First introduced in 2016, the Angelus U30 is still a relevant design today. The ultra-light and ultra-sporty, the incredible Angelus design unites various prestigious complications: a tourbillon, flyback, and split-second chronograph. The 47mm black DLC titanium case with open-worked edges houses one of the most complex automatic skeletonized movements in the world. In the U30, nothing has been sacrificed in the expression of Angelus’ revolutionary watchmaking approach. The U30 is a beast in a figurative sense. It is a mythical creature, a mean machine: an exceptional piece both in performance and design. The U30 is a talking point because this skeletonized, automatic tourbillon, flyback, and split-second chronograph with power reserve indicator are quite simply unique. Angelus has not shied away from any technical challenges. 100% independently manufactured, the result is a watch that defies categorization.
The spacious skeletonized structure encompasses the case, movement, and hands. The case, 47mm in diameter and 15mm thick, is made of black DLC titanium. The open-worked movement has 350 components in total, is treated with black DLC, and accentuated in grey. The design is an expression of Angelus’ brand of hyper-technicality; it is the supreme sportiness of an ultra-light split-second chronograph. The split-second function allows the central chronograph second hand to be split in two, allowing two events starting together to be timed. At any moment, the same pusher can bring the two hands back together to the same point. A flyback allows you to reset and restart timing with a single press without stopping and resetting the hands. This exceptional feature does not compromise the lines of the U30: the split-second pusher is integrated into the crown at three o’clock, barely protruding from the case. Similarly, the chronograph’s start and reset pushers are very discreet, integrated into the overall line of the U30’s black titanium case middle. The pushers have a short trajectory, requiring up-front design work and adjustment to a degree rarely achieved in watchmaking.
It is hard to imagine a complication as sophisticated as the split-second function. The movements capable of achieving this complication can be counted on the fingers of two hands and far fewer for the skeletonized version. Angelus has built its modern identity on open-worked pieces integrated into immense structures that bring the surface area down to the absolute minimum. Here, the A-150 caliber has depth. The hand fitting, bridges, cog and column wheels, patina, and rotor create a rich texture of levels for the eye to get lost in. Angelus likes developing its calibers as a unified system. The U30 prefers a sportier, active, technical approach for this infrequent complication, opting for self-winding by a large rotor. Split-second chronographs are hardly ever matched with a flyback – making this timepiece even memorable.
A power reserve indicator is not an often heard feature amongst chronographs. The U30 has an indicator at half-past seven on the dial, using a subtle asymmetric layout. Tourbillon chronographs are anomalies, and tourbillon rattrapantes are even more unique. But for Angelus, integrating a rotary regulating organ into the dense and intense A-150 caliber has posed no problem. Combining chronometer and chronograph, measuring precision times and short times is a logical choice for the U30.
When it comes to the U30’s design, structure, decoration, functionality, and complications, all of these choices are based on an almost unparalleled level of expertise and independence. The A-150 caliber has been entirely developed, machined, decorated, assembled, adjusted, and fitted on the Angelus manufacturing site in La Chaux-de-Fonds. This exclusive movement has been designed with exceptional mechanical and graphic detail in mind. The structure and functions form a coherent whole, highlighting the complications and design of their components. In turn, these high-precision micromechanical watchmaking parts have been integrated into a watch with the robust design of a thoroughbred designated as an exemplar.
This tourbillon is priced at CHF 66,700 (before tax), with only five such examples produced.