Our Take

An early kickstart to Watches & Wonders 2024, Angelus has unveiled an all-new novelty – the Instrument de Vitesse. This is the second timepiece to enter the brand’s La Fabrique collection, reviving some of Angelus’ most iconic vintage timepieces. Building on the collection’s first, the Chronographe Médical, this timepiece is another warmly welcomed return to Angelus’ esteemed history.

At a quick glance, the Instrument de Vitesse appears to be a vintage-inspired time-only timepiece. Looks can be deceiving though. Dedicated to timing short intervals, this timepiece is a monopusher chronograph designed to take average speed readings over a maximum of 60 seconds. With inspiration from the timekeeping devices embedded in the dashboard of vintage GT cars, the Instrument de Vitesse is an exceptionally well-crafted watch for those with a taste for automotive history.

Released in ivory white and ebony black variations, each limited to 25 timepieces, the Instrument de Vitesse comes with a steel case measuring 39mm in diameter and a mere 9.27mm 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.

Inside, Angelus operates its own A5000 chronograph movement. With this new variant, this caliber – the technical stalwart of La Fabrique – once again demonstrates its adaptability. Presented in this manually wound version, 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.

The Details

Brand: Angelus

Model: Instrument De Vitesse

Functions: hours, minutes, one-minute chronograph, ‘base 1000’ tachymeter scale

Movement

• Calibre A5000, manual winding, mechanical Jewels 23
• Diameter 24.00 mm
• Thickness 4.20 mm
• Power reserve 42 hours
• Frequency 3 Hz/21,600 vph
• Finishes mainplate: palladium finish, circular-grained
• Bridges: palladium finish, chamfered, Côtes de Genève motif
• Wheels: golden (2N) finish, circular-grained
• Screws: polished

Dial: ivory-white or ebony-black, domed

• Arabic numerals: applied, black-treated or rhodium-plated, and coated with Super-LumiNova
• Hands: coated with Super-LumiNova

Case

• Material stainless steel
• Diameter 39.00 mm
• Thickness 9.27 mm
• Crystal box sapphire, anti-reflective coating on both sides
• Case back sapphire crystal, anti-reflective coating
• Water-resistance 3 bar (30 metres/100 feet)

Strap

• Material caramel calfskin or midnight-blue nubuck calfskin, ecru stitching, hand-stitched
• Buckle pin, stainless steel

Limited edition 25 timepieces in each colour variant