration and modern horology. Its design pays homage to the brand’s storied past while embracing contemporary aesthetics and functionality. The dial looks like a regular 3 hands timepiece but is actually a 60 seconds monopusher with a nicely finished column wheel horizontal clutch movement.

Press release with commentary in italics.

New: Angelus Instrument de Vitesse

Commentary

The Angelus Instrument de Vitesse features a monopusher chronograph, a nod to classic timepieces, yet it is housed within a sleek 39mm case that is just 9.27mm thick, ensuring a comfortable fit on most wrists. This is made possible by a manual winding 4.2mm thick movement.

The choice of an ivory white or ebony black dial offers a visually striking contrast, with each color limited to 25 pieces, adding to the exclusivity of the timepiece. The dials are complemented by a Base 1000 tachymeter scale, enhancing the watch’s utility for measuring speed over a known distance. The applied Arabic numerals and syringe hands are filled with Super-LumiNova, ensuring legibility in low-light conditions. This watch is not just a timekeeping instrument but a statement piece that reflects Angelus’s commitment to craftsmanship and innovation. The thinness and simplicity of the timepiece hides the complication of a column wheel horizontal clutch movement that is well finished and quite very nice to look at from the back. Both watches are priced at S$26,400.

Press Release

“60 Seconds Flat” Instrument de Vitesse, a new opus in the La Fabrique collection, revives the golden age of timed races. This mono-pusher chronograph seems to have been plucked from the dashboard of a vintage GT car. It is equipped with a single timing hand – the center seconds hand – and can time a maximum of one minute. With its sleek and refined retro sports look, Instrument de Vitesse is intended for enthusiasts of watchmaking history and culture. Housed in a 39-mm steel case, its 4.20 mm manually wound Manufacture calibre ensures that the finished timepiece is less than 10 mm thick. Instrument de Vitesse is available with an ivory-white or ebony-black dial in two limited series of 25 timepieces each.

Appearances can sometimes be deceptive. At first glance, Instrument de Vitesse does not appear to be a classic chronograph. With its three central hands, it looks like a watch… with three hands, but the tachymeter scale running around the outer edge of the dial reveals its chronometric function. For this is a chronograph presented in its purest expression, dedicated to timing short bursts – a measuring instrument designed to take average speed readings over a maximum of 60 seconds. This, in turn, casts new light on the crown, which also acts as the chronograph’s single push-piece to set the slender center seconds hand in motion.

Historical Context: Dedicated to the renaissance and reinterpretation of classic timepieces from Angelus’ past, the La Fabrique collection unveils its second model, following in the footsteps of the Chronographe Médical. Once again, the house draws on its aesthetic heritage and showcases historical design elements and affinities. As a result, Angelus has designed a chronograph that seems to belong on the dashboard of a beautiful English or Italian vintage car, with the roar of a V12 engine as its soundscape.

Released in two series of 25 timepieces, Instrument de Vitesse is available with a steel case measuring 39 mm in diameter and just 9.27 mm thick. It features a domed dial divided into two functional zones. The peripheral indications are dedicated to the tachymeter scale, graduated from 60 to 500 with a base metric of 1,000 (typically one kilometer). The more central indications, meanwhile, are designed to display the time, with a finely graduated minutes circle. In both cases, the typography – specially chosen for the La Fabrique collection – is clear, contrasting, and elegant.

Contrasting: Instrument de Vitesse is available in two versions. The first, on a caramel calfskin strap, features an ebony-black dial with rhodium-plated applied Arabic numerals that stand out with their striking white hue. The second version is presented on a midnight-blue nubuck strap. Its ivory-white dial is punctuated with applied Arabic numerals outlined in black to create an incredible three-dimensional effect. The hour and minute hands, together with the applied numerals, are coated with luminescent material.

Mechanics: Inside, Angelus operates its own A5000 chronograph movement. With this new variant, this calibre – the technical stalwart of La Fabrique – once again demonstrates its adaptability. Presented in this manually wound version without totalizers, it offers a reduced thickness of just 4.20 mm. Set to a frequency of 3 Hz, it functions by way of a column wheel and horizontal clutch in the pure chronograph tradition