Home » Baselworld - World Watch and Jewellery Show » Baselworld 2016 Review – Angelus U30 Tourbillon Rattrapante Watch
It took five years of intensive research and development for Angelus team to create the U30 Tourbillon Rattrapante model. This exquisite novelty is secured by several patents and it brings together three “haute horlogerie” complications in a modern, three-dimensional form: the tourbillon, fly-back double column wheel chronograph and rattrapante or split-seconds.
Furthermore, the Angelus U30 Tourbillon Rattrapante is equipped with the impeccable automatic caliber A-150 which oscillates at the rapid frequency of 28,800 alternations per hour (4 Hz) and it is capable to store enough energy to keep the watch working for at least 45 hours.
Caliber A-150
The movement is built on 38 jewels and other details of the mechanism include a black gold-treated copper-beryllium balance wheel, wheels with exclusive Angelus six-spoke design to maximize rigidity, hand-chamfered and hand-polished tourbillon cage with black ADLC-treated second pointer, black ADLC-treated – upper bridges, chamfered and polished edges with flat surfaces which are either sand-blasted or satin-finished, screws with Angelus three-point design torque-optimizing heads, gray NAC-treated main plate and automatic bridge, black ADLC-treated with solid 22-karat white gold segment rotor, and black ADLC-treated and mirror-polished column wheels. Both column wheels – the split-seconds’ one on the dial side, as well as the chronograph column wheel on the back are visible.
All complications are entirely integrated and have been engineered based on structural optimization and skeletonized to reveal as much of the movement as possible on the dial side. In order to enhance the impression of depth, the mechanism is fully transparent around the tourbillon and treated in different shades of black and gray. My attention was drawn to one more detail – the skeletonized bridges which create a form evoking the “A” of Angelus.
Angelus U30 Tourbillon Rattrapante Watch – Case Back
The hour and minute hands are mounted in the center of the dial and skeletonized. There are also two baton-styled chronograph seconds hands. A 30-minute chronograph totalizer is placed at the 3 o’clock position, while below it, at the 4 o’clock position, a visible column wheel for the split-seconds is placed. The rattrapante or split-seconds complication actually means that there are two central chronograph seconds hands that are always started together but, at the single press of the button in the crown, they can be divided so that the bottom one stops to mark the split time, whereas the top one will keep tracking the time.
The power reserve display together with visible gears and wheels is situated at the 8 o’clock position and it is directly integrated onto the skeletonized bridge. As you can see on the image below, there is a green sector which shows ideal torque, whilst red highlights that it is time to wind the timepiece. The upper left quarter of the movement is reserved for the one-minute tourbillon.
One more interesting detail is that the skeleton bridges offer the display of 15 different wheels on dial side. Box sapphire crystals shield both sides of the watch and provide a clear views on both sides of the amazing movement.
Angelus U30 Tourbillon Rattrapante is housed in an elegant case crafted from grade 5 titanium with hollowed case flanks that have been coated black. The case has been finished with a mixture of polished and matte surfaces to enhance the contrast. It measures 47mm in diameter and 15mm in thickness. The last but not the least, the new Angelus watch is secured to the wrist with a black stealth alligator strap. The watch will be officially presented at the upcoming Baselworld 2016 and it will be available in the limited series of only 25 exemplars. The retail price is $59,950 which is a quite reasonable price for the watch that unites three incredible complications.
