Angelus – Original Vintage 1940`s Steel Chronograph – Cal. 215

Angelus was founded in 1891 by the Stolz brothers in Le Locle — not as an assembly workshop, but with the ambition to design and produce movements in-house. By 1902 they had won a gold medal at the Paris International Exhibition, and by the 1930s the factory on Rue Piaget employed around 90 people, mostly focused on chronograph movements.

The Calibre 215 is the movement that made Angelus a name among collectors: a column-wheel chronograph designed and manufactured entirely within the Le Locle factory, with a 45-minute counter. It was this same calibre that Panerai selected for the prototype of the Mare Nostrum military dive chronograph in 1943 — a detail that places the 215 alongside the Longines 13ZN in any conversation about the defining chronograph movements of the past century.

This watch has a stainless steel case measuring 35.3mm, in very good condition with only light and normal traces of use. The pressure-locked caseback is correctly signed and numbered. The plexiglass is in a perfect condition.

The original silvered dial has the classic two-counter layout with running seconds at 9 o’clock and 45-minute counter at 3 o’clock, the dial has a light and even patina with small oxidation marks — honest, unrestored, and fully legible.

The Angelus Calibre 215 inside is a manual-wind, column-wheel movement, it is a well made movement and it has one peculiarity: The Cal. 215 never left Le Locle under anyone else’s name (the Panerai Mare Nostrum was a complete-watch commission, not an ébauche sale). Angelus designed, produced, finished, and cased the 215 themselves.

This puts the Cal. 215 in a very small club of column-wheel chronograph movements that were made and used exclusively by their manufacturer, like: Longines 13ZN/30CH, Universal Genève Cal. 281/285, and Movado Cal. M90/M95

The movement has been fully serviced by our in-house watchmaker and runs correctly. Fitted with a new leather strap.

It will be delivered with our six-month guarantee and certificate of originality. Worldwide shipping is available and inquiries are welcome.